Berlin Mixtapes: We Welcome Transcode To Brighton

We are about to kickstart our first event of 2019 by welcoming an artist that is truly on the ascendency with big releases on multiple Berlin and worldwide labels.

Hailing from Manchester (UK), Transcode AKA Stevie Hare, is a dynamic and highly talented producer / DJ. His sound leans towards energetic & deep, driven techno but he certainly doesn’t limit his horizons, with an unquestionably unique ability to design deep and elaborate tracks that ignore the generic rules and constraints of genres. As a creative artist his work has been acknowledged and supported up by some of the most prestigious labels and artists in the business. Recent support has come from a wide range of tastemaker DJs, such as Laurent Garnier, Oliver Koletzki, Joris Voorn, Pleasurekraft, Alan Fitzpatrick, Monika Kruse, ANNA, Wehbba & many more.

His work has also been picked up by a host of Radio DJs including Anna Lunoe, B.Traits (BBC Radio 1), Deadmau5 (BBC Radio 1) and Eric Prydz (EPIC Radio). With multiple tracks getting into the Beatport Techno top 10 charts and releases on revered labels such as Stil Vor Talent & Filth On Acid, Transcode keeps pushing high quality music into the world and has a promising and exciting future ahead of him. 2018 saw him close out a massive Stil vor Talent party in Berlin with our friends at Ritter Butzke plus other events throughout the year including Drumcode, Watergate, The Warehouse Project and many more across the globe.

Not only that, Transcode has kindly compiled our next Berlin Mixtapes Episode 029 for your ears which you can all listen to here when we launch it on 27.01.2019.

Hi Stevie, how are you and what have you been up to this week?

Hi! I’m great thanks, hope you are also well. I have actually been skiing in Bansko with my manager and some other artist friends within the industry. It’s been super fun!

Sounds amazing! You are born and bred in Manchester, a city that is very close to my heart, a city in which I discovered electronic music for the first time after moving to the UK. I have my favourite haunts for music (all of them gone now) but where are/were yours?

Yes Manchester is also very close to my heart and also where I first discovered electronic music. I used to go to illegal raves when I was 17-18 years of age, this is where I got my first taste into this new world of music. I then went to club nights and bigger events such as The Warehouse Project and Ape at the Apollo. The Manchester music scene was very much dominated by Drum N Bass and early Dubstep at the time, which I still love to this day. This is where my influence and motivation came from to start producing and DJing.

What's the scene like in Manchester right now and what clubs or nights are standing out for you?

The Manchester scene is still weighted towards Tech House music but there are more and more cool techno parties emerging. One of the techno brands doing bits at the moment are Haus22, the line ups these guys are putting on are wicked and it’s great to see them pushing different shades of techno into the city. I also co-run an events brand called “Tekniq” and I like to think we are positively influencing the Techno scene here too. Club wise I would say the best parties seem to be at Joshua Brooks, Gorilla and Hidden.

You are now firmly in with our friends at Stil vor Talent and have released some tremendous music with them - How did that come about?

Thanks a lot! I actually sent a few demos over to their generic email address in 2016 which was the year I started producing techno. It’s kind of funny because I actually failed my driving theory test that day but when I got home I opened an email from their A&R saying that they absolutely loved my track “Simulation” and wanted to sign it to their next compilation. That really opened doors for me as that track was heavily played by the likes of Eric Prydz, ANNA, Btraits etc and was my first Beatport top 20!

You also recently played in Berlin for the Stil vor Talent showcase at Ritter Butzke, what was that like?

That was a super great party and first time experience in Ritter Bitzke. I did the opening set from 12-2 so I had to play a lot more melodic than I usually do for the first hour but it challenged me and I enjoyed it.

I also saw picture of you with Stephan Bodzin and Victor Ruiz hanging out for dinner, where was that and were you star struck?

Yeah for sure, these guys have been a big inspiration for me musically. We went for a meal together in Berlin on NYE as I was playing at Sisyphos that night and they had separate gigs at Hyte and Watergate. Victor Ruiz and I have played a couple of times together on the same line up recently, so we kind of made the plans to go then and It just fell into place. It was great to hang out and get to know each other a little better. It was the first time meeting Stephan but yeah, it’s always great to meet artists you look up to!

