Mexican born Robbie Akbal along with being the label owner of Akbal Music, has also featured tracks on Crosstown Rebels, Sol Selectas, Kindisch and Culprit.

Robbie Akbal recently dropped a new release on his label made in collaboration with vocalist Ay Sarita, so we caught up with him to chat about the release and his other forthcoming projects.

You can buy a copy of Robbie Akbal’s new release from HERE

Hi Robbie, it’s nice to be chatting today. How’s life in Berlin at the moment?

It’s great! Always an inspiring and creative city to live in. It’s a base for me now, but always moving constantly.

Before this chat I took a moment to listen to your release on Akbal Music. I really liked the organic sound it has, and wanted to ask about the concept of your track?

Yeah, during the years I started to call on a more organic approach to music. I got tired and not so inspired by the loopy tech house sound, so decided to get more into the colourful side of things.

Your new release is made in collaboration with Ay Sarita. How do you guys know each other, and how does her input influence the sound of the music you make together?

Last summer in Berlin we met at a private event where she performed at sunrise. Her live vocals really caught my attention and I instantly saw a vision of us collaborating on a project together. I invited her to come to the studio in Berlin where we recorded various sessions just jamming until we had a solid idea of some tracks, and have two tracks officially released on Sol Selectas plus Akbal Music.

Akbal Music is your own label, so I wanted to ask what process you go through when releasing your own track. Do you start by sending demos to other people, or make things specifically for your own label?

Absolutely, I first send out demos because I don’t like to release so much on my own label, but “Fanaya” was such a special track that I only sent it to one other label. After not getting an instant reply to my demo, I decided to put it out myself on Akbal Music.

Talking of your of Akbal Music, what’s next in the schedule to follow your release?

I’m very excited with the upcoming releases on Akbal Music, and have these EP’s coming soon…

• Robbie Akbal & Ay Sarita – Fanaya Part 2 (incl. Remixes by Alejandro Mosso, Zakir, Fulltone, Elfenberg)
• Adysin & Prime Edge – Isten EP
• Nopi (UA) – Zulu EP
• Bloem – In Bloom EP (incl. Niko Schwind, Derun and Anstascia Remixes)

I also wanted to ask what you look for when deciding who to get remixes from, and does that decision process change when it’s your own music being remixed?

This process is very organic and natural, depending on the project and the artist. We always think of various ideas, but the remixer always has to like the original, as otherwise the idea wouldn’t work as part of the record.

What else do you have planned for the summer?

At the end of summer, we have a tour planned in the USA and I’ll also be at Burning Man, playing a lot of great camps and communities at the festival. Here are some of my next dates…

• Aug. 9 – Hoppetosse- Berlin
• Aug.18 – DEEP pres. Alchemy at EL Cid – Los Angeles
• Aug.28 – Burning Man – Black Rock City
• Sep.6 – Akbal Music showcase by Bespoke Musik – New York
• Sep.7 – Summerdaze – Toronto
• Sep.13- Do Not Sit on the Furniture – Miami
• Sep.14 – Soul Work – San Diego
• Sep.15 -Canopy Sounds Open Air – Chicago

It’s been nice talking with you today, is there anything you would like to add or tell our readers about before we finish?

Please keep checking Akbal Music on Facebook and SoundCloud, as the schedule is already fully booked until the start of 2020!