Label manager, producer, DJ, bandleader: Oliver Koletzki manages to fill the clubs around the world and make people smile to his energetic DJ sets. Be in the best clubs of Europe such as London’s Fabric, Berlin’s Berghain or around the rest of the world: Oliver knows how to perform and connect with his audience.

We caught up with Oliver Koletzki to talk about his new Stil vor Talent LP, ‘Fire in the Jungle’.

Electronic Groove: Hello Oliver, thanks for your time today. You are about to release your eight studio album ‘Fire in the Jungle’. How do you feel about this special achievement?

Oliver Koletzki: Thanks for the invite. When I was younger I never thought that I’d be releasing this much music – and I’m a little proud of the fact, to be completely honest. The trend moves more and more towards EP’s or single tracks in electronic music, but I love the long-player format and the stories I’m able to tell through them.

EG: How was the production process? Where it was recorded?

Oliver Koletzki: ‘Fire in the Jungle’ was produced this spring in my studio in Berlin at Holzmarkt. In the two previous years, I drafted a lot of sketches on my laptop while I was touring. Discovering new places and meeting new people are still my biggest sources of inspiration.

EG: What was the inspiration to produce ‘Fire in the Jungle’?

Oliver Koleztki: In the last couple of years I visited several Burns and played a lot of open-air parties in jungles or deserts. In hindsight, these experiences had a huge effect on me – and the themes of this album.

EG: Any favorite track on the album?

Oliver Koletzki: After two years of production they are all very dear to me, but my personal favorites are the collaborations with Monolink on ‘We Are All Lost’ and Aparde on ‘Sequel’. My favorite party track is ‘Endorphins’.

“When I was younger I never thought that I’d be releasing this much music – and I’m a little proud of the fact”

EG: Are you planning a tour to promote the album. Which cities you’ll be visiting?

Oliver Koletzki: To be honest, I’m permanently touring throughout the year. I’ll end this year by heading to Australia, India and then Tulum, in early 2020 I’ll be in South Africa, Thailand, the US as well as in Europe and beyond.

EG: In your extensive career what have been the hardest obstacles to overcome?

Oliver Koletzki: I’m actually a very introverted guy which isn’t exactly helping when you should supposedly be networking. Over the years I gained confidence though and today I know who I am and what I am good at. The biggest hurdle was definitely my very first release – I was already making music for 15 years at that stage.

EG: As part of the industry, do you like its current state and what would you like to see improvements in the coming years?

Oliver Koletzki: As a label owner, I’m very happy that we were able to leave the days of illegal downloads behind us with the aid of streaming platforms. That the negative trends of CD and vinyl sales have been offset somewhat by the digital realm. From a touring DJ’s perspective, a big issue is the footprint of frequent travel and sustainability of events, for example in regard to single-use plastic. I offset my CO2 emissions using a tool such as Atmosfair and have plastic guidelines in my artist rider.

EG: Could you let us delve a little deeper into the world of Oliver, what’s been bringing joy to your world of late? Not specifically music-related maybe a place you’ve been, a show you’ve seen, a book you’ve read or a movie you’ve watched?

Oliver Koletzki: Now that I’m getting older, I’ve been taking yearly one – two-month long sport breaks in the Austrian Alps, where I work on my fitness and strength with a personal trainer every day. We also play a lot of table tennis. Moreover, I’m more conscious with regard to my diet. This new mindset brings me as much joy as discovering a new album, film or book does.

Oliver Koletzki’s ‘Fire in the Jungle’ will be out on November 14th. Buy and stream here. 

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