Emanuel Satie Interview

If you have a passing interest to what is happening on the underground tech house scene then you would already be aware of Emanuel Satie. The producer and DJ is based in Frankfurt, Germany and over the last 2 years he has earmarked himself as one to watch with sereos of releases which has seen him bothering dance charts across the world. More recently he spend a number of weeks on Beatport’s overall charts at number one with his edit of Late Night Tuff Guy’s ‘I Get Deep‘ remix. His music is released on labels such as Get Physical, Saved Records and Suara, and he is finally set to make his debut journey to Australia and New Zealand this August. We caught up with the rising star ahead of his tour…

You recently posted a video on your Facebook page of you back in the studio; what are you working on at the moment?
Haha yes, that day I was working on a remix for Riva Starr’s hit of last year „The Loft“. I absolutely loved that track, so I’m very happy I get to put my hands on it. It’s gonna come out on Cajual soon. Otherwise I focus on doing originals at the moment. I’m working on a lot of new stuff right now, I’m full of ideas and very eager to learn new things every day.

I hear you like to have intensive recording periods, which could see you spending 20 hours at a time working in the studio… Is that what you have planned for this release?
At the moment I don’t have time for these long long sessions unfortunately. I’m touring more and more and have to organize more and more things. So I exchanged these long sessions with very consistent shorter sessions. So I’m in the studio absolutely everyday I’m in Berlin and I also work with my headphones when I’m travelling. Took me some time to adapt to the new situation, but now I’m on a roll again. 🙂

It seems like you’ve got a busy Summer ahead of you, following on from what has been a non-stop couple of months. How have you found the time to dedicate to the studio?
For me it’s all about reminding myself what’s most important over and over. When touring more, it’s easy to forget what brought you there in the first place. It’a all these hours spent in the studio. So it’s important to make studio time a priority. First thing I do everyday is go to the studio, do my session and then take care of everything else.

Your releases have been highly acclaimed from critics all over Europe, such as Pete Tong who stated that your track “Private Show,” was probably his favourite bassline of 2015. Now, that’s a pretty big achievement! How do you react when people respond to your music like this? Does it put a lot of pressure on you for your future releases?
I love it! Especially coming from someone like Pete who is one of the most important tastemakers in my eyes. It’s a great feeling, after spending lots of time working on a track, seeing people react to it in a positive way. Yes it also puts pressure on you, you obviously want to do it again and again and again. For me it helps to not think too much while being in the „idea stage“ of the track and just trying to have fun. When you have a great idea going and it’s about finishing the track, then it’s time to use that pressure as a motivator to push the track until it fulfills it’s potential.

Even beyond your original productions, all of your remixes are doing astoundingly well, especially your recent Late Nite Tuff Guy edit which reached #1 on Beatport’s charts. What’s your process when remixing a track? Do you have a clear direction of where you want to take it when you begin?
Yes the #1 overall on Beatport was incredible. I never thought this was possible. When it comes to remixes I have a very direct approach. I just take the elements I like from the original and build a track around it that I would play in my sets. In the case of I Get Deep, I just used a bigger bassline, added heavier drums, a stab and made the arrangement more peak timey. Often times simplicity is key. 🙂

What is one track that you would love to remix, irrespective of genre or time that it was released?
Larry Heard – The Sun Can’t Compare. The vocal, that acid line…would love to get my hands on that.

I read that you started off as an intern at Sven Väth’s Cocoon before moving your way up to where you are now. What year did you start interning and what were you doing there?
It must have been in 2010. I worked there for 6 months as an intern for the label and the social media department. I took care of all things facebook and myspace (oh the good old days) and also helped at the label wherever a hand was needed. It was a really good experience, it was the first time I was surrounded by people that earn a living in the scene, which gave me the belief that I could do this myself. After the internship I cancelled all my day jobs and university and focused everything on my music career.

Growing up in Frankfurt, you would’ve been exposed to a number of elite producers such as Sven Väth and Chris Liebing among others; who were some of the artists from Frankfurt that you admired growing up?
To be fair, I didn’t grow up in Frankfurt. I was born there and moved there again when I was 21. I grew up in a small-town near Stuttgart in the south of Germany, where electronic music was not a factor. Only with 19 I discovered House and Techno. Sven Väth was a massive influence for me, but also Ricardo Villalobos and the young guys from the Frankfurt scene back then, Sascha Dive, Einzelkind etc.

You’re now based in Berlin, the city that is considered to be the unofficial capital of techno. Do you think that this makes it harder for up-and-coming artists to stand out and really make an impact?
Not at all. In Berlin you might be a small fish in a big pond, almost everyone is here, but since the house and techno scene is so international and the internet connects everyone everywhere, it really doesn’t matter how big you are locally. Global is what counts! Local DJs have quite a hard time in Berlin though. The competition is very high and very good on that level and the clubs don’t pay so well.

Your productions have taken you all over Europe, but this tour marks your first time to Australia! What have you heard of the Australian electronic music scene?
I’m very very excited to come to Australia! I heard a lot about the country, the beautiful nature, the friendly people and the club scene is pretty good aswell from what I heard. I’m eager to discover it myself now!

Do you have any plans for sightseeing when you get here – it’s going to be pretty cold!?
I will spend an extra day in New Zealand and a couple of days in Sydney, so yes, I will definitely get my winter clothes on and go for an adventure. As a German guy, I’m actually more afraid of your intense summer than your winter. 😉

Tour Dates
Friday 29th July: Revolver, Melbourne
Saturday 30th July: Neck Of The Woods, Auckland
Sunday 31st July: Our House, Launceston
Friday 5th August: Sugar, Adelaide
Saturday 6th August: Spice, Sydney