A Few Minutes With Topic [Interview]

We caught up with superstar DJ and producer, Topic for a quick interview.

An interview with German DJ and producer, Topic.


 

Hey, please introduce yourself and tell us where you are from..

Hey everyone, I’m Topic! I’m a music producer and DJ, born and raised in Germany. I fled the cold and the rain in Germany and now live in Dubai :).

 

How did you first get into music production? Was it something you always had an interest in?

Not at all, no! My music teacher got me into music production when I was in high school. It was not something that I always had an interest in. Music in general was not really a big part in my family and I never even played an instrument when I was a kid or teenager. But when I was 15, our teacher had a school project where he introduced us to the logic pro software (which I still use btw) and let us be creative with it. I don’t know why but I really fell in love with the software and the idea to just be free and create your own music.

 

You’ve done a bunch of great collaborations with artists like Lil Baby, Bebe Rexha and Clean Bandit,  how important do you think collaboration is in dance music?..  and is there one collab from your discography that really stands out to you as a special track?

Collaborations are so important! 

Not only in dance music, also in hip hop and pop. In every genre basically, It’s great to get into the studio with different people, different mindsets, different tastes and that always creates that special spark in songs. 

Picking a favourite out of your own tracks is always like choosing between your children 😀 

 

Have you got any other collabs in the works or anyone you would love to work with in 2023?

Yeah! I just recently released a collab actually, with FAST BOY, who you will know from the amazing track with Meduza called “Bad Memories”. They are definitely ones to watch!

 

Topic & HRVY

Tell us about the new track, ‘All Or Nothing’ you’ve made with HRVY, how did that come about and whats the story behind it?

“All Or Nothing” together with HRVY was written by A7S (with whom I’ve been writing songs together even before “Breaking Me”) and Dennis Lloyd and me. It was a remote Zoom session actually! We were vibing and in that creative process, so at some point we kind of finished it with A7S´s vocals on it, but at that point we released a track together only a few months ago. So we decided to find a new vocalist. We sent it around and through a few people it ended up with HRVY listening to it and loving it so much, he sent over the vocals the same day. It was a direct fit so a pretty quick turnaround. Even the quickest there ever was!

 

 

 

You have played some of the biggest festivals and best nightclubs in the world, and have featured in the DJ Mag top 100 DJ’s, in your opinion what are the most important elements of a good DJ Set?

One of the most important element of a good DJ set, I think, is track selection and reading the crowd to know which track you need to play to match the energy in the room. Also depending on the countries where you go it makes sense to maybe play a local track. For instance, if I play in Italy I sometimes play some Italian music or when in India I try to incorporate an Indian track to also show my gratitude towards the country and the people. That’s always perceived very well. 

But I think the most important is to have good energy yourself as a DJ, to be outgoing and open towards the crowd. 

 

What advice would you give to someone just getting started as a DJ or producer?

My advice to everyone starting to be a DJ or producer – especially a producer- is to be really consistent. I know it from myself and learned it the hard way, as I’m not a real consistent person. It’s so frustrating because you make progress and then you’re not consistent:the progress fades away. Then, if you do start again after a while, you have to relearn it – so just keep going! Even if  it’s only 20 minutes a day, it’s better rather than to just stop for months and to then having to restart completely.

 

Stream ‘All Or Nothing’ on Apple Music.