Genius production machine Matthias Meyer hails from the quiet town of Lueneberg, near Hamburg, Germany. As a young, excited music lover the hi-tech sounds of Detroit and Chicago spoke to Matthias and encouraged him to seek the excitement and hustle of nearby Hamburg’s creative hub diverse club scene. From here he the let music take control, actively promoting this newfound scene in his local towns with the Sfunkt DJ collective, organising parties that would bring the electronic message to an otherwise dance-less area. For Mathhias the groove is the most important thing. He doesn’t rush his music, rather he spends as much time as is needed perfecting his art. For this reason he will always remain ahead of the pack! A true artist & creator so that when his music is experienced its guaranteed to never be forgotten. Jenja has one huge birthday weekender up there sleeve spearheaded by Hamburgs finest. Check out the interview ahead of a show thats #recommended.
Where are you based and what have you been you up to lately?
I grew up in a small village between Hamburg and Hannover but now I am living in Hamburg. It’s a great city to live in. I also have my studio here together with Patlac, my best friend. Quite happy that I am done with my Watergate mix CD and some remixes. Now it’s finally time to work on new and fresh tracks.
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the name Watergate?
As a guest I would probably say that LED ceiling, the great terrace on top of the water and the great lineups. As a family member I would say the people who are working there are really important. All are super cool, friendly and professional. And of course I like the club too, especially the sunrise moments on the water floor. Warmup at the main floor is also pretty cool.
How long have you been resident at Watergate and how did you first hook up?
That’s a long story. I did a track for Lee Jones Watergate Mix CD 07 back in 2010 and he invited me for the release party. Afterwards I also had some gigs with my other home label Liebe*Detail there. In 2012 they asked me for an exclusive track for the Watergate X compilation. I gave them “Fallin” and it was quite popular. A few months later I did another remix for Lee Jones – A Perfect Kick, I think that was the time when they asked if you wanna join the Watergate family. That was one of the best moments in my career!
https://soundcloud.com/matthias-meyer
Dance music is bigger than ever – do you have any predictions for the scene in 2016?
Yes dance music is big but I have nothing against it, I think it’s good for everybody. More clubs, parties and people who are listen to our kind of music. Around 1995 was also a big hype about electronic music.
Without that hype in the 90s I would probably not sitting here and answer your questions…I grew up in a small village and we had no parties or record shops around us to discover electronic music. So we were lucky that electronic music was that big, it was at TV, magazines, radio. Without that hype in the 90s I would probably not sitting here and answer your questions. Let see what the future brings.
You’ve been picked to mix the 20th jubilee edition of the Watergate mix series. Quite an honour!
Yes, so happy to be part of this great compilation series and being #20 is even better!
https://soundcloud.com/watergaterecords/sets/matthias-meyer-watergate-20-ep-samples
How did you approach the mix, which happens to be the 20th installment of the Watergate mix series? How did you choose the tracks and why?
I tried to do it the same way as I like to play as a DJ, that means a mix of new stuff, old stuff and unreleased tunes. Plus I throw in some „Meyer classics“ as well, tracks I’ve been playing for years like the secret „Innervisions Orchestra Mix“ of Underworld. The tracks has to be groovy, House-y, emotional and need to have strings. I fucking love strings!
What is your personal Watergate anthem, the track which always makes you think of the club – or maybe only works there?
What I find interesting in my job as a DJ is how tracks work differently in each club, city, country or night. Sometimes the same track can work totally different at Watergate. It always depends on the vibe. But there is one track I heard and played a million times. It’s La Fleur’s „Nightflow (Kenny Larkin Remix)“. it’s not easy to play because it’s a 15 minute long journey but when you go to the toilette and come back, people are still screaming. Okay, it came out on Watergate Records, so maybe that’s why, too.
Which record never leaves your bag?
Probably that Underworld – “Crocodile (Innervisons Orchestra Remix)“, it is one of my all time favourite tracks. Besides that, all old Âme and Dennis Ferrer tracks are still in my bag.