With each summer that comes, so too does an emerging crop of artists poised to dominate dance music for years to come. Matthias Meyer may be no fresh face; indeed, he’s been releasing blissful electronic excursions on labels such as liebe*detail, Cécille Records and his home label of Watergate Records since 2005. Yet on an international scene, 2017 feels like the year Meyer has truly arrived.
Achievements include his first Ibiza residency, being the trusted hand that plays for Hot Since 82’s Laybrinth night at Pacha on six occasions; a stunning Boiler Room debut in July; plus a surprise, but welcome nomination in the Ibiza DJ Awards in the Deep House category. Then there’s the not-so-small matter of his ongoing Watergate residency – now in its fifth year – that continues to go from strength to strength and garner the shy guy Meyer with an ever-growing global fanbase as the Berlin institution celebrates 15 years with an accompanying tour that’s already been heavy on the highlights. Summer may be winding up, but Meyer’s just warming up.
Electronic Groove: First of all, congratulations on your nomination for Best Deep House Artist in the Ibiza DJ Awards. Where were you when you found out you were nominated and how did it feel?
Matthias Meyer: Thank you so much. Quite unspectacular, I was sitting at home having breakfast after a long weekend and checked my emails and then boom – I saw it. I was super stoked and couldn’t believe it. I feel very honored to be on board with all the other amazing artists.
“So my first vinyl was ‘Higher State of Consciousness’ and it continued from then”
EG: Tell us about how you started DJing, did you ever think it would lead to you being a resident at world-famous clubs like Watergate and Pacha?
Matthias Meyer: I guess I was only 14 years old when I watched Josh Wink at Mayday 1994 at home with only chips and cola cause I was too young and lived somewhere in the middle of nowhere, a small village between Hamburg and Hannover in Germany. I was so impressed and also wanted to be a DJ after seeing this 😉 So my first vinyl was ‘Higher State of Consciousness’ and it continued from then. I always wanted to be a DJ but I didn’t see myself getting that far.
EG: You’ve been a resident at Watergate for 5 years now. How have you seen the club change and grow since then? What elements do you feel have remained the same?
Matthias Meyer: Actually it hasn’t really changed much. It was also a big club with a great line-up when I started. I just remember that at the beginning there were also some low night but in the last 5 years it’s always super crowded and a great vibe. Since last year Watergate changes the magical Waterfloor and added some nice lights on the ceiling too.
“It was just a Wednesday on the Waterfloor, but we had a really nice night. That was the start of my ‘Watergate career’”
EG: Do you remember the first time you played at Watergate?
MM: Yes around 7 years ago Lee Jones invited me for his mix CD release party cause we did one track together called ‘Basic Chord Tool’. It was just a Wednesday on the Waterfloor, but we had a really nice night. That was the start of my ‘Watergate career’.
EG: You’re in the midst of your first season as an Ibiza resident DJ. While you’re not playing at Hot Since 82’s Labyrinth parties, what else have you been doing on the Island? What are you looking forward to as the end of the season approaches?
MM: At the first dates I always went in and out but in the time between 4 and 11 of August we stayed a week in Ibiza. We visited lots of DJ friends on the island in new and old clubs and during the daytime, we enjoyed the sun, the beach, and the amazing food.
EG: You’ve recently released a hot new remix of Butch’s ‘Shahrzad’. Are there any other tracks you’ve heard recently that you thought you’d love to put your own spin on?
MM: I always like to do remixes from tracks that are from a different genre because I can’t do anything if it’s the same style as me – in a way, it’s almost too good. I watched a movie called ‘Lion’ recently and I was pretty impressed by the whole soundtrack. I would love to put my hands on that. Also, my upcoming track together with Ryan Davis called ‘Hope’ for the Watergate compilation was inspired by this one.
EG: Which DJ would you love to see remixing one of your tracks?
Matthias Meyer: Matthew Dekay was always one of my favorite producers. He has some really incredible producing and mixing skills and is also a fantastic piano player. His tracks were always a great inspiration a few years ago. Recently he has gone a little quiet. I also like Dixon’s approach cause he really knows how to strip down an original to the max and focus on the heart of the original.
EG: As well as your Ibiza residency, you’ve been touring like crazy this summer in celebration of Watergate’s 15 year anniversary. Where have been some of the most memorable moments of that tour so far?
Matthias Meyer: I just recently went on a two-week Brazil tour for Watergate’s 15th anniversary. The tour included all major Brazilian clubs and brought me from D’Edge in Sao Paulo to Club 88, Vibe Club, Eden in Rio, the great Warung Beachclub in Itajai and Beehive in Passo Fundo in just 10 days. All shows were more or less sold out, the parties were amazing and the Brazilian crowd showed so much enthusiasm for the music. I just loved it from beginning to end. I was traveling with the Watergate team around fellow residents La Fleur, Marco Resmann and our brazilian friend Diogo Accioly and we built all nights from beginning to end so we had full musical control. It totally worked out and it was by far one of the greatest tours I ever played. Brazil is an amazing place for electronic music with a growing scene and so much appreciation for my sound.
Matthias Meyer & Ryan Davis ‘Hope’ features on ‘Watergate XV’ which will be released November 6.
Upcoming Dates:
15.09.2017 – WATERGATE, BERLIN (DE)
16.09.2017 – 15 YEARS WATERGATE AT CORSICA STUDIOS, LONDON (UK)
17.09.2017 – OASIS FESTIVAL, MARRAKECH (MA)
22.09.2017 – RODNYA, MOSCOW (RU)
29.09.2017 – DO NOT SIT, MIAMI (US)
30.09.2017 – CITYFOX, NEW YORK (US)
06.10.2017 – LABYRINTH AT PACHA, IBIZA (ES)
20.10.2017 – 15 YEARS WATERGATE AT WESTERUNIE, AMSTERDAM (NL)
04.11.2017 – 15 YEARS WATERGATE AT SILODOM, SAARBRUCKEN (DE)
05.11.2017 – KATER BLAU, BERLIN (DE)
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