Elodie & Thompson are doing what many DJs only dream about: Right now, they are spending their summer in Ibiza to get behind the decks of the local clubs.

I was lucky to catch them for an interview during a short visit at home in Germany. Here’s a DJ set from them – I could very well imagine enjoying that sound at the beach at night…

“Playing in Ibiza is different than playing in Germany. Of course, you also have a lot of party people in Germany, but the attitude is different. In Ibiza, you see the happiness on people’s faces, they really seem to shine. It’s rare to see that in Germany.” (Elodie)

Being fascinated with the island for quite a while, Elodie & Thompson decided to spend the summer living off of DJing for the summer and taking a hiatus from their day jobs. While this might seem risky when you’re not already a superstar DJ, the two sound quite confident about their plan.

“I speak fluent Spanish, and that helps a lot in getting along with the locals. You might think it’s all about the tourists in Ibiza, but you can’t really achieve anything here without the locals. They own all the clubs, and they have their own networks. You have to get into those networks to be successful, and the first few days, we did nothing but run around, talk to people and give away promo CDs. Few give you paid gigs right away, but at least you get some opportunities and promotion gigs and that already helps.” (Elodie)

As a couple in and outside of clubs, they are unique in a business dominated by one-man-shows. Elodie & Thompson work and live together, and this seems to have a lot of advantages:

“It’s just so much more fun to play together. I had DJed alone before, but had not played for a couple of years because I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I used to. When we play together, we can complement each other very well. For example, when one of us has a bad night, we can still deliver a good set and one can push the other.” (Thompson)

“He is more of an artist than I am, but I guess I am the better manager. I just enjoy promoting us and our music, and I am also okay with playing gigs that are not 100% my style as long as the people there have a good time. As a DJ, there’s always a thin line between being an artist and being a professional entertainer, and walking this thin line can be a lot of fun.” (Elodie)

While they draw a lot of their motivation from the fun of DJing, they do have professional goals and are working on their career:

“Right now, we still have other jobs to keep us afloat. For example, I sometimes work as a light technician, and she works part-time for an online marketing agency. However, we do want to concentrate on making music and DJing, and we are working hard to be able to do that. We are thinking about a lot of things to push our career when we are back in Germany, but I think that our Ibiza experiences will definitely help us and we are also planning other things, like organizing our own parties, producing records and more.” (Thompson)

Tracklist:

1. Clan Destino — Cortado
2. Marcin Czubala — Dont need the sun to shine
3. Marco Effe — Caryllon
4. Federico Locchi, UGLH — No Category
5. Alex Niggemann — Deep Down
6. Saeed Younan — Analock
7. Carlos Sanchez, DJ Ray — Like

There is a flavor of electronic music that I had though of as “yet another sub-genre of house” for quite a while. I am talking about those slow grooving tracks between 100 and 120 BPM that incorporate elements of Disco, ethno grooves, Electro and Funk, among others. Some refer to that particular flavor as “Cosmic”.

Tim oS from Bavaria (southern Germany) promotes this sound together with the rest of his Beatz For Freakz crew, and he explained to me what is special about this sound and why it is so rare for someone living north of Bavaria to be familiar with this.

But let’s start with a DJ set by Tim oS so that you know what we are talking about here:

Tracklist:

1. DJ Luna – Soma Part II
2. Gorillaz – White Flag
3. Schoenrock – Jujube
4. Tim & Puma Mimi – Aquarium
5. Alternative Car Park – Jack Your Sorry White Ass
6. White Label
7. The Champ’s Boys Orchestra – Tubular Bells (Cosmic Mix)
8. JJ Cale – Ride Me High (Joakim Edit)
9. Kafka – Afro Innay (Golden Soul Remix)
10. Sabo & Uriel – Mi Tierra
11. DJ Ebreo – Balkan Tour
12. Sabo – La Negra Chula
13. Basement Freaks – Disco Life
14. Guem – Le Serpent
15. Amplified Orchestra – Dune
16. DJ Zeyhan – Discomatic (Enne Mix)
17. The Popular People’s Front – Arpin’ On (Hot Mix Live)
18. Lost ‘N’ Alive – Feels Like Love (Tiefschwarz Remix)
19. Afrobutt – Wunderbutt
20. Downtown Party Network – Days Like These

“The Cosmic scene is pretty much limited to Italy, Tyrol and Bavaria. I don’t know why, but it just hasn’t spread any further. However, where I live, you have various party crews who promote that style, and there is even quite a bit of competition.”

With its spacey and ethno-influenced soundscape, it is no surprise that those parties often take place in unusual locations and attract a hippie-esque crowd.

“We sometimes organize parties in clearings in the middle of the forest. We are a good team, so we usually have everything set up in little more than an hour, and the next morning it looks like we have never been there. Those parties are very unique experiences. I would also say that it definitely influences my sound and my track selection. It’s just very different to play outside in a forest under the starry sky than to play in a basement club.”

