Swiss DJ and producer Deetron has been very busy lately! Touring, travelling and remixing his way around the globe, he can now add the esteemed fabric compilation to the list. As one of the longest running dance compilation series, fabric has set the bar pretty high by hosting some of the world’s best house and techno DJs and producers over the past 13 years. With an excellently curated mix of classic Chicago and Detroit cuts, contemporary UK music and techno, Deetron’s 'fabric 76' is definitely one of our favorites. We had a chance to catch up with him and chat a bit about his recent adventures, collaborations, favorite labels and plans for the future.
You've had a busy year so far, playing a number of festivals including Sonar and Contre-Temps, Electrogroove in France! Tell us a bit about your recent adventures. What are some highlights? Nuits Sonores in Lyon, WHP at the Albert Hall in Manchester, Amsterdam Open Air and Todd Terje’s night at Panoramabar were definitely some of the highlights. Furthermore, the energy at the Ushuaia opening was very impressive, too. All in all, the gigs have been great.
Earlier this month, you remixed No Artificial Color’s “Reach For Me.” It’s a great summer track and we've really been feeling it. How do you go about selecting tracks to remix? I’m glad you like it. After having heard a song, which I'm offered to do a remix for I normally decide very quickly whether I will be able to work something out or not. Very often it comes down to the vocals and if I think I can use them to take the original in a new direction, but sometimes it is a different element of a song that captures my attention.
You are no stranger to collaboration. Is there anyone you’d like to work with whom you haven’t yet? I think George FitzGerald would be a great guy to work with. We have already talked about it, if only we could finally get things moving forward.
You recently mixed the new fabric 76 compilation. Can you walk us through this process and your song selection? There’s a great mix of classic Chicago and Detroit cuts, contemporary UK music and techno. The song selection is the most time consuming part when working on a compilation as you very much depend on whether the tracks get cleared or not. I had a rather expansive wish list of favorite tracks of mine from many different genres and I did gradually narrow it down to what it is now and the selection, which makes most sense in my eyes.
You played the launch party this past Saturday at fabric with Craig Richards, Redshape, Will Saul, Terry Francis and Slam. Tell us about some of your most memorable fabric experiences. What do you love about the place? First of all. I love the DJ booth and the sound in Room 1. It’s almost like a little room by itself and provides for the best circumstances you could possibly wish for as a DJ. Furthermore, I really like the dark and plain setup and also the cavernous layout of the whole club.
What are some of your favorite labels of all time and right now? Daphni’s Jiaolong is one of my current favorites, 3024 is really cool and Studio Barnhus too, to name but a few. My all time favorite label is Motown, surprise, surprise.
Your summer is looking pretty hectic! Aside from travelling, what do you have on the agenda? I’ve got remixes coming up for FCL and Wallflower and the remixes for No Artificial Colors and Gorgon City have just been released. Furthermore I’ve got the first release on my own label ready to go and I’ll be able to announce details soon.