1. Could you start by telling us how Funkerman really began ?
Funkerman: At the age of 11, I started to be really interested in electronic music. I bought my first second hand turntable when I was 12 years old and around the age of 14 I was renting a studio once a month to start producing. My DJ career started to be more professional when I started playing every week in a club called Spock in my hometown.
2. You have taken well to the transitional changes of EDM, from when you first begun in the 90's. Was this more for fun or to introduce your audience to new sounds ?
Funkerman: Actually I'm always looking for new sounds. I think that's one of the most important things that drive DJ's. "Always on the look for new tracks and sounds". But I think that the more funky styles have always appealed the most to me.
3. With you having the skills to approach various music styles, was this that inspired you the most, to start producing in the first place ?
Funkerman: No, working in the industry was more a way to get around when I couldn't make a good living with producing and DJ'ing yet. Now I'm happy that I had to go through that period, because it made me more aware of all the things business-wise you have to deal with.
4. In terms of achievements, what was your goal with your own record company, Flamingo Recordings, and what were some of the highlights ? ...and still are nowadays ?
Funkerman: Well we wanted a label which we could use to release our own tracks on without having to listen to what A&R managers from other labels had to say about it. After our first big success, we started to take things more seriously. So that's how it started. Some of the highlights were a few tracks that nobody thought it would become hits. Neither did we actually. "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit", "Speed Up" and "3 Minutes To Explain" were a few of our releases that have achieved great success. And we are always looking for other talented producers now.
5. Who all did You enlist under the record's label ?
Funkerman: Shermanology, Rene Amesz, DJ Delicious & Till West and collaborations with Tara MacDonald, Will.i.am and Ida Corr to name a few. We also manage a sister label of Flamingo Recordings called Blackbird for the more Techno House related tracks. We released tracks from Franky Rizardo & Youri Donatz, Hardwell, Gabriel & Castellon and the Firebeatz on Blackbird.
6. Your latest release, "House for All", seems to be doing quite well in it's second week of release. Were there any challenges that you have faced during production ? What are those key things you look for when trying to break a fresh new album ?
Funkerman: On the production side of things making music is always a challenge. I always want something to be better than the previous track we did. I guess that without a challenge thing could very well become boring.
7. What were some of your inspirations behind the album, as in what really gave you the initial push/initiation for the album ?
Funkerman: I listen to a great deal of different styles of music. For every moment there is appropriate music, therefore my influences vary from EDM (Electronic Dance Music) to Hip-Hop to Rock music.
8. Out of all tracks from the album, which one is your top favorite ?
Funkerman: One of my favorite is "Unconditional Love" the track together with Ida Corr.
9. Aside from music, what are some of the other things that you cherish in life ?
Funkerman: My parents and friends and seeing them frequently is probably one of the few things I really cherries apart from my music.
10. Do you have any other future goals and aspirations ? How do you see your life in 5/10 years from now ?
Funkerman: Everything bigger, better, rougher and tougher ;-)
11. Is there anything else that you would like say for your fans and readers of TranceSound.net or anyone else reading this amazing interview ?
Funkerman: I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for their support!! Never let anything kill the pleasure.
Interview made by Abigail Duran aka VeraNationGirl (TranceSound.net Head of PR)
Links:
Funkerman official website
Funkerman @ MySpace
Abigail Duran @ MySpace
