With another chart topping hit, Oliver $ has proved his studio chops once again. He first burst onto the scene with "Doin Ya Thang," an infectious house groove with Moodymann's vocals layered over the top, which became something of a phenomenon, and has inspired copy cat versions many times over. This time around, his effort with Jimi Jules, "Pushing On," released on Defected, contains the same hook driven, soulful funk that pushed the Berlin born and based producer into the international spotlight initially. Just about to embark on a tour, and with plenty of Ibiza dates coming up, we caught up with Oliver to find out where it all comes from.
How did you first get involved with DJing and who were your early inspirations behind the decks? I started DJing because my cousin Jan Driver was already long time in the scene. He was my early inspiration as he taught me all the basics and I just started from there and started to develop my own sound and taste.
You achieved your very first number 1 Beatport track with "Doin' Ya Thing" in 2011. How did it feel to finally achieve your first number one Beatport track? It was the first track that got my name really out there, and I never thought it was going to go number one. Like with any other track, you never think about how well they’ll do, you just hope that people out there will like it and if it becomes a success like “Doin Ya Thing” did, then it’s just an extra bonus. But of course, when you work so hard and so long on something and it becomes a success then you feel all the hard work has paid off.
What were your original expectations for that record and how do you feel this has impacted upon the progression of your career up until now? It started of as just something that I created for myself and my DJ friends. More like a secret DJ weapon, then we thought, this could do really well, so we released it. Although it was a shock just how well it did!
Your latest release on Defected, "Pushing On" is currently number one on Beatport. Tell us a bit more about this record - what the concept was behind it and how did it all come together? I worked with Jimi Jules on the “Earl” EP for Hive Records last year, and we were both pleased with the result, so we thought why not work together again. We wanted to create something that was true to the core of house music but also include a jazz element, which is why we used vocals from the Quantic Soul Orchestra. We have a good work-flow together and we understand each other. Usually, I come up with the core structure and then he builds around it and so on.
"Pushin' On" also achieved five plays on five different shows last Friday. These included the likes of Radio One with Annie Mac, Pete Tong and Radio One Xtra. With such global exposure already, what else do you hope to achieve within the next five years? I hope to just keep on going as I have been, getting more recognition along the way and building up gradually. I’ll carry on doing as many parties as possible and spending a lot of time in different studios just doing what I’ve been so far.
So far, this year you’ve had extensive dates booked in the US as well as the UK, and are also currently working on a tour for Australia and South America. What are you most excited for whilst planning this tour and where are you most looking forward to performing? All dates are exciting! Every gig is different and I look forward to all of them. Every country and then city is different. It also depends on the night, so what type of party it is and who else has played – you get different vibes everywhere.
I understand you’ll be performing with Defected in Ibiza this summer. Do you have any details about that you can share with us? We’ll be celebrating Defected being 15 years old. Big parties with big line-ups full of great artists. There will be parties in Ibiza, Dublin, LA and also London that I’ll be playing at with MK, Noir and more.
Everybody has their favourite memories and parts of the island. What’s special about Ibiza for you? It was definitely my first-time appearance at Loco Dice’s Used+Abused party last summer. With Ibiza you know everyone just wants the same thing and that's to party and to have fun. The atmosphere and the hype is always huge there, so I'm always excited to go back.
Finally, if given the opportunity of a lifetime to work with any one artist in the world, who would it be and why? Stevie Wonder & Marvin Gaye. Both because of everything they've achieved and how they're each legends in their own right.