Artwork borrowed from a piece by Peter Roehr.

CF: how and where was this mix recorded?

The mix was done at home using Traktor while having a glass of fine spanish Rioja wine.

CF: having traveled recently to chile, what would you say are the most notable differences and similarities between the electronic music culture there and in germany?

I can only tell you about my personal view that comes from an impression of a 3 week trip. I think people in Chile are more open minded and curious when it comes to electronic music because they are not overloaded with it like people have been in Germany. It’s a small but very active scene and much more community-like. Also, the netaudio movement, with Labels like Pueblo Nuevo, Epasonidos and Impar, has done a great job for the whole culture there. Netaudio and digital music is very important there because there are no record shops and it’s difficult and expensive to buy records from overseas.

In Germany we have one of the biggest markets for electronic music where the whole thing is more commercial and business orientated. Many labels, artists, releases and promoters stay under pressure to be successful because of money. This is not very conducive for new concepts and ideas. Regardless, I really like what the people in Berlin have arranged with the netaudio festival; it’s a step in the right direction with a strong cultural adjustment.

CF: how different would you say it is to run a netlabel like tropic, as opposed to a digital label such as homemade?

As I decided to make a digital label, the whole business thing was new to me, so I learned a lot of new stuff – how to promote music and work in a more professional way as i did before with Tropic, because you need to act under pressure when investing money in something. I was very sceptic about a digital label – there are so many out there! but I think that quality will always survive in the jungle of digital labels.

With Tropic things are more relaxed and more open to different kinds of electronic music. It has been my baby for all the music I like to put out without needing to adjust to anyone else’s taste. It’s also a good chance for artists to reach a lot of people from all over the world. There are Tropic releases with 20.000 downloads – you’d never reach this huge amount of downloads with a physical or a digital (non-free) release.

CF: What do you normally listen to at home? which are your top three favorite albums ever?

I listen to a wide range of music at home. I love all the old stuff from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, older East Coast Hip Hop, some Punk and early nineties Rock, and some German music from artists like Gentleman, Clueso and Bosse.

Wow… top three albums – hard decision as there are some many goodies out there. So I’ll pick the most influential ones for me:

Nirvana – Nevermind
E-Dancer – Heavenly
Maurizio – M-Series

CF: What is your favorite thing about frankfurt?

Beside the skyline and the good sausages?! I like its multicultural mixture, the different faces of the city – fast and busy as it’s the financial center of europe and on the other hand the laid back areas like Bornheim and Sachsenhausen with lots of bars, little stores and markets. It has a good club scene with one of the best clubs in the world – Robert Johnson (it’s in Offenbach – but real close to Frankfurt) where I’ve had the chance to listen to a lot of good music there.

CF: What can we expect from d.soul and the labels you curate in 2010?

I’m working hard on my own release for Homemade, which will be released under my Elate moniker in summer if everything goes fine, as well as a new EP for Tropic with more quiet, melodic & experimental stuff. I also started a project with my chilean friend Hans Carstens and we are excited about the upcoming results. There will be a release on Homemade from Kitkaliittoo out of finland with a remix from Juno 6 coming up in May. On Tropic we will drop a compliation with guys from Chile and a new release of Markus Masuhr is still in the line. Busy times, man!