We sat down with Re.You ahead of his ‘Lifting Me’ EP on Connected Records.

Listen to premiere track ‘Wooden’

https://soundcloud.com/cu-media/cupremiere-reyou-wooden-connected-records

Hi, great to speak with you Marius, would you start by telling us about some of your early musical influences? And what was the moment when you decided you wanted to become a music producer?

Being in my youth an ambitious basketball player, I listened mostly to hip-hop such as Gang Starr (& all Dj Premier stuff), Mobb Deep or ATCQ. At one point, a friend of mine got into turntablism and I also started to dig into Vinyl. Somehow I had developed a love for house/techno music. Minimal music also drew my attention and so I started producing music on my computer as a hobby. When a sudden knee injury stopped my basketball career, I focused more and more on music until I was positive I wanted to work in this creative field. This is now my life and I am very thankful for what I have achieved with my own music.

As ‘Re.You’, you’ve managed to maintain a steady release schedule on some outstanding labels over the years, what drives your choice of label to work with?

I mostly like to work with the same contacts, but from time to time I also like to give new labels a try. For example, I have a history of releases with Moon Harbour, Mobilee or Connected and, even If sometimes I feel the music does not fit 100% to the rest of their catalogue, I always take it as a big compliment when they decide to release it. When choosing new labels, I try to match my style with theirs and of course, the label has to like my sound, that‘s the most important thing

Can you talk to us about the label you created, Younion? How did it all start? and what is the label ethos?

It started as an event series in my hometown, I was inviting friends to come and play with me. Younion – a word pun from ‘Re.You’ and ‘union’ – reunion -should imply what the label’s ethos is. We gathered a collective for each night, and that‘s how the label developed. I liked the idea of not only inviting other artists to play with me but also releasing together.

We’re very excited for your release on the Stereo MCs’ connected imprint, ‘Lifting Me’ which lands before the end of the year. Could you walk us through each of your tracks and discuss the creative process for each?

‘Lifting Me’ was intended to be for Younion and be part of the album I am currently working on but I decided to release it earlier as the album release will take a little longer.  I really like the sound of this track, it has got a very special vibe and a huge sub-bass element. ‘Calisi’ is my favourite on the EP, it has a very positive vibe and means a lot to me. The foundation of the track is a lead, which came out of a jam session with the Novation Peak.

‘Wooden’ is somehow the audience’s, or let’s say other DJ’s pick. It‘s very short but I think you can loop it quite nicely. It is also composed out of analogue synths, and for the drums, I worked mostly with the Vermona DRM1.

We can tell from your Instagram that you have had quite the year travelling while Djing. Where has been your favourite country you’ve travelled to this year?

That‘s always a tough question. Just recently I was in Tel Aviv, the audience is great there and there is so much energy. I also did a South/Central American tour earlier this year and visited Medellin for the second time, there is so much energy in these clubs. I got the feeling that countries with a “rougher“ political situation are partying like there is no tomorrow. Playing in Europe, especially in Germany, is also great, but sometimes there is some energy missing.

For me it‘s not about the clubs in general, the crowd is the most important to me – so it doesn‘t matter if it‘s a small underground venue or a big warehouse off-location. With the right people, it can be an outstanding party.

What are your essential bits of studio equipment?

I always have one favourite at a time and then somehow work a lot with it.

I really like the MFB Tanzbär and Vermona DRM1 for drums. What I often do is to record sounds coming out from items that are down around my studio, hence my microphone is a very essential tool. My favourite synthesizer is an Elektron Analog Four but I‘m also a big lover of the Moog. When working on a project I tend to use my favourite specific kit and it becomes most exciting when combining them, but also exhausting because some are harder to handle.

Would you be able to tell us what your favourite club in the world is? Can you recall any memories and experiences which place it at the top?

In past interviews, I mentioned “Mystik“ in Seoul, South-Korea. I was there 2 or 3 times and always had great nights, sadly the club closed down. For me it‘s not about the clubs in general, the crowd is the most important to me – so it doesn‘t matter if it‘s a small underground venue or a big warehouse off-location. With the right people, it can be an outstanding party.

Aside from the exciting EP release on connected, what more can we expect from Re.You going into the New Year?

I will finally release my album, which has now been ready for quite a while. I am just waiting on some vocals and I’ll do the finishing touches on it.   I just remixed a track by Fake Mood and Djuma Soundsystem which will be out on Get Physical early 2019. Furthermore, I’ll have a single coming out on Moon Harbour and an EP on Tel Aviv based label 2Frau Blau with remixes by Kadosh and Nico Stojan. All looks very exciting; let‘s see what else will happen.

Re.You’s ‘Lifting Me’ EP is out on Connected Records is out on the 14th December 2018. Buy here. 

Check out Re.You’s Soundcloud here.