LAMP Weekly Mix #220 feat. Fabich
This week’s guest mix comes to us from across the pond by way of the very talented DJ, producer, and tastemaker Fabich. Born in Germany and now based in London, Fabich has taken the world by storm with his refined blend of soulful, funky, and hip hop inspired dance music. Sporting a long list of stellar collaborators like Jack LNDN, Ferdinand Weber, Jafunk, and SAINT WKND, official remixes for Pat Lok, M83, and Avicii, appearances on Eton Messy, and his own star-studded mixtape series “12 Tracks Tape”, Fabich has proved to be a luminary artist in the scene. Hot off the release of his two new singles “What I Wanted” and “Back to Life” Fabich delivers us some sunny daytime disco vibes for the latest installment of our weekly mix series. TOTD editor Damon Steele caught up with Fabich to get his take on his brand new EP, his musical inspirations, and collaborating with some of the hottest new artists in today's scene.[embed]https://soundcloud.com/lamp/lamp-weekly-mix-220-feat-fabich[/embed]Damon Steele: Welcome to our mix series we’re really excited about what you’ve prepared for us! What was your approach to this mix? Was there a particular vibe, song, or place that you had in mind when you were making this mix?Fabich: Thanks for having me! Yes, I just spent some time in LA and explored the city for a few weeks and wanted to capture that feeling in my mix! I had such a good time and can’t wait to be back. The mix includes my new track “Back To Life” together with Jafunk, my recent Remix for Pat Lok’s track “Stay Together” which is out on Kitsune now as well as new music by Mokoa, Young Franco, SG Lewis and some of my current favourites.DS: In addition to being a DJ you’re a very talented producer, and we love your music here at LAMP. We were excited to see that you released a new record a few weeks back called “What I Wanted” featuring Moli. Can you tell us a little bit about the making of this record and how that collaboration came about?Fabich: “What I wanted” is a song off my debut EP “A friends Story” and its a collaborative project together with the people that I’ve met since moving to London. I moved there last spring and had the chance to work with some of my favourite artists since than. The London scene is amazing, very friendly and I just love it. My friend Aaron who is featured on the “naked Lines” track off the EP actually introduced me to Moli, they both live in Berlin and met there while in the studio. “What I wanted” was the first song of many that I did with Moli and Ian Dench who also worked with Beyonce and Florence & The Machine co-wrote the record - he’s such a talented and great guy. I also did a song with Aaron and Moli together and can’t wait to show it to you soon.DS: Another one of your collaborators that we are very keen on is Jafunk. I personally have been playing your record “Back to Life” in all of my DJ Sets. Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like working with Jafunk and the process of making that record?Fabich: Thanks a lot! I also met Jafunk after moving to London. We met at a house party where Just Kiddin’ were playing and we had an amazing time partying together. Jafunk knew that I had just moved to London and actually helped me find the studio that I’m now working out off! The session where we did “Back to life” was so much fun, we did the whole record in one day. Jafunk played at club Koko during the same night, so we finished the recording of the vocals, got a few friends to come to the studio before the gig and had some drinks! We had a blast and instantly knew that this song has something special!DS: So you’re from Germany originally but you’ve since relocated to London. What prompted this move and how has it affected the music you make?Fabich: Yes, I grew up near Munich in the south of Germany, it’s an amazing city and I had my studio there before I made the move to London. As english is not the native language in germany I always had a hard time finding good singers and writers so I kept on going back and forth between the London and Munich. It has always been a dream of mine to move to either LA or London so at some point last year I decided to make the move. I had just signed my deal with a record label there so it felt like the time was right… Ever since moving there my output has increased so much - I try to do 4 or 5 sessions a week - and its been a great learning experience, working with different singers all the time.DS: Your music today has a distinctively soulful and funky vibe to it. What sort of influences did you have growing up in Germany that helped you get to this place?Fabich: I always liked all kinds of music and actually started out as a RNB and Hip Hop producer for other artists. My main influences as a child were The Neptunes, Michael Jackson and Timbaland, later on I fell in love with House music. I try to merge all these different styles and influences into something unique.DS: When you’re not listening to dance music, what kind of music do you like to listen to for inspiration?Fabich: At the moment I love old disco records from the 70s but I also like a lot of Kanye West’s music, The Weekend, Majid Jordan, Tom Misch, Kaytranada, Goldlink…. that kind of vibe.DS: We recently discovered your “12 Tracks Tape” mixtape series and we have to say we are big fans of the project. How did this series come about and how have you been able to get so many great artists together for the tapes?Fabich: Thanks a lot man, glad you like it! The mixtape series came together because I felt there wasn’t really anything similar sound wise. There are all these amazing artists and songs out there so the monthly mixtape series is a place for us to showcase the music we love. We currently think about hosting our own events in London and also do a musical project together. More info soon…DS: Lastly you have a brand new E.P. coming out on March 30th. I was super excited to hear that James Vickery is going to be on the project as well. Can you tell me a little bit about the project? What inspired it, and what you were you trying to say with the sound?Fabich: Yes the EP is out on Spotify and iTunes now and as I mentioned earlier its about the people I’ve met in London and their stories and my own musical journey. Each song is a little bit different but I feel that they all have the same vibe to it. It’s almost like a snapshot of all the music I currently like listening to. I’m really happy that all these amazing artists came together to work with me together on this project. The other day I also saw James perform the song we did together live with his band which was another cool highlight for me!