[ULTRA EXCLUSIVE] Thomas Gold Interview

Thomas Gold
Thomas Gold Presents Fanfare Episode 38

Thomas Gold, the German producer and International superstar that needs no introduction, is also one of the nicest guys we have come across. We were able to catch up with him at WALL and ask him about his expectations for Ultra, his musical upbringing and what is coming out for 2013.

TMN: Thomas! Thank you so much for sitting down with us tonight. We’re excited to see your set here at WALL. First off, talk to us about what the energy and vibe is like in Miami for both UMF and WMC.

I have not been to Ultra yet, I am going tomorrow, but as far as I can see, it is amazing again this year. You can really see it filling up. We arrived here on Thursday night and it was still a little bit quite but you could feel that there was something going on. On Friday all the people came in and now you can see it is busy here, it is busy at the pool area, on the streets, traffic jams everywhere! I am super excited happy. I played at Space last night and it was a great night, so much fun. I am really looking forward to the next days.

TMN: We know you tend to go on pretty long extended tours, how do you handling time between performing and producing?

Actually I try to but I am not really handling it well at the moment, I must admit. I am still trying to because I am traveling a lot and it is hard to find a quiet, long period of time to really get into it and switch your brain to the music and dive into it.

So, of course I do a lot of stuff on my laptop and on the plane, at the airport and in the hotels. I have a keyboard with me so I can play melodies and chords, but it is super different from being in a real studio with speakers because on headphones it always sounds different; you don’t feel the music you just hear it. I prefer to be in a proper studio with a nice sound system. I have been touring a lot in the past months and mostly outside Europe so that means I don’t have much time to spend on the studio.

I was touring Europe for the last few weeks and in between the shows on the weekend I can go home to Berlin in my studio, so that means I had a little bit of time but still there was still so much other stuff to do. I am actually taking a couple of days off after Miami just to be in the studio and I am really hoping about getting this stuff done. I am working on my next single and it is just an issue of timing.

TMN: It there any food or drink item that you bring from home that you have to have with you while you are on the road.

No I just bring my instant coffee pack with me [laughs] So that is the only thing I bring and I am glad I have not had any problems through customs. [laughs]

TMN: Is there anything you look forward to when you are touring through American that you like? A certain food or drink?

Yes I love the steakhouses and I love sushi. There are a couple of really nice places in Miami and New York. I just love the food here.

TMN: You’ve played at the largest festivals, venues, and clubs all over the world. Are there any that stand out above the rest?

Yes for me personally was my Roseland in New York which happened in January. It was my only Fanfare show. And Roseland Ballroom is a special event and they have had all these big acts already and I was just proud to have the venue for my night and I could design my night and invite my personal guests. We had the special dancing team and all the production, we sold out weeks before the show and it was amazing. The New York crowd was just nuts. That was my personal favorite. And of course when I played EDC main stage I had an outstanding time

TMN: Let’s go back a bit, can you tell us the history of your music background? Were you brought up in a musical household or classically trained in any instrument?

Yes I had keyboard lessons, electronic keyboard when I was little, for a couple of years. It is so helpful because when I play chords I can always play it myself.

I am the type of guy who needs to be in front of the keyboard. That is why I bring my own, because I just can’t do it on the laptop keyboard, I need to play the real keys.

It is really useful to haven had these lessons. Of course I play other kinds of music like jazz and classic tracks and pop…, but for me it is really good to have this kind of knowledge.

TMN: We love the fact that you’ve brought out drum lines on the stage. It is a unique way to try to change up what is out there in the current scene. How did you decide on adding live percussion to your set?

The basic idea was, my tracks include a lot of percussions sounds like in “Marsh Marsh” and the Adele remix I did which has all those drums going at the end. I thought, why not bring some real drummers on stage with me because it is my personal signature song and I love big drums, I just love their sound.

I was thinking about what we could do and here in America it is so popular to have these drum lines, every university has their own. So I just went on Google and found some YouTube videos and talked to my management. I proposed the idea to them and they loved it. They helped me finding the right group and it was important to me to have people playing with me alongside my tracks, not just doing their own performance and then I’m back on. I wanted to perform together. I sent them my tracks and they started writing.

There was a writer and he wrote the drum tracks on top of my tracks and then we go together and we played the tracks together. After that, I started adapting my tracks according to what they had. So for example on Fire to the Rain, in the break section when she sings, I changed the entire drums just because I wanted to bring out the real live drummers more. It is fun because it is really like going back and forth with the guys and the guys are amazing. In the rehearsals it is always cool to hang out with these guys. They are so into the music and when they are on stage you can really see that they are enjoying it a lot.

TMN: We also hear that you have a Thomas Gold party bus making its way around Miami. What is on this magical fan bus?

Actually the basic thing is that I have a bus it’s called the Fanfare Party bus and it’s a specially designed bus. There are no seats inside and it is just a dance floor, a DJ booth, a laser system and a sound system and couple of bars. It is all branded with my Fanfare design. We are having a party on the bus and I am inviting my fans to come on board and just drive around the roads of Miami with me while I am playing and I have a couple of guest djs.

And I saw the Bus actually for the first time last night and today we had an hour and a half where we could go around , drive around the bus and it is amazing! It’s so cool, I can’t wait to go onboard for the party, we will be doing it on Wednesday as well.

TMN: That is awesome that you do it for your fans!

Yea it is kind of an extended meet and greet.

TMN: Many people look up to you as one of the leaders in house music, including all of us at The Music Ninja, what kind of advice could you give to up and coming producers that want to make it into the scene.

I would say just try to be yourself, find your own style even if it takes a while it’s worth it. It is a lot of work and be prepared to put in a lot of work. You have you be patient and not everything happens overnight but it is really worth it if you see things developing and evolving. My advice would be to take your time, and you have to be100% on the music. You have to do it every day, every minute and you have to live the music

TMN: So we are going to do a rapid fire session, there are off the wall questions so don’t expect anything too seriously, just give us the best thing that comes to your mind

TMN: Who has the best mustache in show business?

[pause] In show business?

TMN: Past or present, it could be even be Burt Reynolds

[laughs] yea I was about to say that!

TMN: One food that you cannot live without.

Steak

TMN: Where did you eat the best burger in your life?

I do not know the name. I know where it is, it is in Manhattan. A friend took me there, it is like a burger joint inside of a hotel. It is a super small room and it smells and it is sticky but it is full of people. I do not know the name but the burger was just amazing. It was on 56th street. [We believe it is the Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien Hotel]

TMN: Who is the best James Bond?

I would say Roger Moore.

TMN: If you were to order a drink what would it be?

Gin and Tonic.

TMN: If you were to order a shot, what would it be?

Jagermeister or Patron.

TMN: Seems like you have been hanging out with Michael Woods, from the sound of it seems like he is a Jager fan, he is always talking about Jager shots on facebook.

[Laughs] I did play with him a couple of weeks

TMN: If your music was an animal what would it be?

A lion.

TMN: Any particular reason?

I think it is because a Lion can be very calm but at any particular time it can be very strong. RAWR! [Laughs]

TMN: Snapbacks or fitted hats?
Snapbacks

TMN: Wrapping things up, what is coming for 2013, anything you would like to share with us?

I am looking forward to see all the festivals this year. I am really excited for the summer to come. My next big tour is in the making, I will be touring in a couple of weeks. Then of course it is going to be the music, I am about to finish my next single. I cant wait to get it out there and release it. I am really happy about the start of this year and a bunch more things are coming out.