1. Growing Up
My family is of Turkish descent, but I grew up in Mainz, Germany. I was a hyperactive kid and always into something, so my mother was happy for anything that could capture my attention for any length of time. My brother had VHS tapes of Wildstyle and Beat Street lying around and when I saw them, my life changed. I was totally absorbed by the b-boys and DJ culture. I got a record player when I was 12-years-old and practiced scratching and all the traditional Turntablizm disciplines.
2. Inspirations
Growing up I was a huge Wu-Tang Clan and Onyx fan. I was into this dark, grimey hip hop with the dusty and dirty drums, man I loved that sound. When I started to go clubbing and was exposed to techno for the first time with a loud sound-system, the proper lighting and so, I was entranced by the music. Emmanuel Topp and Aphex Twin were huge for me, they just got me into altered states of mind.
3. Your Crew
Amir is my partner in crime. He was already DJing in a club called 50° in Mainz while we were working together at Burger King back in 1999, I think. He was always the employee of the month, while I was more like I imagine Eminem working in a fast food restaurant. I bugged him for so long, that he gave me some time to play one night and we’ve been doing our thing together for about 14 or 15 years now. In 2007 I got to know Hohberg, who I’ve been making music since then. Other acts I love making music with are Thomas Heckmann, Virginia Nascimento and Ricardo Villalobos.
4. The Music You Make
When I’m with Ricardo the music we make is so different compared to what I make for example with Hohberg. I love it all you see. I love broken beat, I love trippy, experimental soundscapes, I love melodies, I love thumping techno, I love gangster shit, I love crooning vocals. The music I make is the music I feel at that moment.
5. Music, Right Here, Right Now
The music scene is really developing in so many different ways, I find it hard to put my finger on it. There are definitely so many great up-and-coming artists at the moment. I guess music is there to connect, so now you can also use other channels to do so and the young guns coming up often know how to use these very well for themselves. The challenge always is the solution in itself, my feeling is most kids are starting to realize that and I love seeing them come up.
Butch plays at Chinese Laundry on Saturday September 20.
