Berlin – More than likely, Taster Peter has been in your neck of the woods with his unique musical vision that has now been heard worldwide. With the recent release of his latest EP, out now on TRAPEZ, Pelikans, the Italian producer and DJ took a few minutes out of his hectic schedule to reveal his artistic process, his career on stage as a performer and behind the scenes as a record label owner. At the end of the day, there’s always something new to discover from Taster Peter and here are his latest musings…
You frequently travel the world putting on live performances. Which city in particular do you feel is your artistic ‘home’?
I usually travel quite often; I visited many places and incredible venues around the world which probably, without my music, I would never see in my life…and this is soooo amazing! Actually I feel very inspired and full of positive energy when I am in two particular cities: Berlin and San Francisco. Maybe because I’m also an architect and these cities are so great on both sides!! Berlin is always one step forward in electronic music – everyone knows it. It’s like the European center of modern techno music and San Francisco for its innovative mood of thinking. You can feel and listen to this also in its electronic music scene: so underground and innovative at the same time!
Who were you musical influences growing up, who are they now as an adult, and how have you incorporated these into your music?
My musical influences come from my young age. I studied a lot of music and classic instruments like violin, double bass and guitars for years, but you know…during the teenage years, almost everyone is a kind of ‘rebel’ to parents, and for me this music school was ‘ordered’. So, after a few years I decided to stop and to focus on the drums by myself, in a totally self-taught way. In the end, I played drums for twelve years in a hardcore band called Tasters (that’s where my alias comes from) and during this band period I was also in love with electronic music. So, I started to create some beats with the guy who played the electronic parts in my band, and I really got into it, bringing me to produce everything by myself and falling totally in love with techno Music!
Today I don’t like hardcore music anymore, but that period of my life was very useful, because I expanded my horizons and learned a lot of things that I’m sure you can feel and listen to in my music.
As a record label owner yourself, what is your opinion on the current state of music as a performer – and – as someone that works behind the scenes?
Today there is both a lot of good music and a lot of shit music out there. Everything moves with a lot more speed than ten years ago. Sometimes with my label, I had the feeling that a release would get lost in that infinite ocean of music. But, for example, just a few weeks ago, I received two license requests from two different legendary labels to have exactly the same records, the ones I’d assumed were lost, for their summer CD compilation, to be mixed by super big names…and this gave me back a lot of energy! Also, I am not that kind of person who is against music piracy, and I think that music should be free, so I’m totally OK to be on an iPod, USB Stick, or on a CD of a person who maybe couldn’t listen to my music properly because he had no money to buy it.
What advice would you give to any new artist looking to make music their profession?
The electronic music scene is so much more mainstream than before, now you can see rock/bands festivals with a DJ headlining the main stage, and this is very cool! Today, it’s much easier to create music than before. You can find tutorials for everything. You can buy all the gear you want on the internet, so everything is accessible. But the style and the energy that you can transmit with your music is not for sale: you can have a Star Trek-looking studio, full of analog machines, lights, buttons etc, but if you don’t have something unique inside you, your music will be just ordinary. Listening to a lot different music genres and living a lot of experiences, like travels and feelings like love, can open your mind and your communication with people through music.
Who would you like to collaborate with?
Ahahaha, good question!!! Dan Bilzerian of course!
What upcoming projects are on the horizon for Taster Peter?
There are a few big releases coming out from me on my label Extravaganza and on other cool labels as well.
The first one is planned for July on my imprint with an amazing remix from my friend Sasha Carassi. Then in September or October there will be another rocket. You will see it!
I’m preparing also a release of only my remixes of other producer’s original tracks released on my label Extravaganza. Here I’ve selected ten originals which I deeply love from artists like SIS, Seph, D-Nox & Beckers, Joel Mull, Inxec, Quell, Sven Tasnadi and more with the goal of create ten re-interpretations in a 100% Taster Peter style.
In the end, I’m thinking more and more about making an album, not focused only on dance floor connected stuff or techno music, but something more electronic at 360° with a lot of collaborations between singers, instrument players etc.; something more in the Chemical Brothers way of thinking.
Is there a particular venue in the world or city that you would like to perform in?
I think that playing in a big festival like Time Warp or Awakenings would be incredible!
To keep up with Taster Peter, follow his social media links below…
www.residentadvisor.net/dj/tasterpeter
www.beatport.com/artist/taster-peter/68988
Triston Brewer
artist, writer, event organizer, and promoter. As a
freelance journalist, he has covered both the underground and
mainstream aspects of the arts, culture, music, entertainment, travel, and
fashion in several cities, including New York, London, Berlin,
Istanbul, Sydney, Bangkok, and Hong Kong to name a few. Fluent in
English, German, Dutch, and Spanish, Triston has been published in The
Huffington Post, Trespass (London), FashionTV, as
well as featured in publications such as the New York Times, Vogue
Italia, Turkish Huriyet, InStyle, and other on-line and print
magazines in the U.S. and internationally. He recently released the first volume
of his memoir on life in Europe, 'Heaux Confessionals: The
Sintroduction'. As a solo performer and with his project band $kandal
Du$t, he has toured in some of the world's most renown clubs,
simultaneously maintaining an underground renaissance,
blurring the lines of all that is traditional and leaving his
indelible, and ultimately unforgettable impression. There is no divide
- brace yourself.
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