John Min was born and raised in Orestiada, Greece. Starting as a raver soon learned he wanted to be on the other side of the booth, playing his music to large crowds. Always on the lookout for new sounds and music, he soon began to DJ, discovering the full range of electronic dance music. It’s all about devotion to the sound and a restless quest for the groove that will make everyone move. While his style may vary somewhere between underground Tech House and Techno, he never compromises on quality.
EG caught up with John Min to learn more about the drop of his ‘Arise’ EP, his origins in dance music, his sound, workflow, and more.
EG: Hi John! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. Where are you based right now? How have you been?
John Min: Hi EG, thank you for having me. At the moment I am based in Manchester, UK. I’ve been great, things are moving fast but all for the better. Currently working on new music and enjoying the weather!
EG: Congratulations on the drop of your ‘Arise’ EP with Martin Mayer! What has the reception been like?
John Min: Thank you. I am very glad because the initial reception was positive and encouraging, we had massive support from friends and other DJs. We composed these tracks three months ago and sometimes, as a producer when you listen to music you composed for a while, you can question yourself and ask yourself if this or that would have been better this or that way. Doubt is the cross artists have to carry with them all the time.
EG: So what’s the story behind ‘Arise’? What’s the inspiration or general concept for the EP?
John Min: The story behind the EP was to combine two different sounds and create something new with its own character. We had many discussions with Martin about what to produce. We had to delete and start again many times because music is something unique and everyone understands it in their own way, but in the end, we had two solid tracks and so ‘Arise’ was born.
EG: What was the process for ‘Arise’ like? How did you go about working with Martin? What can your fans expect to find on this particular package?
John Min: We were discussing with him for many years to sit in the studio together and produce something, so we decided to work together and combine our sounds and create something unique. We had a lot of online video-call sessions, sending stems and ideas because Martin Mayer is based in Stuttgart, Germany. The EP is characterized by its signature tight basslines in combination with its melodic multilayered elements and signature vocal lines, delivering a solid heavy melodic techno sound for every festival stage and not only…
“We had many discussions with Martin about what to produce. We had to delete and start again many times because music is something unique and everyone understands it in their own way”
EG: How has your sound evolved since you first started out? How would you describe your music by now?
John Min: I believe the most difficult thing for a producer is to find his own unique identity and for all of his tracks to have something to offer and trigger the crowd to travel through his music. My production techniques involve ascertaining basslines from hip hop tracks, adding further vocals, basslines, and more. As a point of inspiration for myself, I strive to bring something new to my output. With no specific formula for my productions, each track is different from the last whilst still maintaining the John Min “attitude”.
EG: Let’s take this back to your origins. When did you first come in contact with electronic music? Was there a record o show that pushed you down the rabbit hole?
John Min: Everything began many years ago, in my hometown in Greece (Orestiada). I had the honor to meet a very charismatic person and his name is Athanasios Dobas. He was my mentor all these years and until now, we had many conversations about the electronic music industry, and how the scene was some 10-15 years ago. We were listening to various house tracks together late at night and analyzing them, we were paying attention to the structure, the atmosphere, feelings, everything. He taught me a lot of things and I own him a lot, his philosophy and his mentality triggered me to love and explore more this magic world of electronic music. One of my favorite tracks that pushed me down the rabbit hole was one track by Masters At Work, ‘To be in Love’. I saw them perform it live and the vibe from the crowd was out of this world and I said to myself: “That’s it, let’s do it”.
EG: What does your studio look like at the moment? Have you picked up any new hardware or software that you’d recommend to other producers?
John Min: At the moment my studio is my living room because I moved recently to the UK and I left behind all of my equipment, but I believe that you don’t need something expensive or have too much to be creative. I produce with Ableton Live and I have a pair of Yamaha HS5 Studio Monitors.
EG: The pandemic gave us all a chance to slow down and reassess. In the electronic music scene, it even gave us time for some much-needed discussions. What would you like to see more and less of?
John Min: During the pandemic, it is true that we spent a lot of time on social media, as it became the only place to express ourselves for a while; and I think algorithms do not serve creativity in general: I would like to see more producers composing personal music, see themselves through music following their true inspiration. I would like to see fewer people influenced by the algorithms in many ways; putting themselves naked all the time for followers, likes, and views, or producers following trends, being pushed by algorithms.
“I believe the most difficult thing for a producer is to find his own unique identity and for all of his tracks to have something to offer and trigger the crowd to travel through the music”
EG: What’s next for John Min? What particular milestones are you looking forwards to now?
John Min: My next milestone is in September and it’s a track that I produced during the pandemic. It’s called ‘Belfast Nights’ and it will be released in September on Kinе́tika Music. It’s a breakbeat with a driving bassline and capturing vocals.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, John! We wish you all the best for the future.
John Min: Thank you so much for everything guys, it was a pleasure!
John Min & Martin Mayer’s ‘Arise’ EP is out now via Cope. Purchase your copy here.
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