[photo by Aleksander Stoiljkovic]
If you were lucky and in the right place at the right time last year then you may have heard one of the great house tunes of 2009, Santé’s quite magnificent Dambalaa. An epic driving tribal number, its beautiful vocal and gentle piano are something that made it, for me at least, one of the tunes of the year. Released on Tiefschwarz’s Souvenir Records, Santé, real name Philipp Maier, had truly caught the attention of established DJs and clubbers alike with a very special track.
Given an early break by Matt Edwards and with a release on his Rekids label, as well as another recent EP on Souvenir, Santé has proved he is no one trick pony. His rolling, organic house sound, geared for the dance floor, has real pace, energy, depth and musicianship. With the superb Dambalaa he has set the bar pretty high – let’s hope he can keep up the good work!
How and when were you first infected by dance music?
It was a good friend of mine. He introduced me to house and techno music. He worked in a record store in my hometown and showed me every week the new electronic music releases - it started from A like Aphex Twin (Warp) to Z like Zip (Perlon). So I could get a nice overview about all music.
When did you start producing, and how long was it before you started making tracks that you were really happy with?
Even before I came to Berlin, I was working as a composer for films and TV commercials. So I started to work and live with my music very early. I have been always producing music since then. Making film music I started to work with Ali and Bast [Tiefschwarz] because they asked me to work with them for one job. And after this movie they asked me to work with them for a remix for Richie Hawtin. That’s how it started. Then after I played a live set in Ulm at Klub Knarz, Matt “Radioslave” came to me and asked for my last track in my set. So I gave it to him…Santé was born.
What have been your favourite personal productions so far?
It´s my first techno release on Rekids: Supervision – because it is a good combination of techno and house and it has been released on one of my favourite labels so far.
Where does your name come from?
Oh that´s a short story. It comes from one night drinking with a couple of friends. After the night went on and on, we got more drunk, and I was looking for a DJ name. Then my brother called me Santé. Santé is similar to cheers in French. That’s it.
Tell us a few rules you like to stick by in the studio?
No rules in the studio! Rules block your mind. Be open for everything and feel free - it’s music.
Tell us a bit about how your working relationship with Ali and Basti (Tiefschwarz) started.
We started working together because they had a request for a feature film. And so we came together and made music for this together. It worked so well that we did our first remix and so on and on and on….
What is about the Tiefschwarz brothers that has made their career in music so consistent and successful?
One of the best-kept secrets… there are very few who know!
Do you DJ often or do you mostly concentrate on your own live shows?
I mostly play live, because I love to play the music on which I have invested long hours. You get a great feeling when it’s working with the crowd because it’s yours - meanwhile if not, it could be very disappointing.
What can we expect from one of your Live sets?
Techno/house/some groovy music to make the people dance. That is for me the most important thing when I play live. To catch the crowd’s mood and spread good energy.
Dambalaa was a pretty massive tune last year. When you finished it, did you have a feeling it would be received as well as it did?
No never!
If you weren’t a DJ/producer, what would you be?
Chef, because cooking is like making music. A good menu is like a great record.
Which other producers and DJs do you really rate?
&Me, Guido Schneider, Adam Port.
Finally, fill in the gaps!....
If I could choose a tune to wake up to, it would be… The Beatles – Revolution.
If I could play in one club in the world it would be…Womb Tokyo.
The thing that annoys me about the music industry is….MP3.
I love house music because….it’s house music.
www.myspace.com/santemusic