Tell me more about Reworks Festival – what were its concept and idea to organize a festival in Greece?
Flooder: The concept and idea were to invite many artists from different countries who will present different styles of music, and the idea to make it happen was because the Reworks Festival already happened in 2005 so I guess that the organizers were satisfied from last year’s performance and decided to host it again. Of course, this year more music artists were featured for whom I can say that according to their reputation in the current electronic scene, are on a very high level and are widely recognized for their music, gigs, DJ mixes etc.
Who are the people responsible for making it happen?
Flooder: the group NON COLLECTIVE. They have been popular in the Greek (Thessaloniki’s) scene for more than 6/7 years and maybe more. They have been present in the Greek scene since 2002, since I lived there.They are involved in organizing events and parties. The newest event after Reworks Festival they organized, to which I was also present, was Mathew Jonson’s gig on 21st October where Thessaloniki’s audience had the chance to listen to his live act, together with a set from DJ Luciano.
What were your expectations of Reworks Festival?
Flooder: My expectations were big, but I was very much pleased with the organization and the venue. The expectations about my performance were OK to say that the public in Thessaloniki expected me to play a more energetic and techno set, however I surprised them with a minimal set which took some time for them to understand, but there was a great reaction from the public after.
There were many artists who played live at the Reworks Festival. Did they use instruments or computers?
Flooder: The only one who used different instruments was Anthony Rother who I think he brought them himself and from what I know, his performances are always based on that principle. The others performed on computers and some midi controllers that allow the artist to interact with its music.
Are you involved in any kind of production at the moment?
Flooder: I can’t much say I do that at the moment, as I missing a good music production kit like a computer which now is the best compact solution to produce music on. I would very much like to have my own studio with different instruments and machines, but the standard does not allow that in here. But I hope that in the future I will be able to surprise the audience with my production and prove myself in that field.
Let’s go back to the Reworks Festival. Why did you choose a minimal set for the Greek audience?
Flooder: Well.. I played minimal set because techno has lost its sense so I decided to play a fresh and modern music which currently is minimal. It really confused the Greek audience because they were not expecting me to play minimal, because the stage was done for techno artists and aI played just after Sleep Archive. With the tempo already set by the previous performers, it was obvious I should play techno as well but there, my choice was opposite. Anyway, I have been collecting and buying minimal music for more than a year now, when before that my collection was mainly techno.
You won the first prize at a DJ’s competition in May 2006 in Thessaloniki. Can you tell us what exactly was the competition about?
This event happened at the Boutique discotheque in Thessaloniki. I was one of the 10 participants. Two weeks before this event we had to send mixes to the jury. There were 110 participants who signed up for this ‘audition’ and short listed were 10 only. Each of them had 15 minutes available to present their work. The jury consisted of 10 members, mainly club promoters and some popular DJs from Greece as well as members of IEK DELTA. The points related to more categories which all accounted to 250 points. I managed to get 226 points which resulted in winning the first prize. Alongside this award, I also won a one-year scholarship for a Sound Engineering course at IEK DELTA as well as an opportunity to play with Umek, John Selway and Stanny Fransen at Boutique.
Where can the Macedonian audience see you performing?
Well I play everywhere where there is an opportunity and interest about me. Most often I play at the most underground place in Skopje, The Club and before that at Zen Bar where I played a little bit different minimal set. |