Where was your first gig?

It’s quite hard to remember that far back, especially with my memory haha I think the first gig was in my hometown in my hometown of Manchester playing Drum N Bass around 8 years ago.

You have played at some impressive venues and parties around the world within the last year. Which places have been the most fun so far?

Sisyphos in Berlin was pretty immense and probably one of my favourite gigs to date. Also headlining Watergate and Crash Musikeller were also highlights too!

You also run your co-run club night 'Tekniq MCR' and recently had Victor Ruiz and Thomas Schumacher party with you - Thomas is a great guy and also played for us back in July - Tell us more about the night.

We started running the brand in January 2016 and have brought a wide range of talented artists from all over the world to help influence the techno scene in Manchester. We have booked artists such as Victor Ruiz, Thomas Schumacher, Jay Lumen, Julian Jeweil, Spektre, OC & Verde, ANNA, Wehbba, Matt Sassari and many more. We also have an event in Joshua Brooks on march 8th with Drumcode artist Boxia and are planning the rest of the year as we speak! As I mentioned there aren’t loads of techno parties in Manchester but the events we are doing are getting a lot of attention and love so that’s great to see.

Are there any further plans to extend the brand?

We are just playing it by ear at the moment, of course it would be great to expand into festivals and to throw bigger parties but it would have to make sense financially.

Where's your favourite place to just to kick back and chill in Manchester?

There are plenty of great bars and pubs in Manchester that I go to with my friends. There is a cool cocktail bar in the Northern Quarter called The Fitzgerald, definitely has a relaxed setting. To be honest I equally like a quiet night in when I don’t have a lot of gigs, can’t beat a good night in with some movies and a hot cup of tea!

And equally, where's your favourite place to let loose?

Anywhere, basically wherever the wind takes me I’ll let loose haha

Which other DJs or producers are you liking right now?

Enrico Sanguiliano and Victor Ruiz are probably my two favourite producers and are huge influencers for me. I also really like music from my friend SAMA, his sound is driving but has a lot of emotion which I love. Also Spektre, Ilija Djokovic and OC & Verde are doing great stuff at the moment.

What are your go-to labels?

Terminal M, Stil Vor Talent, Noir, Kraftek and Tronic seem to be the main ones.

You have compiled our latest Berlin Mixtapes Series Episode 029 - Tell us more about your mix

Hopefully the mix will showcase the wider range of my sound. There are some original productions in there that are unreleased as well as music that has come out recently from myself and other artists. I always like to take people on a journey with my sets, expect here will be darker rolling stuff, melodic and emotional tracks and of course, peak time bangers!

What else can we expect from you soon? What's next on the horizon for DJ gigs & productions? Where can people see you next?

In terms of productions, I’m always working on the new music but right now I have a Terminal M single on January 18th, two tracks coming out on Stil Vor Talent and an EP with Secret Cinema’s label GEM at some point in 2019. In terms of shows you can catch me playing at the Respekt tour shows in March, with the likes of Spektre, SAMA, Patrik Burg, Phutek and Gary Burrows. I’m also playing in Hamburg and London in March too, then onto April I have been booked to play at a Tronic showcase on a pretty insane lineup. I also have been booked to play at Noisily festival in the summer and there are also a few more bits that my agency are working on for the rest of 2019.

Great news, it's been an absolute pleasure as always talking with you Bruno but before we go is there anything else you'd like to add?

Thanks, the pleasure has been all mine! Not really much else to add other than that I’m looking forward to playing for you guys at the event on January 25th! Also to anyone reading this, please make sure to check out my latest release on Terminal M and keep an eye on my socials for new music and gigs :)

Quickfire questions:

Genre: Techno Favourite Colour: Black What do you put on your chips: Mayo First record ever bought: Can't remember Apple or Android: Apple Pioneer or Denon: Pioneer Ableton or Logic: Logic Can you juggle: No Weirdest/Coolest Item of clothing: X Necklace Best club: Sisyphos Favourite Bar/Pub: Weatherspoons Favourite place to eat: No preference Coffee or Tea: Tea