Tim started DJing with House music, but got in touch with Cosmic sounds through his DJ-colleague Zeyhan. While he still likes House music and other flavors of electronic music, Tim oS has found his personal style.

“This style is just perfect for me, and there really is no need for yet another House DJ. There are a lot of good House DJs around who do a great job. I still listen to different sounds, but I don’t understand why rather subtle styles like Minimal or Tech-House are so popular right now. I like it when a DJ set is very dynamic. It’s fine for me when there are times for both relaxed and excessive dancing during a party.”

Beatz For Freakz have also just launched their own record label. Their first release “Discomatic” is already available through all major download shops.

The next forest party will take place on May 22. If you live in the Munich area, check their website a few days before the party to learn about the exact location!

I recently visited Chris Summer in his studio in a small town near Cologne. We spent a fun evening together over a few beers and pizza, and of course we talked about and listened to a lot of good music.

I didn’t really do a formal interview, but over the course of that evening I learned a lot about Chris Summer, and I think this is worth sharing.

Talking about sharing: Here is a bangin’ DJ set that he gave me to share with you.

Tracklist:

1. Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT Remix) – Metric
2. Poison Lips – Vitalic
3. Don’t go – Puzique
4. Cheap and Cheerfull (SebastiAn mix) – The Kills
5. Look what you have done to me – Voodoo Chilli
6. En direct de la côte (Alavi Rerox) – TEPR
7. Almost Cut my Hair – Cassius
8. Easy Love – MSTRKRFT
9. Allthegirls ( Yuksek Remix) – Siriusmo
10. Gimme what you got (Pull the Trigger)[Alex Metric Mix] – Black Daniel
11. Nil By Mouth (Knightlive Remix) – Bag Raiders
12. Boys & Girls (Les Petits Pilous Remix) [feat. Dragonette] – Martin Solveig
13. Caller – Alex Metric
14. Escape – The Toxic Avenger
15. Sunburnt – Das Glow
16. Won’t You Listen To What The DJ’s Spinning! – Deee-Lite

Chris Summer is a really relaxed and friendly guy, and it is hard to imagine that the first party he organized ended in disaster:

“I was still at school, and I had organized a party for my schoolmates and some alumni. It seemed to go really well at first: A lot of people showed up, a band played, and everybody was in a good mood. I started my set at around 10pm, and I hadn’t even played my second record when a few idiots started a fight and I had to stop the party.”

This disaster didn’t remain the last in Chris’s DJ career: Fire extinguisher abuse, broken arms and retarded drugheads are just a few of the obstacles he encountered at parties. However, his love for music kept driving him and with more than 10 years experience in DJing and producing, Chris Summer certainly knows what he is doing.

“I got hooked to electronic music in the early 90s, but I have tried out lots of different styles since then. For example, I was the DJ and beat producer for a HipHop project for quite a while. I really liked turntablism, but my beats were always a little too electronic for the MCs, and their vocals were a little too much gangster-style for me. I even produced the music for a cinema ad once that  ran nationwide, but I always kept coming back to electronic music.”

Apart from a few commercial releases and remixes, Chris Summer is an active member of the Creative Commons (CC) community. The idea behind Creative Commons is to release music under a license that makes it legal to share and build upon those releases.

“I stumbled over the CC community when I was looking for some nice vocal samples. I was surprised how much great material you can find, and I think that CC releases are a great way to connect and promote yourself. For example, I had very positive feedback on my CC releases from all over the world, and it really blew me away to know that people from Australia or the USA liked my stuff and even played in their radio shows. However, I still release some of my music under commercial licenses. Being a multimedia producer, I just have to live off of something, and if I put in a lot of effort into producing a track and do commercial mastering and all that, I just can’t give it away for free.”

Even though Chris clearly enjoys DJing, he wants to focus on producing music in the near future.

Apart from an upcoming release on Puuhh Records, his network and experience seems to start paying off.

“I got to know some really great musicians, and I am planning remixes and productions with them right now. For example, I got to know a really great singer from a Cologne-based Rock band. She is used to a totally different style of singing than what you hear on most electronic music releases and I think this could become a very interesting collaboration.”

I got to know Madame Summit through an online forum that we both are members of. She was looking for like-minded DJs, and it turned out that we did share quite a few views on how good music is supposed to sound like.

