Philipp Lauer has spent more than two decades shaping electronic music from multiple angles. Since releasing his first 12” in 2000, the German producer has built an extensive catalog that stretches across techno, house, kraut-inspired electronics, and club experimentation, balancing humor, tension, melody, and functionality without settling into one fixed identity.
Photo credit: Lauer – Official
Whether through solo releases, collaborations, or remixes, Lauer’s work consistently carries a distinct sense of personality — one rooted as much in instinct and spontaneity as technical precision. His latest project sees him reinterpret Thaddeus X’s ‘Club Safari’ for Emeral and Doreen, approaching the remix less as reconstruction and more as discovery.
In this conversation, Lauer reflects on memory in music, the changing psychology of the dancefloor, and why remaining faithful to your own ideas still matters more than meeting expectations.
EG: Hi Philipp, welcome to EG. It’s great to have you with us. Where do we find you today?
Lauer: Hello, thanks for having me. I’m at home in between some travelling and studio time.
EG: Before everything that came after, can you remember a time when music felt like more than sound, when it actually shifted something inside you?
Lauer: Two things come to mind: listening to a tape with House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ on my parents’ stereo on repeat for hours… Listening to John Coltrane on the skate video Blind – Video Days. Thank you, Mark Gonzales! Both from the early nineties…
EG: You’ve been invited to reinterpret Thaddeus X on this new release for Emeral and Doreen. When you first heard the original, what did you feel it was really about beneath the surface?
Lauer: I thought it was a nice track, and I already had an idea of where to take it with the remix.
EG: A remix can easily become just a functional club tool, but the best ones feel like a conversation. What kind of dialogue did you want to create between your voice and his?
Lauer: It works differently for me: making remixes is more like solving a riddle: “A good remix is hidden somewhere in this track… I just have to find all the clues.”
EG: When you step into someone else’s work, do you see it more as translation or transformation?
Lauer: Translation into Lauer-speak.
“On the dancefloor, people are scared to look or behave goofy or silly, as phones with cameras are everywhere”
EG: There’s a point in every remix where you either stay close or break away completely. Do you remember the moment when you decided which direction this one needed?
Lauer: No. I’ll just do my thing — similar to recording a cover version with my own synths, and afterwards I’ll try to make some of the original stems fit…
EG: Some tracks are built for impact, others for longevity. When working on this remix, were you thinking about the immediate reaction or how it might age over time?
Lauer: I don’t think about those things… it just turns out the way it turns out.
EG: Your music often carries a sense of memory without being nostalgic. When reworking another artist, how do you avoid falling into the past while still honoring what’s there?
Lauer: I don’t avoid falling into the past… the way I record music makes it sound that way…
EG: How important is trust in this process? Not just technically, but creatively, knowing that another artist is handing you something personal to reshape?
Lauer: I don’t know. I just try to capture the essence of the track with my own means.
EG: Labels today are not just platforms; they are curators of identity. From your perspective, what does a label like Emeral and Doreen need to get right to truly matter?
Lauer: I wish I knew.
EG: The dancefloor has changed a lot, attention spans, expectations, and even how people listen. Has that altered the way you approach something like a remix?
Lauer: I agree… people can’t live without something happening every five seconds nowadays. It’s getting more and more complicated to keep the attention for longer. Also, on the dancefloor, people are scared to look or behave goofily or silly, as phones with cameras are everywhere. Even if clubs have strict no-phone policies, that feeling can’t be switched off… and being silly and possibly looking goofy is a big part of feeling free… I try to push back… also with remixes.
“Stick to your own ideas… trying to fulfill expectations of others mostly puts you on a wrong path”
EG: If someone hears your version before the original, what do you hope they understand about you in those first moments?
Lauer: …That I like arpeggios.
EG: What has been the most unexpected piece of advice or realization that has stayed with you throughout your career?
Lauer: Nothing really unexpected, but: stick to your own ideas… trying to fulfill the expectations of others mostly puts you on the wrong path.
EG: Looking forward, what still feels unresolved or unfinished in your creative world, something you haven’t fully tapped into yet?
Lauer: I’m interested in producing songs, although I can’t sing myself.
EG: Thanks for the time and all the best!
Lauer: Thank you!
Lauer’s remix of Thaddeus X’s ‘Club Safari’ is now available. Stream and download your copy here.
Follow Lauer: Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram
