Sven Fröhlich and Lars Rühlemann, better known as Monkey Safari, have been enjoying a stellar year to date. The powerhouse German duo has delivered an awesome run of EPs over the last five months via their very own imprint Hommage. The records came strapped with some of the biggest remixers out there, featuring names like Paco Osuna, John Digweed and UNER, while more recently Guy Mantzur and Victor Ruiz lent their talents to the outstanding Boris EP (Check it out below). This week, we had the pleasure of catching up with Monkey Safari, while they present the latest edition of the When We Dip podcast. It’s all below!
WWD: How are you doing guys? Where’s been the best party this week?
All’s fine! We’ve had the weekend off from touring and stayed at home in our 2nd living room, Charles Bronson. Konstantin Sibold was playing and it was an amazing night. Sometimes it’s also cool to party as a guest and not as a DJ.
WWD: Outside of the music world, where have you been spending your time recently?
We have our own record label, Hommage, and our own club called Charles Bronson. There’s not much time for us to get outside the music world! 😉 If there are some free moments we try to relax with our family, but most of the time we’re working!
WWD: Summer’s fast coming to a close. What’s the one memory that is gonna last in your mind?
A few weeks ago we played a small festival about an hour and a half outside of Beirut! It was our first time in Lebanon not playing in downtown Beirut and it was a special experience.
WWD: You just had a big release with Guy Mantzur and Victor Ruiz. What’s up next on Hommage?
Our final release of the year on Hommage will be a two-track EP, and this time no remixes. Both tracks will have the same main theme but presented in different ways. One Version is dedicated more to bigger dance floors, the other one for smaller clubs. It is an nice experiment for us and we hope people will enjoy it.
WWD: Can you talk us through the moment you decided to launch the label?
After working with two different labels in the past, we wanted to start something new and more personalized. It can be difficult when you start with something, but over the years you develop and your musical journey goes in a different direction. At this point we think it’s better for us to start something new and more timeless and to have the freedom to transform.
WWD: In your eyes, how has it developed since 2013?
We’re very happy about how has it developed since the beginning. Lately we have been working with a lot of interesting artists for remixes and for the next year we’re focusing on bringing in some new artists to the label to release some originals.
WWD: Are you a proponent for philosophy pushing electronic music forward? What are you trying to create/influence with your music?
For sure. If you don’t have the aim to push something forward what is the point? We wanted to affect people with our sound and tell a story over the years. We try never to stand still with our sound, and to always create something that people don’t expect from us.
WWD: What are the three most important things you’ve learned as label heads?
1. Good communication is better than contracts!
2. If a demo doesn’t touch you the first time, don’t release it!
3. When you work hard there will often be a point when everything comes back around!
WWD: What’s the next big project you have in your eye-line?
Next week we leave on a trip to Denmark for one week. We have a tiny house in the middle of nowhere and will work on the first sketches for our new album.
WWD: Before we leave you, can you tell us a little bit about the mix you’ve crafted for us today? Any Monkey Safari exclusives in there?
The mix is a small overview of the sets we play at the moment. It’s more functional and to the floor than what we played in the past. There are no exclusives from us but a lot of of music we love and are playing a lot these days!
Follow: Monkey Safari
Monkey Safari – Boris EP is out now.