Head To Toe boss Ninetoes is next up on the famed Hot Creations as he makes his debut on the label this March. Geared for the dancefloor, Same Same is a solid two track release that sees the German native at the top of his game. Hailing from Stuttgart, Ninetoes arrived on the house music scene back in 2013 where his track Finder took Ibiza by storm. Releases and remixes soon followed on acclaimed labels such as Moon Harbour, DFTD, Crosstown Rebels, Avotre, Saved, Suara, Mobilee and Play It Down to name a few and were supported by the likes of Loco Dice, Carl Cox, Jesse Rose, Luciano, Davide Squillace and Koze. 2019 saw Ninetoes launch his own label ‘Head To Toe’, where the break out track for the label became one of the top 10 Shazam’d tracks in Ibiza that season. This year shows no sign of slowing down with a string of new music on the way. In light of all this we’re excited to be chatting with the man himself today!

WWD: Ninetoes, a pleasure to have you with us today! We met you in Tulum last month. Are you still there ? How are you doing ?

Hey guys, I’m fine thanks. Hope you too… Yes, i’m in Tulum right now and playing some legal shows and enjoying the good life here.

WWD: So we are speaking with you ahead of the release of ‘Same Same’, your Hot Creations debut. We have to say, this release is brilliant. Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind this release and how it came to find its home on Hot Creations?

Thank you very much. Good to hear 🙂 I started working on this ep during the first lockdown. It was a very productive time for me and I finished almost 30 new tracks and after that I started thinking about which track could go well with other tracks as an ep. After I put ‘Same Same’ and ‘Feel It’ into a folder it fit perfectly and immediately I recognized: this ep is 100% a Hot Creations release. I sent it out to Jamie and he signed it after a couple of days 🙂

WWD: When did you first make this release? Did you get a chance to try either of the tracks out in the clubs prior to the pandemic restrictions?

Unfortunately no. I was just able to listen to the tracks on big studio speakers but since the tracks are mastered I’ve had the chance to play them here in Tulum on several parties and they’re dancefloor bombs!

WWD: Has the pandemic had any impact on the music you have been making recently?

Not at all. As I mentioned, I was very productive and wrote a lot of new music and I was able to work on my first album, which I will release hopefully this year.

WWD: Having come from a hip-hop background prior to your Ninetoes days, what/who are some of your main musical influences/artists?

My biggest influences or heroes are J.dilla, Timbaland, Jazzy Jeff, Kenny Dope or Daft Punk.

WWD: Can you tell us a little about your studio set up? What’s your main pieces of equipment? What were the key pieces used on Same Same?

My studio is my laptop. I don’t have a studio. I’m lucky to use the Red Bull studios in Berlin where I can mix and listen loudly to the music I wrote on my laptop and headphones.

WWD: In 2019 you launched your label ‘Head To Toe’ and it has so far been the home of 5 very strong releases from yourself, and featuring remixes from the likes of Andrea Oliva, Amine Edge & Dance and Mason Collective. What has it been like so far running your own label and what can we expect from it in the near future?

I’m very pleased to run my own label. When you have a great release you can easily release it without having this annoying release schedule from other labels where you have to wait sometimes six or more months to release music. Also I’ve decided to release the first Head To Toe compilation with music from new and talented artists and of course new music by myself.

WWD: To round things off, is there anything else lined up from Ninetoes at the moment that you can let us in on?

There is a lot of new music coming this year. First the ‘Same Same’ EP on Hot Creations, then my own new singles on Head To Toe, plus collaboration releases with Davide Squillace, Osunlade and Omar and of course my first album, which I’m trying to finish this year.

WWD: Thank you again for chatting with us today Ninetoes! We wish you all the best for the year ahead!

Thank you very much. I wish you all the best guys.