Okain Interview
The Berlin Berlin All Star talks
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'