Okain Interview

He might have cut his teeth in Paris, but Okain's relocation to Berlin has been central to his success as a house producer. Cut from the same cloth as contemporaries like Point G or Jeremy Underground, his studied productions have found a home on labels including Tsuba, Gruuv and No Fit State. Recently he also celebrated the anniversary of his own Talman Records, just about to reach its fifth release.

Playing as part of the Berlin Berlin All Stars on Saturday January 21st, with Kater Kant and Sisyphos taking over the other rooms, we spoke to Okain to find out maore his various monikers, a formative trip to New York and what we can expect from his set at Egg.

Get more info and tickets here.

Paris seems to have produced a number of current house producers. What kind of influences did you pick up from growing up in the city?

When I was growing up in Paris during the '90s I was listening a lot of hip-hop, but also jazz, salsa, blues and rock because of my Dad and a great radio station called Radio Nova. Later when I was going out I got exposed to electronic music. The key DJs in the parties I was going to were Laurent Garnier, Didier Sinclair, Ivan Smagghe, Dan Ghenacia, John Thomas, F.E.X, Jef K, Jennifer Cardini, D’Julz…

Apparently you also went to study English in New York. How long were you there for? Did that experience also help shape the direction that your musical tastes took?

I went to work in a grocery store during a whole summer not far from New York, next to where my aunt was living when I was 16. I did pick up a lot of english but I got something even more important: enough cash to buy my first pair of turntables.

When and why did you move to Berlin? How has your adopted city embraced you and helped change your career?

Paris, where I was living before, is a very stressful city with expensive rent that makes it difficult for a musician to live and have a studio. When I started my career, Paris' electronic music scene was getting smaller and smaller. It was not the city it is today with a vibrant night life. So we had to travel to find some inspiration and naturally we went to Berlin. I started to go there regularly and then later I decided to move there. I feel like I am living in a lot better conditions to make some music everyday. Also, moving to Berlin made it easier for me to get booked there regularly and still today Berlin is one of my favourite cities to play.

You have a number of aliases: Samuel Thalmann, Lezar and Handycraft. Can you tell us about the difference between them? Samuel Thalmann is your real name, right?

Lezar is a series of three white label vinyls I initiated in 2009. Some tracks where produced by me, some by other great artist that remain anonymous. Handycraft is my collaborative project with Paul Ritch. The first release came out ten years ago and we might bring it back some day. Samuel Thalmann is my real name and I used it for some releases that are a bit rougher and harder, like the ones I did on Alljacks and Hypercolour. I will use the name again sometime in the future. I also recently did a gig under this name. I have a new alias going on at the moment. The first EP came out a month ago and the new one is coming out on January 21st. I want to keep it a bit mysterious for now but I can give you the first five letters: Andre...

You started your own label Talman Records a year ago. Is it purely for your own music?

For now I am the only artist on Talman Records, but I might release some music from other producers. Since the label is starting to work nicely I am getting a lot of demos. The label is not always vinyl only. The first release on Talman Record is available digitally everywhere, but the last three remain vinyl only.

We've just started a new year. Do you have any goals or resolutions that you've set yourself?

Yes! Eating more healthy and run more kilometres.

What do you have coming up in 2017 in terms of releases or other gigs that you're looking forward to?

Release wise I have the Talman 05 ready and I am finishing my release for inFuse, the sister label of Fuse from London. I also did a remix for Outstrip on their new vinyl imprint, which is coming out soon. Gig wise I am looking forward to play for the party at EGG, of course, and I am pretty exited about the a=Asian tour coming up this winter.

What three tracks sum up what you're likely to play at Berlin Berlin on Saturday January 21st.

Oshana – 'Arcadia'

Lee Burton - '15.30 (The Jam)'

Okain - 'Next Friday'