Checking in with Thrills in +41

Thank you for sitting with me and discussing some exciting things you’ve planned for the future. Of course, you are no stranger to our festival and club, so I’m curious to find out what is on your mind in anticipation of Orbit Festival next month.

𝙒𝒆 𝒓𝙚𝒄𝙚𝒏𝙩𝒍𝙮 𝙨𝒂𝙬 𝙩𝒉𝙖𝒕 𝒚𝙤𝒖 𝒔𝙩𝒂𝙧𝒕𝙚𝒅 𝒓𝙚𝒍𝙚𝒂𝙨𝒊𝙣𝒈 𝒕𝙧𝒂𝙘𝒌𝙨 𝙤𝒏 𝒂 𝒏𝙚𝒘 𝒔𝙚𝒓𝙞𝒆𝙨 𝙤𝒇 𝑼𝙣𝒊𝙩𝒆𝙙 𝙄𝒅𝙚𝒏𝙩𝒊𝙩𝒊𝙚𝒔 𝒄𝙖𝒍𝙡𝒆𝙙 𝙋𝒓𝙞𝒎𝙖𝒍-𝑿. 𝘾𝒐𝙣𝒈𝙧𝒂𝙩𝒖𝙡𝒂𝙩𝒊𝙤𝒏𝙨! 𝑯𝙤𝒘 𝒆𝙭𝒂𝙘𝒕𝙡𝒚 𝒅𝙞𝒅 𝒕𝙝𝒊𝙨 𝙩𝒂𝙠𝒆 𝒇𝙤𝒓𝙢, 𝒂𝙣𝒅 𝒘𝙝𝒂𝙩 𝙞𝒔 𝒕𝙝𝒆 𝒆𝙨𝒔𝙚𝒏𝙘𝒆 𝒐𝙛 𝙩𝒉𝙞𝒔 𝒔𝙚𝒓𝙞𝒆𝙨 / 𝙩𝒉𝙚𝒔𝙚 𝙩𝒓𝙖𝒄𝙠𝒔?

I’ve produced a lot of music in the past years, with my first United Identities release in 2021. Carista and I share a lot of music with each other, and eventually, we got to the point where she gave me the opportunity to create ‘my own little world’ on the United Identities label, which is very cool! Eventually, this became the Primal X series. 

‘Primal’ refers to repetitive rhythms and patterns, while ‘X’ refers to the future. So it’s a somewhat nostalgic 90’s sound – which is close to my heart – along with a futuristic touch. For example, I’ll use analogue equipment and 90’s samples combined with digital effects and plugins.

𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙙. 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧?

During covid, I started to fully explore the world of electronic music production. I saw Carista was doing really nice things with her label, so I sent her an email with some demos, and she responded that she was excited about some tracks. One thing led to another; next was a meeting at her studio, and things took off from there.

𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙄𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙗2𝙗 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙉𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙞 𝙀𝙜𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 17:00 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 19:30. 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙩?

A b2b is always different from a solo set. Luckily Ngoni and I already played two times before, which had a nice dynamic, making it easier for us to play together. However, we will probably check in with each other before the festival.

This year’s timeslot is different, so I will bring other stuff energy-wise. Last year I had to warm up the crowds, and this year we’re hoping for a jam-packed area with lots of people dancing and enjoying themselves. The great thing about b2b is that you can never fully prepare. You have to adjust to what the other person is playing, to the moment, and feel the crowd’s vibe. Fortunately, the crowd is open to a wide range of sounds at Orbit Festival. 

𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙖𝙩 𝙊𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙁𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮?

That would have been my mate TAFKAMP, but unfortunately, he cannot attend anymore, but I’m happy that he will take some time for himself.

I’m really looking forward to Gabrielle Kwarteng because she has a groovy NY sound, which in my opinion, is great in a festival setting. I’m also very keen to check out Sedef Adasi, who will play at the festival and the afterparty. I’m interested to hear what kind of sounds she will bring! 

𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨?

I will finish some projects I’ve recently been busy with, particularly the Orbit-themed track I’ve been working on. I was approached a few months back by the Orbit team to produce the music of the recap, for which I’m creating a special track. 

Besides this, I will also be playing some cool parties tomorrow at the United Identities XL party at Skatecafe, Wildeburg Festival, a tba show in Rotterdam, and of course, Orbit Festival in late July. 

𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮?

Ha ha, they always ask me this question during an interview. But I understand it asks for clarification. +41 is the land code of Switzerland. I went there one summer during a phase where I wanted to do something different with my music. We had some crazy experiences or ’thrills’, so to speak, during this trip, and after a moment of contemplation, the name just kinda popped up in my head.

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑏𝑦 𝑇𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑎𝑠 𝑉𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑠

𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ𝑦 𝑏𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝑒𝑢𝑟