Contributing Writer
Hey Intaktogene, how are you? What’s been good in 2025 for you so far?
Hello! A little tired, otherwise good. I think my personal highlight was moving house quite recently, first time living alone so that’s quite a change and given the Berlin housing market it’s just short of a small miracle…
What impact and influence does being in Berlin have on your sound?
I am not so sure it actually does. If anything Berlin can be a huge source of distraction, as there is always something to do, always someone to see. And because it has become so popular it has become so full and hectic. I actually find I need to take time away from it more and more to not get overwhelmed by it.
At the same time all the reasons I just listed for distraction can be an endless source of inspiration, the contrasts, the bustle, the clubs, all the different things to do.
You play drums, guitar and cello. How much do you draw on that when producing?
Lots, I think you can also hear it very clearly in my productions, firstly because there are always some epic breaks with sweeping melodies (often actually strings or cello) and then a big drop with full drums. I like to sneak breakbeat drums into my breaks because I love my beats to change and be groovy.
On my profiles it says ‘Musik mit Herz und Wumms ‘ Music with heart and oomph’. So melodies that touch your heart and a beat that makes you dance. Which reflects my musical beginnings quite nicely (cello came first, second the drums…).
It also means I do things you’re “not supposed to do”. Like key changes 🙂 I had no idea until someone told me that that’s not very common in electronic dance floor music (makes mixing it harder for sure).
How and why did you end up in the prog world? Why does prog excite you?
I ended up there without realizing that I did. I just wanted to play the music I didn’t hear enough in clubs and then I wanted to produce it. I only found out later it’s called progressive house when I started checking the genre tag behind the tracks I was playing 😀 I don’t come from electronic music at all and only accidentally ended up in this space so the genre jungle has always been a bit confusing for me.
I honestly stopped looking at genres most of the time. Their definitions seem to change constantly and get more fragmented as well as everyone having their own personal definitions on top of that too. At the end of the day: if it makes me feel something and makes me wanna dance that’s what it needs for me.
What are your aims when djing – to educate, amaze, inform, blow minds or help people escape?
I think one of the most beautiful moments while Ding is when a whole dance floor full of very different people from very different backgrounds and walks of life is feeling the same for just one moment. If we had more moments like that where we all feel the same and enjoy that moment, I think we’d have a lot less problems. So I try to create those moments.
And what’s your dj style? How do you approach your mixes, do you use.effects and loopers, or do you prefer to let the tunes speak for themselves?
Definitely the latter, I think mixing/DJ style also strongly depends on genre. The type of progressive house I play is sometimes verging on being overproduced. The tracks are super full with so many layers and huge synths it often really doesn’t need anything else on top of that. I also like the idea of not having a safety net. If I fu** up a transition, that’s what it is. I don’t loop at all, so I can’t conceal it and can’t save it 😀 but that’s what makes it exciting really to get the timing exactly right to layer two tracks going into each other. The only effect I use is a high pass filter to make the huge (and let’s be honest bordering EDM) build ups and drops even more exaggerated and create more tension.
What inspired you new EP on Indiskret? What was the aim with it, where and when did you write it?
I wrote all of the tracks separately and at different times so I’ll break it down to each track.
Sunday Morning:
Got ghosted, got drunk, got creative and finished the track pretty much in one session 😀 I can’t pretend it was more glorious than that.
Serendipity:
This also got created during a tough time. Nothing romantic or anything, but there were just some not nice things happening in my life so it was a way of coping and finding some outlet.
So those are the two tracks that came out of some pain & suffering, which I think is often when a lot of the best music’s written (which in itself is a very interesting thing to think about and discuss but would go beyond the word count here :D).
Time To Heal:
The label had the idea for a B Side that’s not my usual style, and I loved that as there is SO many different kinds of music I love and would love to dabble in. So that’s how “Time To Heal” came to be. Funny that that’s the track with the Heartbreak & Struggle lyrics even though the other two were created in that sort of headspace.
What are some of the key tools in your production setup? Are you hardware or software focussed?
I vary depending on what feels right or what mood I am in. But lately it’s been more software focussed. In the past I’ve recorded my guitar on tracks, used synths etc and I did record the vocals to Sunday Morning myself so it really comes and goes depending on the track and vibe.
What else have you got coming up this year?
I have a release on 3000GRad in August and another one on SNOE sometime later this year and am looking for a home for some more tracks.
Intaktogene EP “Serendipity” is out now on INDISKRET BERLIN Records
Grab It Here
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