Exclusive Okain Interview

Egg London caught up with Okain and asked him a few questions on where it all began and what his opinion the music industry currently...

Egg London caught up with Okain and asked him a few questions on where it all began and what his opinion the music industry currently...

Firstly I would just like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions.

Who was/is your biggest influence in house/electronic music?

I have had different influences in Electronic music since when I began. Its difficult to name a single artist however Laurent Garnier, Mr G, Ricardo Villalobos, Jeff Mills and Kerri Chandler are to name a few.

How do you see the music scene in 5 years from now?

I think our underground Electronic scene is growing as a movement,  hopefully it will continue to do so. The more people become fed up of commercial EDM the bigger our movement will become. Hopefully resulting in the government understanding that clubs and festivals play an important part of our culture and we need their support. London, like Paris a few years back has reached a tough period but I have hope it will get better.

At the beginning of your career, you spent a whole summer making orange juice at a local store in Paris to save money, including this, what do you personally consider to be the most incisive moments in your career?

It was actually near New York. My aunt lived there and I moved there to learn English. This allowed me to buy my first pair of turntables. It’s difficult for me to recall all the incisive moments since I started quite a long time ago now, however I will say, that I really feel blessed to have had the opportunity to play in my favourite clubs including Egg during the course of my career.

How would you describe your style and what’s your favourite thing to listen to these days?

My style is always based on groove, soul and energy but I don’t restrict myself to a single genre. Playing house and techno to everything around it. I like to surprise people by creating a journey. Long sets are my favourite.

What can we expect from you in the coming year of 2016? Is there some interesting stuff on the way?

After 8 years, releasing on a lot of different labels I am finally starting my own imprint. The first Eps are coming very soon on both vinyl and digital. My new track on Saved Records and Disco Bass should be already out when this interview comes out.

How did you transition from listening to and playing hip-hop, to producing electronic music? 

The French touch became really big when I was around 14 with acts like Daft Punk this is what made me more interested in this genre of music. Soon after I started to go clubbing and was hooked very quickly. I still remember skipping school to go to see Laurent Garnier play at the Rex club.

Your first residency DJing was at such a young age in high school, what gave you that initial push?

Back then there was no Soundcloud so we were recording mix CDs and giving them to promoters, clubs and bar owners. One day a resident DJ was sick so a friend and I had the opportunity to replace him for a night. We did well and got the residency.

What advice would you give up-coming DJ’s?

My advice is work hard and be positive. Hating or being negative never gets you anywhere.

You are coming back to Egg London on the 19th of September, how was your last experience? Do you have anything special prepared for the night?

I cannot wait to be back at Egg, it is one of my favourite places to play. I always have a great time! I’ve prepared new music from my up and coming label as well as some records I’ve dug out especially, to play for this occassion.  

What are your current top 3 tracks and what track never leaves your playlist?

Current top 3 tracks:

Mr G - Music for All

D'julz - Houdini

Okain - Forward

Track that never leaves my playlist:

Steve Barnes - Cosmic Sandwich (Dominik Eulberg Rmx)

Catch Okain playing at DJ Mag Sessions on 19th of September:

Andrea Oliva
Paul Woolford
Okain
Adesse Versions
DJ Mag Allstars
The Willers Brothers
+ more TBA

Info & tickets HERE