Berlin-born DJ and producer Macon has swiftly risen from the city’s underground scene to become a global electronic music sensation. His innovative approach has earned him the title of Soundcloud’s Top Streamed Electronic Artist in 2023, marking a remarkable journey in the industry.
Photo credit: Macon – Official
Macon’s tracks have dominated major festivals like Tomorrowland and Parookaville, while also finding a home in underground venues such as Boiler Room and Berlin Rave Culture. As an early pioneer of the Hypertechno genre, he infuses his music with an infectious energy that captures the essence of “rave”. His work breathes new life into iconic 2000s anthems, garnering millions of streams across platforms.
Macon’s production skills have garnered official recognition, including a GRAMMY nomination for his work on ‘Avalanche’ from the Kx5 album. He has also collaborated with renowned artists such as Deadmau5, Kaskade, Tiësto, and Nile Rodgers.
Renowned for his dynamic DJ sets that seamlessly blend trance, industrial, and acid techno, Macon leads a global movement hungry for high-tempo electronic experiences. EG caught up with this Berlin native to discuss his latest releases, upcoming projects, and insights on the ever-evolving electronic music scene.
EG: Hi, Macon! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you right now?
Macon: Hey, thanks a lot, it’s nice being here! It’s been a few very stressful weeks just working on music 24/7, but now I’m on the train for a few days of vacation and getting my head cleared out again.
EG: How was your summer? Any particular highlights?
Macon: This one was amazing. 100% the most busy summer of my life and for that reason also the longest one. So plenty of time to enjoy it. Would definitely say my personal highlight was playing at Parookaville this season as it was a big dream since I started my whole journey.
EG: By the way, congratulations on the release of your much-anticipated remix of La Roux’s smash hit, ‘Bulletproof’! How are you feeling about this drop? What has the initial reception on the dancefloors been like so far?
Macon: Ahh! Thanks a lot. I love playing it so much. The crowd always sings with me as loudly as they can and that makes me really happy haha. Also, beginning with the track I started altering my sound for the very first time since everything else happened so I was kind of nervous about how especially my DSPs would react to it. But so far it looks promising.
EG: So, what can your fans expect to find on this one? How did you go about leaving your mark on such a dance/pop classic?
Macon: Having the opportunity to work on such a classic officially is a blessing for sure. When Spinnin‘ approached me, offering that slot I knew I had to come up with a way to rework this in a way that matched my style that I play at the moment. Which is far more oriented on playing the records out of the scene and not really playing as many hits as I used to do before. So yeah, I knew this song would get a special place in my sets, so it had to be special sounding as well haha.
“Nothing really changed and then someday you get the message that you are nominated for top artist somewhere”
EG: Why do you think the original had the success it had? How did the opportunity to take on ‘Bulletproof’ come about?
Macon: It’s that iconic “sing with me moment” in the choruses that made it so big I think. Then going even further with that quirky, feel-good production made it very appealing to the mass public, hence that big hit! And yeah just as I was saying before, Spinnin’ and I have a very close relationship so they bring some ideas to the table once in a while, then they offered ‘Bulletproof’ and since I was playing a version of it in my sets all the time as well, I thought it would be nice to have a very own one.
EG: Some of your recent accolades include being named Soundcloud’s Top Streamed Electronic Artist, and your studio work has earned you a Grammy nomination for your contributions to the Kx5 album… were you ever expecting any of this? Did you set out to leave a mark from the first moment or was this “life happening”?
Macon: All of this is just so random for me. Nothing really changed and then someday you get the message that you are nominated for top artist somewhere. I feel incredibly honoured about it but I never really worked towards this all. And that counts for all the success with records as well, since I just made them for me and my friends and then those that decided to join the ride.
EG: Now, on to a current subject… this week, the closure of ASLICE opened up a big discourse surrounding the “big players” and the lack of awareness in the DJ/producer dynamic. How do you feel about this? What are your thoughts on the current power balance and the future of our scene?
Macon: Seeing such an important movement fail is a disaster. Fortunately in Germany, we have a service that collects fees from the venues and is doing something similar. For me having something like ASLICE is something essential to keep the whole ecosystem between bedroom producers and those big players alive. Because we would be without those guys making the best interpolations or mashups on a big show. The big players certainly don’t have time to produce all of these themselves. I’m 100% sure there will be something similar very soon.
EG: And regarding the implementation of AI in music? What’s your stance on this? Do you think this will drive the scene forward?
Macon: I think it has its pros and cons. AI enables me for example to do things I wouldn’t be capable of like changing the sound of my voice memos to better fit the vibe of the production I’m working on. But having generative models to do full musical pieces is absolute nonsense for me. There is absolutely no need for a computer to rearrange music that has been trained on and then give it back in another form and call it something new. Humans will always do better and be the real cause of innovation.
“Humans will always do better and be the real cause of innovation”
EG: Finally, what can we expect from Macon in the next months? Where can your fans catch you playing live next?
Macon: A lot more club and underground tracks! I just finished a new one called ‘Still Screaming’ that I’m going to drop in a few days on Soundcloud and then I planned a whole EP just containing original bangers that I can’t wait to play next. I guess my upcoming Australia tour is the perfect place to test the whole EP. Let’s see haha!
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Macon! We wish you all the best for the future. Take care!
Macon: It was a pleasure. Thanks so much!
Macon’s ‘Bulletproof’ is now available on Spinnin Records. Stream and download here.
Follow Macon: Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram | Youtube
