Interview: Markus Schulz’ progression

Interview: Markus Schulz’ progression

21 April, 2009 | 11.34AM

• Written by: getinkat
• Filed under: Music News: markus schulz

If Markus Schulz were an athlete, he’d be a gold medalist. In the past 12 months, the German-born, US-raised trance phenomenon has built himself an impressive list of accolades that includes landing at No.8 in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs poll, being awarded Best American DJ in the IDMAs, and being voted Best International Resident by Londoners for his residency at The Gallery.

He is not however one to sit on his laurels. Asides from running his hugely successful Global DJ Broadcast radio show that reaches millions each week, he recently dropped his new mix album ‘Toronto 09’, and this May sees the return of his Dakota alias, which is his outlet for darker, deeper and more progressive sounds.

We caught up with Markus Schulz to find out more about his Dakota plans, how he feels about winning so many awards, and why he thinks he’s something of a trance underdog. He was also kind enough to put together a Top 10 DJ chart for us.

Check it all out after the jump!

It has already been a pretty phenomenal year for you so far. You just scooped Best American DJ at the International Dance Music Awards out in Miami and your latest mix album ‘Toronto 09’ has been well received. How are you feeling about everything?

It has been a pretty amazing year already, and we have not even gotten into the summer yet. I feel very lucky and very honored at all of the support that the fans have given me. 

It makes me work even harder knowing so many people enjoy and support what I do. This year I really decided to focus on my label Coldharbour and have fun in the studio doing some remixes. 

I’ve also just completed a new album under my monikor Dakota which is more clubbier than my normal artist albums.

Why did you decide to revisit the Dakota sound?

I just thought that putting out another Markus Schulz artist album this year was way too soon. 

Plus I really wanted to make some deeper clubbier tracks, and putting them out under the Dakota monikor made more sense because people’s expectations for a Markus Schulz album would be different. 

The Dakota album has no vocals on any of the tracks and each track will be a staple in my DJ sets throughout the summer. We have some amazing remixes being worked on at the moment.

Dakota was one of your earlier aliases, with releases in the late 1990s through to 2002. How would you describe the Dakota personality compared to Markus Schulz?

The Dakota sound has always been more progressive. Some of it is deep and more of a terrace vibe and other tracks are great club bangers.

I have not done any vocal tracks under the Dakota name. As far as personality, I think Dakota is a bit more introverted. He doesn’t want the light on in the DJ booth, he just wants to be anonymous and bang trippy tunes.

Tell us about the IDMAs, what was it like to win the award? What does it mean to you?

It was such a huge honor, I have been going to WMC for over 15 years, and in those years I have met so many of my heroes that have given me the drive to do what they do.  To now be on the other side of that is unreal. 

I hope that some of the young kids that are coming to these events today become inspired and push hard like I did. 

The funny thing is I was actually nervous when I went up to receive the award.  That is something that I did not expect.  I mean I play in front of thousands of people all the time and to be nervous in front of just a few industry people was pretty ironic.

You were actually up against some pretty massive competition, with some big names in the category – Eric Morillo, Roger Sanchez, Dubfire, Danny Tenaglia – was that why you were nervous?

Yeah those guys are truly legends. Danny Tenaglia more than anybody has inspired me over the years. 

The cool thing is that Danny was inspired by Larry Levan, who I had heard so much about when I started DJing. 

Larry Levan inspired me even though I never heard him play in person. 

I was inspired by all the stories that I heard about how he created this vibe at the Paradise Garage. 

Now to be nominated alongside Danny Tenaglia, Dubfire (who also was touched by the Paradise Garage legacy), plus Eric Morillo and Roger Sanchez was amazing and an honor in itself.

Speaking about Miami, you played a gig at Aerobar and you also took over the main stage at the Ultra Music Festival. Two completely different events – how were they for you and which one really hit the right spot?

Both were amazing, but I have to tell you, Aerobar had a little something special to it.

Aerobar is very intimate with an incredible vibe, and a lot of producers, DJs, media and scene members scattered around the venue that night. 

One of the cool things about Aerobar is that it is right next door to the where Groovejet used to be. That was where I first heard Danny Tenaglia play. 

Those were special nights with an incredible vibe. I hope next year we can do another party at Aerobar to kick things off because I think that could be something very special.  My only concern was the soundsystem there.

‘Toronto 09’ is the fourth in your city-inspired series. What is it about the whole city theme that makes you want to create an album series?

Yeah every year I dedicate the city series compilation to a special city that has touched me. Toronto was a very easy choice because I have been playing there for many years now at Guvernment.

The club is amazing and the people that come out for the gigs are top notch.  It is a really close community of clubbers that I am very happy to be a part of.

What is it about Toronto that inspires you?

It’s definitely the club.  Like I said, it is an amazing venue. They have two major rooms and the Guvernment side has an incredible sound, light and laser system. 

The booth is on hydraulics so it can be raised up pretty high. What I really like is that late into the night, they make the lights darker and turn off the visuals screen.  It really feels like an afterhours party.

It really draws me to take the music down the rabbit hole. I mean when I play long sets, six hours or longer, I don’t like playing the same uplifting sounds the entire time. 

There comes a time when you just have to get a bit dirty and give them some grit. On the other side of the club is Koolhaus which is where they have big shows. When you play there you just go for it, bang it out. 

This compilation I think I was able to capture that dark after hours vibe as well as the peak hour big room vibe.

The last two years have really seen you rocket up through the ranks of and you’re now one of the most in-demand DJs in the world. How has your life changed?

It really hasn’t changed much. I love what I do and I have dedicated my life to music. I guess the one thing that is different is the number of gigs I do. Last year I counted 194 gigs. 

One of the key ingredients to your success must be your weekly Global DJ Broadcast radio show. What do you set out to do with each mix?

GDJB is the voice of the up and coming producers. It airs weekly with the World Tour show airing once a month. For the World Tour shows, I record one of my live gigs that I think the listeners will really enjoy with lots of crowd noises and interaction for the people at the event so the radio listeners can really get a feel for what the night was like.

The studio shows are a lot of fun because I love to discover new talent and give them a platform for the music to be heard. 

I try to make my mixes build from deeper and slower beginnings to more uplifting towards the end.  I have guests twice a month so that is also fun. 

I am such a fan of music and it is always great to invite somebody on the show and let them rock it out for a bit.

How many countries are you broadcasting in now?

At present, Global DJ Broadcast is on in 37 stations throughout the world.

You’re taking the show on a worldwide tour, what’s the response been from fans to that concept and where can we see that next?

Yes the World Tour shows I do every month are recorded from a different city each month. I really try to make the people at home feel like they are there at the party. 

The crowd noises and the big tunes make this show special. We just aired the World Tour Miami WMC edition and next month we will take the world tour to Poland. 

The Polish fans are some of the biggest trance fans in the world so I think it will be a really fun show.

Obviously you must have one eye on this year’s Top 100 DJs poll. Last year you roared up into 8th place – do you think you have what it takes to go higher in 2009 and why should you get people’s precious votes?

To be honest, I am just going to keep doing what I do. I have gotten to where I am at by just making and playing music that I love. 

I have been so lucky to have so many people be able to connect with this music as well. 

I don’t play your stereo typical trance, and because of that I have always been kind of an underdog when it comes to comparing me with other big trance DJs, but I guess that is what makes me different. 

I mean what other trance DJ out there has been inspired by Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage and Danny Tenaglia at Groovejet?

Markus Schulz ‘Toronto 09’ is out now on Armada Music.

Dakota ‘Thoughts Become Things’ is due out on Coldharbour Recordings in May 2009.

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