Interviews
Deep sounds, chic grooves, busy schedule and debut LP; we spoke to Kolter
German DJ and producer released 'Endless Explorations Pt. 3 via Berg Audio
Kolter's 250,000 monthly listeners on Spotify are just one consequence of the prolific way this DJ and producer handles his creations.
Stage name of the German Johannes Kolter, now he uses his surname instead of DJOKO, an alias he had before and which consolidated him in the scene.
With this transition, Johannes maintains his authority across the international scene, goes deeper into sonic territories like minimal and preserves his appreciation for deep sounds.
The release "Endless Explorations Pt. 3" translates Kolter's artistic expertise very well, and is also his first full-length album, promoted by the Berg Audio label.
About to complete a decade of tracks released to the world, the artist connected with friends with a common passion for dance music to launch the label HOOVE.
From performing at DC-10 and Tomorrowland to being supported by the iconic BBC Radio 1, the positive response from both the scene and the public to his musical pyres is evident, which has packed Kolter's schedule.
A very nice person, we talked to him to present a bit of his "Kolterverse" and, mainly, to comment on this achievement of debuting an LP.
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Thanks for speaking with us today, Kolter. Congratulations on releasing your debut LP. How did this series come about with Berg Audio?
Of course! Thank you very much for having me. I met the Berg Audio label boss back in 2019. He contacted me via Facebook to sign an unreleased track of mine called "In Favor", after seeing Chris Stussy play it at Sash, in Sydney. Being a fan of his label, I was really happy to have him ask for a full EP.
After contributing to one of the label’s well regarded compilations with my track "Lazarus", I worked on some more music and finally completed the first EP, "Endless Explorations".
We kept exchanging musical ideas and when he heard some more good material, the idea of a follow-up EP quickly came about.
The name of the first EP basically screamed for another part of the exploration. With the last one we wanted to close that "exploration" chapter and make it a nice trilogy.
The extended format (LP) allowed us to showcase a little more of what is happening in the studio.
How do you feel about this work now? Is releasing an LP something you had in mind for a while?
It feels awesome to be able to work on something which shows a bit more than the usual dance floor oriented tracks, especially since the label owner has the trust in showcasing something that you maybe wouldn’t see on the label in the first place.
I think every artist is looking forward to releasing a fuller music concept throughout their career at some point.
The album explores some deep themes. Is it important for you to have that balance in your sound? When you're producing, do you set out to prepare yourself for a particular "vibe" or do you let the process flow and see what comes out of it?
It always changes. Sometimes there is just the urge to try out a new instrument or method. Then there is the urge to recreate a certain feeling that another track gives me.
If it happens to be something deep at that time, it will almost certainly end up at Berg Audio. So I just try to go with the flow, without any specific labels in my mind while creating.
I love imagining myself in certain life situations when I work on tracks. A lot of times playing some video games from my childhood, like Zelda or Sport Games (Tony Hawk, SSX Tricky etc.). Then, I love to see if it would fit that particular game’s background music.
You've been on the road a lot, playing in London, Amsterdam, Ibiza, Barcelona, Berlin and, of course, Cologne. When you're traveling, do you feel influenced by the countries you visit and does that make you play differently? Do you have any favorite places to play?
Yes, definitely. I can’t really pick a favorite in terms of crowds because they are all different in a good way. In the UK, for example, I feel a lot more openness to breakbeat and garage vibes. After all, it is the place where this kind of music originated from.
France, in my opinion, always appreciates the more deep, synth-laden vibe in tracks. The Rhodes piano seems to be a winner for frenchies and I’m really happy about that, because for me it’s the same.
I play differently depending on the country I visit, but I always keep on testing out stuff where I’m not sure what the reaction is going to be. If something fails, I usually try to rescue the situation a bit with one of the methods described above or something which worked really well in the past already.
Your label HOOVE has had a huge impact since it was launched. What have been your personal highlights on the label? And what about the events you lead?
The whole project started with 11 friends, but after a few years, HOOVE is now composed of four protagonists who know each other for quite some time now, and who constantly share music with each other and host parties in our beloved city, Cologne.
Some of us moved away genre wise or location wise. It’s only during the Covid crisis that we extended the event series into a label. So far, we only had 3 vinyl releases.
It’s not much, but we are super happy with every single one of them. One could say we want to keep the quality high but to be honest, it can just be a pain in the ass to curate a release with 4 people (haha).
Is there an artist you would love to feature on your label?
Not particularly. Of course, if we meet someone cool and that person is sitting on some unreleased fire, we wouldn’t hesitate to put it out.
But we don’t want to force it.
For example, we have no fixed schedule. If it means there is not going to be a release for another year, so be it.
Can you tell us what you have envisioned for 2023? What are you already working on?
I just changed my artist name to open up a new musical chapter for myself. That goes along with a label I created, called Koltrax. A couple of EPs are already sitting in the pipeline, waiting to be released in 2023.
They are also going to be available on vinyl and with the current pressing times, it’s pretty hard to handle. There are a few remixes finished as well for Kitsuné Musique and Jamie Jones’ Hot Creations.
Apart from that, a Japan tour is planned for March, which I’m really looking forward to. Japan was always on my bucket list!
Many readers are starting a career as producers, or thinking about launching their own label. What tip would you give to those just starting out in the industry?
Use the power of Soundcloud and Bandcamp. At least that was the best thing that happened to me. With Soundcloud you have the ability to just put out any sketch that you’re working on. Use it as a diary for your productions if you’re just looking to sign something on a label. If the music is good, labels will find you.
On the label aspect, Bandcamp just gave everyone a whole new perspective on handling releases. Most of the time you are really happy with what you did, but you maybe don’t find the right labels that want to release it. With Bandcamp, you can be the director of all this yourself: do your own artwork, create your own story around it and just put it out for people to buy.
Technically, there is so much on the internet that helps you get started with any DAW, so just do the research on it. If you need a kickstarter for all this, a lot of good producers out there opened up their own production lesson platform.
Finish by telling a track that inspired the decision to create the LP.
The track that really made us think about growing the EP into an LP is the track "Eternal". Not only because it breaks the 4x4 rhythm of the other tracks, but because it was just different in comparison to the others.
Also, I initially didn’t think of it as really special, I just wanted to have the LP rounded off. But with time it really grew on me and I learned to love it the most. I feel represented by this track really well.
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