When the Coronavirus shut us down, clubs and festivals ceased, and everyone was essentially forced inside with no definitive end in sight, DJ Times wondered: How is our tribe coping? How are DJs getting by?
So, we sent out our “Coronavirus Questionnaire” to DJ/producers from all musical genres to find out. During this period, DJ Times will continue presenting the questionnaire responses from talented music-makers from all over the world. Here’s our latest entry, this time from Germany’s Bavaria, the Munich-based electronic talent Innellea (aka Michael Miethig).
What’s it like where you’re living? How have you spent most of your time? Currently, we are again in a lockdown, which means that only essential stores and a few exceptions are open. I spend most of my time doing sports, creating music and spending a lot of time with the Innellea project, in general.
Did you lose important gigs, or income-producing work? I think everyone has lost important shows for themselves, but I also see an opportunity in every crisis. I have been able to re-think many things and have used the time to reflect on many things and, if necessary, changed them.
Are you doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income? Have you learned anything in the downtime? I gave a master class for 343 Labs for almost 300 people. That was a lot of fun and the people were super-grateful afterwards, which gave me a great feeling. It almost felt like a gig.
What are you doing now that’s ultimately constructive to your music life/career? For example, any releases during this period? My latest single is “Haveli,” a melodic house track. Last year, I released more music than I did in a long time. At the moment, I’m experimenting a lot and I don’t feel any pressure, so I can’t make any predictions for the coming year.
In the studio, what’s your set-up? DAW? A few favorite plug-ins for particular uses? I work with Ableton Live and I love the combination of plug-ins and my hardware. My go-to synth at the moment is the Dave Smith Prophet 08. It is very powerful, versatile and still cool to handle. For plug-ins, I can really recommend the Soundtoys bundle – it surprises me over and over again.
What’s your creation process in the studio? I start by creating a mood. This can be created by a pad, certain drums, vocals, a field recording or anything else that touches me at this moment. Then after that, I work on drums and try to go with the flow as much as possible and turn off my head as much as possible.
What’s your typical DJ set-up? I use four Pioneer DJ CDJ-2000NXS2 players, an Allen & Heath Xone:96 mixer and my Eventide H9 harmonizer for effects. So far, I am most comfortable with this set-up, but I am really looking forward to dig into the new Denon stuff.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? How much we need social nearness.
Have you done anything online recently? Have you seen any DJ video streams that impressed you? Yes, I recently did a stream for Cercle in the beautiful fort of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India. I played a 90-minute set on the top of the fort. For me, it was one of the most stunning things I experienced in my whole life. Dixon’s streams are always something different, and that’s why I like them a lot.
Any theme tunes recommended for the moment? The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.”
Any advice on staying sane & relatively positive through this situation? Do sports, reflect on what you have in life and always talk about your problems with your family, friends or anyone else you can talk to. We all have problems and there’s not a single reason to feel any shame for that, especially not in the 21st century.
To check out more Life in Lockdown interviews, click here.
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