In the rush of the 90s, Mac-Kee organized his first own parties in the East of Germany and started to DJ himself at the same time. As a DJ and resident of various clubs around the city of Leipzig, which have long since closed, he is one of the pioneers of East German techno culture.
Until today he keeps his love for the scene and now plays his own tracks exclusively live. His output, which straddles garage, house and tech-house, has been released on labels like Esuoh, Moon Harbour and 3000Grad.
Connect with Mac-Kee on Soundcloud | Spotify | Instagram
With Soul Pattern, he also successfully runs and develops his own label as a project of the heart, whose carefully selected releases are supported by many essential artists of the scene. At his live gigs Mac-Kee, with his various machines, always convinces with an intoxicating performance and uses the energy of the crowd again as inspiration for new tracks. His “Higher Love” EP is currently in the shops and we talked to Mac-Kee about house music, garage and his unique sound.
Hello Mac-Kee, thank you for taking the time for this interview. How are you doing these days?
Hey Claudio, with pleasure. I’m feeling very good. My new release is out and I’m spending a lot of time in the studio again building new tracks.
Let’s go back in time. When was the first time you had an electrifying contact with electronic music – was there an essential moment?
My first contact with electronic music was a long time ago. It was in the 90s when I first visited a techno party. I was immediately fascinated. After that, it was clear to me that this music would accompany me throughout my life.
It was clear to me that this music would accompany me throughout my life.
And how did you evolve in sound, technology, etc then?
I was influenced by many styles of sound. From techno to dub, reggae, hip-hop and of course house, there was almost everything. My productions were very simple at the beginning, although I had endless possibilities with software like Ableton.
But that restricted me more than it helped me. Over time, I started using more and more hardware, which stimulated my creativity a lot.
In terms of sound, I learn a lot over time and so my productions today have a completely different aesthetic than they did years ago. I know how to achieve a certain goal.
In general, what characterizes your musical style?
For the past few years, I have been producing mainly house music and working my way through the sub-genres. It’s important for me that all my tracks always retain a certain rawness and have a somewhat reduced sound.
How has your music influenced other artists, musicians or life in general?
To what extent I have influenced other artists with my music I don’t know – I hope it has. But of course, I always try to inspire others for house and to bring this music closer to them.
What were the milestones that brought you closer to achieving your dream of being a producer and live act?
Originally I was a DJ. At a certain point, I stood in the club and realised that I was no longer satisfied playing music by other artists. At that point, I stopped DJing and started producing. Of course, I wanted to release my productions and the next logical step was my first label, which was later followed by Soul Pattern.
Little by little my live set developed and the basis for performing as a live act was given. That was a very long process because I never wanted to play a finished live set, but each show should be unique.
You recently released the beautiful “Higher Love” EP on your label Soul Pattern. Tell us about the creative idea and the upcoming collaboration with Albert Vogt, please.
Thank you. The Higher Love EP is the result of tracks I played live. I almost always create my music sketches on my live equipment and test them live on the audience alone or with Albert Vogt. Only when I am satisfied with the effect on people do I finish producing the tracks in the studio.
With Albert Vogt’s track, it was different. Albert came with an old demo that we wanted to re-record. The track “Lowcut” was then our anthem at our live performances for a very long time. That’s why the track absolutely had to be on the EP. The EP should convey something happy, positive and of course my love for house and garage music.
When working on music is the dance floor always something you keep in mind? Or does a certain vibe or flow sometimes transcend that?
I have to admit that I think very strongly about the dance floor with almost every new track. That’s also because I want to play my tracks live.
But sometimes I also produce tracks that would hardly work on the dance floor, like the tracks “Be My” or “Break My Mind”, which were released on Dapayk’s Sonderling label. In principle, however, I don’t want to limit myself in my productions and do what I feel like doing.
What do you have planned for next months, any new music or collaborations we should know about?
At the moment, Albert and I are spending a lot of time in the studio again and developing new ideas. His vocals should definitely become even more present in the productions. There will definitely be something new here very soon.
But also the collaboration with a very talented keyboarder will produce new tracks, which we are really looking forward to.
Thank you.
