M A N I K: ‘My 2011 in brief’

About a year ago to the day I downloaded a mix by techno don Steve Bug recorded live at the Mulletover Halloween party that took place last October. In that mix were a few tracks that caught my ear, one in particular was called Pure Liquid by a man called M A N I K. In the year since I’ve tracked his progress from his excellent podcasts, to his album Armies Of The Night, through to tracks like Body High and She Watches Me – which I liked so much, I even designed a T-shirt based on the track’s vocal sample. Again, through the wonders of the internet and ’social networking’ I managed to get in touch with the New York-based producer and made several attempts to catch him playing when he came over to London… well, it took a while but finally I caught him a couple of months ago at a party put on by krankbrothers and great fun it was too. Fortunately my job has also allowed me to drop M A N I K a line and get him to give me a brief recap of the past year, and here it is.

So Chris, what I’d like from you is a breakdown of your year, simply split into four quarters… First up, tell me about January to March…

Started out with prepping my release schedule for 2011 and getting everything lined up with my debut album on Ovum. I also tied up my tracks for Hot Creations, like ‘Body High’ by recording my own vocals onto the track. These first couple months I played a few gigs, but was mainly wrapping up some details in the studio and planning the Album with Ovum.

How about April to June?

I had just started my first major European tour of the year. As of April 1st I spent five weeks on the road and I was all over Europe between April and May. Playing gigs in Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal and many more. This was quite an experience for me and it really taught me a lot. I met many great people and got a taste of life on the road. When I got back from tour I had sat down and finalised my Culprit songs for later in the year. ‘She Watches Me’ was complete – this was the follow up to 2010’s McLovin You.

Nice one, and what was happening in July and September, the busy summer period?

I began my Summer European tour in July. I started out playing some dates in Toronto, SF, and my favorite US party – the Culprit rooftop in LA. Then I went straight to Europe for four weeks playing gigs in Ibiza, Budapest, London, Dublin, and even the Tomorrowland festival in Belgium. I came back in August and began to rebuild my studio. This is the studio of my future. New attitude, new gear, new sounds, new fun things. One of my favorite tunes during this tour was Breath N’ Pop by Ultrasone which samples Q Tip. I also got a chance to hang out in Budapest a lot which was nice – got to spend time with my cousins which is always a plus.

Ultrasone – Breathe N’ Pop by LocoMatt

How about the last couple of months, October up to the present day?

I began my final Fall European tour middle of September but it lasted right into mid October – another four weeks. Got to play some new cities like Moscow (at a club called Arma 17), Edinburgh (Rende-vouz) and also Ferrara (Black Box). I also spent a month in Berlin and got to hang out with some of my friends. I really like that city. As of November I went to tour Brazil for one week which was cool. Really nice down there. I played at this great club called Club Vibe in Curitiba which was dope! November saw three of my releases out in the month. ‘Body High’ finally came out on Hot Creations – HC014, as does my exclusive tune ‘House Of Flies’ for Hot Waves 002. Then my first full Original EP since my album, entitled ‘She Watches Me,’ was released on November 18 off LA-based Culprit – I coludn’t wait for that release!

Going into the new year, I will be playing at Electric Pickle December 10, plus the Universo Festival in Brazil around New Years. But overall taking the touring down a bit to focus on my music and projects. I am currently building my new studio. I will be spending a lot of time in there for December and half of January. With that said, I am very excited about a new band I started too. It features my friend on bass and also a vocalist and some other musicians. This is a side project I am doing that will be quite unique, and I am really looking forward to getting it going as soon as this new studio is built. Keep an eye out for that as I think something special will come of that. In addition to this, I will be working on brand new material for 2012, a few new singles, remixes etc.

As for ones to watch, I would def say keep an eye out for Ultrasone and Voices Of Black.

Much love from the NYC.

Pick up She Watches Me by clicking HERE and House Of Flies is featured on the Hot Waves 2 compilation available from HERE.

M A N I K (Hot Creations/Culprit) – Autobrennt Podcast – September 2011 by R_co

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