Hi GIGEE, thank you for joining us! How’s life for you right now?
Heeeey there! Thank you for having me 🙂
Excellent! Excited to be back on tour, loads of new music coming out, and my family and friends are safe and in a good shape. Life is good 🙂
You had multiple different interests in your upbringing and decided on a career in music. Was this a tough decision as a youngster?
As a child, I used to have a highway of ideas, that is very true. A blessing and a curse at the very same time. Although, music has always been a major part of my life since I can remember…. I always had the best tapes, vinyls, or CDs that everyone wanted to borrow from me haha, but as a kid, I was also very into sports, especially tennis and football. I was taking football seriously in particular, but due to a nasty injury the professional career obviously never happened, and you’d never guess I had anything in common with the sport before! So I guess I’m in the right place, and I don’t regret the path I’ve chosen. This is my passion, this is my destiny and I couldn’t love it more.
What challenges did you face when you began your career as a DJ/Producer and what was the ‘breakthrough’ moment for you?
Well, when I made my first track around 2011 I didn’t take it seriously (I still have it some place on my computer but I’m afraid to listen hehe). I’m harsh on myself and always strive to improve, even when it’s not needed. So it took me a while to really believe in myself and start to realise that I’m capable of making it in the music industry. Back in the days, It was more of a place for my innermost fantasies but somehow I managed to get myself together and try…then I tried once again and again and again, and after few years, after many rejections, self-doubts and more to eventually end up in the place where I am now. I would say it’s rather a process of cultivating the „get up and try again” attitude rather than a single breakthrough.
You’ve enjoyed excellent releases on the likes of Mobilee & Katermukke recently, two imprints who have consistently supported you. How did these relationships come about and what makes a great artist/label relationship?
Yes, I will be eternally grateful for their support. We started as strangers, and music brought us together, but I strongly believe there is no such thing as coincidence. After a few years of collaboration and getting to know each other, our relationship began to evolve in a variety of creative directions. I recently joined Kater’s in-house agency for the GSA region and couldn’t be more thrilled about our long term plans, not to mention mutual trust, respect, and unwavering support. All of that makes it feel like a second family:)
How do you feel your sound is evolving as you progress in your music career?
Electronic music is a hell of a sound spectrum. Not sure which moment should I call the „beginning of GIGEE sound” because I constantly have lots of new ideas that I tend to implement into new releases but maybe that is the way we should put it. I finally started to feel confident and happy with my studio work, my approach, and sound designing. Still experimenting but not too much as I now know where to put a dot and where my signature is. This is exciting but it was also a process that didn’t come overnight.
Who are some of your favourite music artists currently?
I still keep in mind my teenage time gurus, such as Paul Kalkbrenner, Carl Cox, David Guetta, Avicii and Vitalic, but I’ve learned to find inspiration in many different aspects of being a musician. There are so many new talents nowadays with astounding sound and strong personalities that it would be a shame not to acknowledge them. For example, I admire how Charlotte de Witte has evolved over the years. I am a huge fan of Joris Voorn’s sound, and I am constantly moved by Ben Bohmer’s melodies…
You’ve had some huge support across the music industry, including some recent BBC Radio 1 plays in the UK, have you had time to reflect on your success’?
Thank you! I’m really gratefull for this awesome feedback, that’s true. I had a wonderful dinner with my closest ones to celebrate the recent happenings but there is still a lot of work to be done, and I choose to prioritize that. Hopefully there will be a time to fully raise the glass soon 🙂
You also enjoyed your US debut in Los Angeles last month, how exciting was this and are there any other countries you hope to play at in the future?
Los Angeles and California in general hold a special place in my heart, so this was a highly emotional and extraordinary experience. Luckily I’m coming back in July for two gigs with The Fluffy Cloud – Burning Man crew, the first one in LA, the second one in San Diego. Should I mention that I caaaaaan’t wait for this? 😀
My bucketlist with spots and venues that I admire is constantly getting bigger and bigger. We don’t even have enough wine to start this conversation hahah :)))
What would you say has been the proudest moment of your musical career so far?
It’s hard to pick only one but I would say that I’m the most proud of being consistent and moving forward every year. Thinking about where I was 5 years ago and where I am now is motivating me to keep working and pushing my boundaries every day.
What else is coming up for GIGEE in the rest of 2022?
Hopefully busy touring schedule till the end of the year and I’m currently working on a new EP for one of my music mentors; I can’t announce it yet, but we expect to release it this fall. Then I’ll be doing few remixes for a well established label, but I’ll have to keep that a secret for a while as well – BUT – you’ll be the first to know:)
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