Daniel Rateuke has been spinning records since the early age of 14 and now holds a residency at ‘Oh Baby Anna’ in his hometown of Düsseldorf, playing gigs with the likes of Tube & Berger, Howard Donaldo, Tapesh and more. His love for groove ridden house music can be seen in his releases on labels like Stil vor Talent, Riva Starr’s Snatch Records and Afro-House label MoBlack Records.
https://soundcloud.com/changeunder/cupremiere-daniel-rateuke-darling-zehn-records
1. Hi Daniel! Thanks for speaking to us today. How’s your year been so far?
Thanks for having me. This year has been crazy so far. It all started with my “Marimbo” release on the number one Afro-House Label “MoBlack Records”, that went to the Beatport Afro-House top position and also got the attention of Oliver Koletzki. After sending him my first demos, I had the luck to have my first “Stil vor Talent” release very soon (“Bakgat EP”). And now I am very happy about my upcoming release on ZEHN Records.
2. Congratulations on your forthcoming ‘Darling’ EP on ZEHN Records. For those that haven’t heard it what’s the story and vision behind the release?
Thanks. I always try to produce tracks I would also play in my sets and that enrich my DJ sets. So it is with these two tracks. They always work very well on the dancefloor when I play them. “Darling” is bit straighter with huge peak-time character and “Acrotic” is a nice electronic tune with cool, groovy parts. I am very happy about that release and being part of that new label which already made huge efforts after the first releases by Betoko, Haze-M & Djuma Soundsystem.
3. You’ve maintained a heavy release schedule since you started out in 2012. How do you balance producing in your day-to-day life?
I’m concentrating now for years on my production and DJ career. From the morning till the evening. I’m creating new sounds and tunes the whole week to check them out at the weekend in the club. So beside the current Afro-House tracks I also had a lot of Tech-House releases the last years, e.g. on Riva Starr’s Snatch Records.
4. I’m told you started out in music since the age of 14, what was the catalyst that got you into music?
There was no concrete moment. It just came naturally. Already as a child, together with my parents we often put some vinyl records on the turntable at the weekend. One day I got my first DJ mixer where I did my first steps in djing by mixing some Techno & Trance tracks from the vinyl player to a CD Player without a pitch control. Haha. After becoming better and better, and getting new professional equipment, I recorded my first demo tapes and sent them to several clubs here in Düsseldorf. So I got my first DJ gigs and it started becoming my main profession. Simultaneously I got into producing and worked hard to get there where I am today.
5. Your tracks have a very strong tribal percussive element to them. Do you attribute this use of percussion to any experiences or influences that you may have?
I always like to produce tracks where you can’t stand still. No matter what genre, if it’s Tech-House or Afro-House, tribal percussive elements always bring a cool groove and vibe to it. Sometime a loop fits perfect, but often I set the elements by myself. A good groove is always an important basis.
6. Your hometown of Düsseldorf, Germany is known for having a thriving fashion and art scene, which I’m assuming, has benefitted electronic music. Can you tell us a little more about the local scene within the city?
On one side it is cool to have such a great art and fashion scene, but the only drawback is that there is been missing a cool underground sub-culture scene and everything has to be a bit more elegant and glamorous then somewhere else. I like the dirty and dark clubs… hehe. Sadly a lot of clubs closed the last years, but there are still some cool places to go to, e.g. “Oh Baby Anna” and in the summertime open air events always run very well.
7. You hold a residency at ‘Oh Baby Anna’ in Düsseldorf, could you tell us a bit more about that? What’s been your standout moment in shaping your djing career?
“Oh Baby Anna”, formerly known as “Anaconda”, is a great new re-designed club for electronic music in the heart of Düsseldorf, with the best sound-system in the city by Void Acoustics. It’s always a big fun playing there. Every night has it’s own magic. I also just played in Munich at “Harry Klein” what was really nice and a great honor to play there.
8. Are there any producers from Düsseldorf that you’d like to shout about as an important figure within the scene?
Of course it all started here with Kraftwerk in the 70s. But today it’s also the city of Loco Dice and his “Desolat” label, Alex Niggemann, Superlounge and DJ Tapesh who is living 600 meters from my flat, we just found out as we played together in “Die Nacht“ in Mönchengladbach.
9. And finally what have you got in store musically for the coming months? Any key releases, gigs or projects you’d like to share?
Soon there will be some remixes out that I did the last month for Frank Sonic, MIICHII and Djuma Soundsystem that will be released on “Get Physical” for the upcoming „Body Language“ compilation next year.
Mid December there will be my next “Stil vor Talent” single released, which is going to be a split EP together with Palmfood, a great producer from Hungary.
And last but not least of course I am really looking forward to my ZEHN release and to play at the first ZEHN & Kittball record label night at the legendary “Fusion Club” in Muenster on November 17th together with Tube & Berger, Juliet Sikora & Monotunes. Be there!
Daniel Rateuke ‘Darling’ EP drops on ZEHN Records on 26th October 2018.
Buy here: http://classic.beatport.com/track/darling-original-mix/11145612
