Yes, 2023 is as good as history. It's crazy how quickly time flies - I still remember the day I wrote the review for 2022, pondering the sense or nonsense of a DAW!
2023 had many great moments. In fact, these 12 months were mainly about continuing my path of performing live and gaining more experience with it. My self-imposed goal for the year was 12 gigs, 1 per month, and I easily managed that ;D
Another HUGE focus was set on the transformation of virtual contacts into real ones. I traveled a lot and got to know many many nice people on my trips.
With this post, I'd like to share the most relevant moments with you. Here we go.
January
The year started with 3 gigs in a row - a private birthday party in Düsseldorf, a mini-festival in my neighborhood and a gig at the (unfortunately now closed) Elbar in Wald, Switzerland. The latter was a very nice Dub Techno gig, really loved it.
February
I reduced my workload to 70%. You remember - I had decided in 2022 to reduce my working hours in favor of my music business and this month it was time. You can read more about the reasons for this step here. I also started a coaching program for music newcomers, which accompanied me in the coming months and brought me some great acquaintances.
My remix of "Deux" by Ziris Music got released and I played a Gig in a restaurant in Zurich "Zum Warmen Werni".
March
In addition to a smaller gig in a bar in Basel, March was dominated by the ISH in Frankfurt, a trade fair for the HVAC industry (where I work in). My employer was represented with a large exhibition stand (which I was also responsible for building). I played a chilled live set at the trade fair party - it contained already some Dub Techno tracks that made it on the new album. It was also the first time I had played a hybrid setup. I'm still wondering if I liked it or not LOL
April
In April my working hours finally dropped to 60%. From this month on I had an insane amount of time for music making and I started the production of my album "Forget About the Music", which will be released in January 2024. As I wanted to release the album on vinyl, it needed a long lead time!
I also got finally my Swiss citizenship and my official Passport. Grüezi :D
May
Superbooth in Berlin was on my agenda of May. I met some cool people from Petite Victory Collective - Miles Kvndra, 2rmin, Nicolo from France, Sholinger - just to name a few. I also met an amazing singer from Holland: Ingeborg. I got to know her at the Newcomer Performance Coaching and we've been meeting up regularly since May and started an exciting collaboration - more about it very soon.
In May, the Analog Four MKII was added to my setup.
June
A highlight was on the program: "Mutter!", a production by Bernardo San Rafael, celebrated its performance in Stralsund, Germany. I performed live with the dancers - I recorded this unique project on video.
July
2 gigs claimed my attention - once I was allowed to play at the Brauerei Oerlikon, another time at the Barfussbar Zurich. I get to visit both venues again in 2024 :D
Live at Brauerei Oerlikon:
I also jumped on the roster of "Gmish" a Switzerland based label and booking agency.
Elektron Heat +FX entered the scene.
August
"WASSER" was another production with the team around and with Bernardo San Rafael. This performance was dedicated to the mass suicide in the town of Demmin during the Second World War and also took place there. What was special this time was that I didn't play live instruments. The pieces of music were installed in the form of loops on over 30 small loudspeakers, which were switched on and off in real time and moved with the moving audience.
In August, I also decided to release the first single from my album, "Swim To You". We shot a video for it.
September
"Swim To You" was released on 8.9.2023 in 2 versions. I love this Dub Techno track, it's based on a track I developed for an art installation in 2022 ("Shopping Bag").
On 15.9. I had the honor to play the opening ceremony of the new opera house in Schwerin with "MUTTER!", a production by Bernardo San Rafael. We had a great audience and the performance received great reviews.
October
I met Teder aka Peter from near Amsterdam at the beginning of October and got to play a short set at his release party. What great people I met at this event!
The following week I went to Brescia and met Nicolo aka Deega. We had a great connection and jammed together for many hours - the result was a great House set, which was broadcast on Massive Radio on October 14th.
I continued with London! I had the pleasure of meeting Mark aka Riigs and playing an evening full of electronic music with him. There were lots of great people at the start here too - DJ Steve Kelley was just one of them.
On October 27, "The Worst Thing To Live Without", the 2nd single from my album, was released - the reviews were great, you can read them here, even the track didn't perform as I expected.
What an eventful October! Insane.
November
It continued straight away - in November the 2nd edition of the "Sonic Playground" event took place in Copenhagen, my personal highlight of 2023! Not only was my set a great success, I also met lots of great people from our PVC label and made some more great friends - Songs from Tin Pan Alley, Second Sun, Atlas Castle, Yukio Bergholdt, Borenstein, Item, Wilk Kick, you name them. I'm already looking forward to SP2024! Here´s a dedicated blogpost about this event.
December
The third single from my album entitled "Horizon" was released on December 8, 2023. I absolutely love this Minimal Dub Techno track and I think the reviews speak for themselves.
There was also a remix that I produced for my friend AWITW titled "Solitude, My Love".
In December, I also started preparing the album release and the accompanying Pre-Release party, which will take place on January 6, 2024.
What a jam-packed year! I hope your year was also successful and you were able to turn your dreams into reality - write a comment below, I would love to hear from you.
I'm already preparing for the coming year and I'm really looking forward to continuing my musical journey with you! It starts in January with my release event and the release of my album "Forget About The Music". I have a new date for my live streams, and I'm making plans for a regular series of electronic music parties.
With this in mind, I wish you a happy new year, take care of yourselves and stay healthy :D
Your Matthias