Asking her to do a feature for Sweet Headache was pretty much a no-brainer, and I am happy to present an exclusive DJ set by Madame Summit:

Tracklist:

1. T.Raumschmiere – 111 kg DNA
2. Zoot Woman – Lonley by Your Side
3. Datarock – Robots in Disquise
4. Punks jump up – Dance to Our Disco (headman club mix)
5. Le Tigre – After Dark (Morel’s pink noise dup mix)
6. Zombie Nation – Worth it Part 1
7. The virgin – Rich Girl (le castle vania’s rmx)
8. Reverend & the Makers – Silencee is talking (Alex Metric rmx)
9. Bloc Party – One More Time (Alex Metric rmx)
10. Miike – Animal (Fake Blood rmx)
11. Gossip – Heavy Cross (Yuksek rmx)
12. Malente – Music Forever
13. Justice vs. Simian – We Are Your Friends
14. Fakebeat – Jellyfish
15. Plastique de Reve – Lost in the City

“I started as an Indie Rock DJ in 2007. I had organizied a party back then, and the DJ I had booked for the event didn’t show up. I didn’t want to cancel the event, so I just took over, and people really liked it. That got me interested in DJing, and I started applying for other parties and clubs after that.”

While Indie Rock was her first love, it didn’t stay her last. Madame Summit is still well-known for great guitar-tunes, but also got a taste for electronic music, especially Indietronic or rough distorted electronic sounds.

“I had this vision of really mixing songs into each other, but that doesn’t work too well with most Rock songs. However, I found most typical Techno tracks too boring, so I am glad to have found a kind of music that’s in between Rock and electronic music. I just like to have different styles in a set. Most Indie DJs just stick to a certain style, but that would be too boring for me.”

Having found her very own style, she also likes to combine different genres in a unique way. While most Rock DJs do not mix songs at all on the one hand and most electronic DJs try to blend tracks as seamlessly as possible, Madame Summit has found her own way of combining different genres.

“I do know how to mix songs seamlessly, but I sometimes find clearly audible breaks between songs interesting. I also like using samples to fill the gap between two radically different songs, like alarm sounds or dog bark. I love it when people stop for a second, listen and then continue dancing. Confusing people can be a lot of fun – both for me and for my audience.”

It’s no coincidence that she names The Prodigy, The Whip, MSTRKRFT and Boysnoize as her favorites. These artists also influence her beginning activities as a producer.

“I want to play music that makes people want to tear their clothes off. I am just starting to produce my own music, but this is definitely something that I want to pursue further.”

Madame Summit is a resident DJ at Blue Shell (Cologne) and Emergency (Münster).

I got to know Berlin-based DJ Tak^D at an online radio station where we both had a show. We got along quite well, and we noticed a significant overlap in our musical tastes. However, this was about two years ago, and we somehow lost contact after leaving that particular online radio….

…until a few weeks ago, he sent me a link to one of his DJ sets – and after the first few beats, I felt that I should feature him here.

First of all, here’s a DJ set that nicely shows his style:

Playlist:

1. Wiley – Never Be Your Woman (Hervé Re-work)
2. Crookers Ft Kelis – No Security (Bart B More Remix)
3. Michel Cleis Feat. Totò La Momposina – La Mezcla (Ant Brooks Remix)
4. Duck Sauce – Anyway (Original  Club Mix)
5. Kris Menace & The Dream – Walking On Lightning (U-Tern Blend)
6. Funkerman feat. I-Fan – Sexy People ‘Rock You Tonight (Funk`d Up Remix)
7. Remady – No Superstar (Original Mix)
8. David Guetta Feat. Kid Cudi – Memories (Jp Candela Remix)
9. Nanchang Nancy & Prok & Fitch – Walk With Me (Axwell vs. Daddy’s Groove Remix)
10. Spencer & Hill – Haunted House (Original Mix)
11. South Street Player – Keeps
12. Timbaland Ft. Justin Timberlake – Carry Out (Luffy Luf Dance At Night Mix)
13. Jean Elan – Killer (Jean Elan Mix)
14. Jean Elan – Serious (original mix)
15. Röyksopp – The Girl And The Robot (Jean Elan Remix)
16. Spencer & Hill – Heads Off (Original Mix)
17. Riva Starr – Maria

“I just like to dig a little deeper than others and be more daring. I really like it when a DJ set consists of many different styles, but you don’t hear that very often in clubs.”

Tak^D has certainly learned a thing or two about digging for music over the last few years. Even though he lives in one of the most culturally vibrant cities in Europe, he still finds it hard to find a club he really likes.

“It’s very rare that more than one style is played at a party. Many DJs only do that when they are playing a radio set, not in a club. When I play at a party, I never limit myself to one style only. However, I always try to play both tracks for music nerds as well as normal party people.”

With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder that he gathers inspirations from all around the world. While Minimal Techno is still a very dominant style in many German cities (including Berlin), it often helps to look at what is played in other countries.

“A friend of mine introduced me to Grime, and I really got into this whole UK style. I also like to listen to DJ sets from around the world. For example, the BBC Radio 1′s Essential Mixes are often very good. I also listen to a lot of current french stuff like Kitsuné or Ed Banger.”

You can hear DJ Tak^D at the Carnival of Cultures Parade in Berlin on May 23rd.