Sibel Karabeyoglu chats with the chameleon of DJs.

What got you interested in becoming a DJ? Did someone influence you or did you start discovering it on your own?

I started at a very early age, 14 yrs old to be exact, and a neighbor of mine who was a DJ at the time, was also my mentor. He gave me tapes of pop and funk music. Around that time, I was legal to go to disco parties in Germany and for the first time I saw someone mixing turntables. The headlights, sounds, crowd, everything was mesmerizing, and I immediately took a greater liking to it.

 

You’re in many projects. What are the differences you feel as an artist when you’re working on a single of your own or a single within the project?

They’re both two whole different things. I haven’t done much solo work; I enjoy working in groups rather than working alone. It gets a little lonely working with computers and machines. Supermayer Project came around in my life at a time when I saw that making music with Supermayer was the way to go, it was more enjoyable. You gain more inspiration when someone else is around while you’re working; I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Music shouldn’t be about the work, it should be about the pleasure you gain from the process.

 

What about vocals? How do you choose who will do the vocals?

There aren’t many vocals in my songs. I’ve sang myself in a few songs, but I usually remix songs from other people so if there are vocals in the song already I keep them. With remixing, I look to see if I can improve something in the song, something to transfer it to the dance floor. I don’t like remixing techno tracks as much as I do pop songs. There’s more of a dance element in pop music. 

 
You’re going to perform here with Aksel Schaufler aka Superfitcher. Your project is called Supermayer. How did you guys come together and how did this project start?

We have known one another for quite some time now. When we first met, we were both making music on our own. After a short period it became a serious option to combine both of our talents. We moved into the N-1 studio (shared for 4 yrs) and then we really started to create music together. It wasn’t really a planned process. The first time we worked together was the remix with the Pet Shop Boys, which I was very happy about; it was a natural process and from that point onwards the music grew. I use liberation as my approach, which quickly made the whole process very imaginative; each DJ found their own planet of music fantasy, which we then later combined.

 

You run the label Kompakt with Wolfgang Voigt. What is the hardest part of running a label and what is the most fun?

The hardest part is the whole bureaucracy element behind it. It’s definitely an industry that looks more glamorous from the outside than it really is. The paperwork and legal work take away from the fun part. But we still manage to make it into an enjoyable process regardless. Things were easier when it was a smaller label but the more we grew into a bigger company the more there was pressure to provide the professional services a label provides. I really enjoy it, you know, building up this company. It’s a beautiful thing.

 

How do you decide to work with a new artist on your label? What is the decision process? What are your criteria?

Well, usually we receive about 100 demos a week, so it’s a lot of music to listen to but most of it doesn’t really appeal to me. We take a very personal approach to making music. There’s no rule, it’s a personal taste, we are looking for something very unique, not generic. I’m interested in the human element in the music, something that’s not just technical. In order for me to want to remix a song, or even like a song, I have to feel the person the behind the music.

 

What kind of a set does Supermayer have? What should the crowd expect from your performance?

Amazing, crazy things. When I play with Aksel we usually play back to back and that creates a different dynamic. Nothing is prepared, everything is improvised, so our music moves with the crowd’s mood. Depending on the crowd anything can happen (laughs).

 

What do most of your disagreements within the groups stem from?

There aren’t a lot of disagreements, we get along very well. It helps that we were friends before though. We don’t really have a need to argue, you learn to accept the other one as he/she is in a group.

 
If you were not in the music scene what would you be doing?

I have this imaginary list of things I will do when techno is dead, it’s a list that’s been around since 1995. When I feel everything is collapsing or I’m getting bored or there is no inspiration, I bust out my list and see what I could do. But it somehow always ends up turning into me making a new track (laughs). I could be a millionaire, but unfortunately techno isn’t dead yet.

What’s been your favorite album in the last couple of months? And what about of all time?                                                                                                            
There are so many. There is a Swedish project called ‘Jay Jay’, that’s very beautiful music. ‘Who Made Who’ from Denmark.  I can’t commit to only one it’s impossible. There are some albums I’ve listened to 1000 times and never get sick of and there are some that I listen to randomly and still get enjoyment out of. The Alan Parsons Project, Music for Airports, a classic piece like Symphony Fantastic by Hector Berlioz…

 
Have you ever been to Turkey before? What are your expectations about the city and the crowd here? What are you most looking forward to?

I’ve been to Istanbul about 4 or 5 times so far, so I’m expecting an amazing dinner before the show. I love Turkish meze, so I’m hoping there will be a lot of that at the dinner. I’ve had some amazing nights in Istanbul and I think this will be no exception. I’m also looking forward to having some more time to do the touristic things!

 

 *Michael Mayer will perform on 28 October at Ghetto, 22.00