Interview: Emanuel Satie Discusses Australian and African Travels Plus New Music…

Emanuel Satie has always been in love with dance music. Studying music in his home city of Frankfurt, and moving to Berlin to undertake an internship at Cocoon Record label, Satie is a self-taught disc jockey/bedroom producer whose immense talent didn’t keep him grounded for very long. His debut EP ‘Fervent’ was a powerhouse introduction into the world of deep house and techno and opened up many doors to the successful career he holds today.

Winning the title of Best Producer under the 2016 DJ Awards, and with a string of releases on notorious labels Get Physical and Moon Harbour, his most recent EP ‘Addis Ababa’ is a powerful dancefloor-ready project that infuses world rhythms and instrumentation with infectious deep house characteristics. Currently in Australia for a series of dates, we caught up with the artist for a very good chat…

This won’t be your first visit to Australia, in fact, you are a regular visitor. What about Australia do you always mention to your family and friends if they ask you about the country?

First off, Australia is one of my favourite places on earth, over the last 3 years I developed a special relationship with the country. When I speak to friends and family obviously you have to mention the animals. It’s funny, even European adults are very keen to hear about koala‘s actually being high all day and how it feels like to cuddle a kangaroo. More importantly, I like the easy-going mentality and the nightlife, the raves in the bush, clubs like Revolver, which is one of the best clubs in the world for me but also the smaller places, the bars and restaurants with dance-floors, it‘s madness what‘s going on in those.

It seems like 2018 has been another very busy year for you, what has been the highlight for you so far this year? 

It‘s usually impossible to pinpoint one and usually, I give a broader answer, but this year my highlight by far was my ‘Addis Ababa’ EP on Crosstown Rebels. I went to Ethiopia recording local musicians and video footage of those studio sessions, the music and documentary came out this October. To be honest, I didn‘t expect the amazing feedback I got, so many people talking to me about the documentary, and also the tracks were played a lot and did well in the charts. It‘s very rewarding when you take a risk, do something different and it works out in the end especially when your heart is so much in it like on this one. There were many other highlights though, like the release of my track ‘Don’t Forget To Go Home’ on Rebirth, Sven Vath picking it up for his yearly Ibiza compilation, and talking about Ibiza, my Ibiza season was another highlight, debuting at Amnesia and playing Ants at Ushuaia and Black Coffee at Hi again.

Your new release on Crosstown Rebels, ‘Addis Abeba’ is sensational. You took inspiration from your travels in Ethiopia to create that dance floor bomb. How long were you there for and what inspired you the most about that country?

It was an Africa tour that consisted of 3 days in Cape Town, 3 days in Angola, and finally 3 days in Ethiopia. Only a short time, but a very impressive one. The general vibe of the city was an influence that went into the EP, but most importantly it was the musicians we recorded. Their energy was instrumental for the tracks. I have never seen people performing so effortlessly and natural. It was a lot of fun.

You ended up in the recording studio with Ethiopian singers Endalk and Wude which sounded like it was a lot of fun! How did you end up meeting all those local artists? Did it just happen while you were there or was it all organised before you arrived?

It was all organised way before, which was not an easy task. You have to imagine that the traditional musicians in Ethiopia, called Azmari, are travelling from village to village every day, so it‘s not easy to get a hold of them. Therefore kudos to the promoters Choo Choo and Nitay who made it happen. Even more so since it was New Year’s Day when we recorded. We‘re double thankful to have gotten them on the day that people like to work the least in the year.

Earlier this year you mixed a get Physical compilation which, if we are not mistaken, were your first DJ compilation CD? How did you find that whole process?

Yes indeed it was my first DJ compilation and it took me over a year to get it done. The first idea was to do edits of my favourite tracks of all time and then make a mix out of it. I always want to push the envelope. (BTW one of the edits for Laurent Garnier‘s ‘Man With A Red Face’ you can find on my Soundcloud). Unfortunately, we realised quite soon that it was very difficult to clear them, so I had to change up the whole concept again and use unedited tracks instead. The goal was to do a mix that reflects our zeitgeist but is still timeless enough to work in 10 years, that you can listen to chill or make love too, but also to dance to while cooking or warm up for the club at home.

What other releases do you have lined up this year?

I‘m very happy to have another track on Crosstown Rebels lined up. It‘s called ‘Fade’ and features my dear friend the singer Nanghiti. The feedback is already very good. Same goes for the last release of the year, my remix for Sabb‘s hit ‘Jeopardize’. For months now it has been turning heads where ever I play it and I’m looking forward to finally put it out. Up next are EPs on Knee Deep in Sound and a collaboration with Pete Tong on Saved, and there‘s so much more music in the vault. 2019 is gonna see a lot of Satie releases.

And what is the most essential tour item for you that you never leave home without?

My MacBook and aspirin.