Focus Piknic | Till Von Sein

Till Von Sein's exploration of house music has been rocking dancefloors since the early 2000s. Born just outside Hamburg but now living in Berlin, his passion for music runs deep. Starting his journey as a teenage hip hop MC in the 90s, he discovered house, techno, drum and bass and downtempo at a young age and got bit by the bug.

His career really took off in 2011 with the release of his debut LP, #LTD, on Suol, which also houses artists like Fritz Kalkbrenner and Daniel Bortz. Now that he's travelling the world, his penchant for discovery has flourished. Followers of his social media networks will know that he's always exploring the cities he visits in depth, and striving to get as much out of them as he can.

The more you dig into Till Von Sein's life and career, the clearer the picture becomes: he's a man deeply in love with life and music, who wants nothing more than to spread that passion to the world. We can't wait to welcome his signature deep, funky, soulful style of house to Piknic Électronik this weekend. To help get you ready, we've made him the subject of this week's Focus, where he talks about his past, his longtime production partner Tigerskin, and his approach to DJing.

What is your best DJing memory?
The first time playing in Johannesburg / South Africa, I had no idea what to expect, ended up on a rooftop in downtown Joburg, which at that time was still a dodgy neighbourhood to say the least,  in front of maybe 700 black kids going totally nuts to house music that was so deep even Ron Trent would be like : "yo,that shit is deep!" Never experienced that kinda enthusiasm again. So much love for those people.

Do you approach outdoor gigs differently than indoor ones?
Yes. And it also depends if it's daytime or during the night when everybody has been up already for 48 hrs straight in 28 degrees ;) I love intimate sweaty club gigs, but that feeling of being outside in beautiful nature looking at dancers wearing little to nothing is unbeatable.

How did you and Tigerskin first start producing together?
I played a show in Odessa / Ukraine and played a new track of mine and the DJ after me asked me if I can leave that CD with him, and a month later Tigerskin played there and that DJ played the track and he asked him about that track and he contaced me if he can release it on his label.

For me it was a big honour at that time as I just entered the whole “ techno house world “ and he was already that legendary producer. He invited me to his studio to mix that track again and we just had that perfcet vibe going on from that moment so it was obvious to work on some music together.

What do you think is the essential ingredient to rock the house?
A dope venue and a dope soundsystem, a cool crowd and a chill vibe, good music and a DJ with a great aura. In the end, it's all about the music. The right tunes at the right time.

What’s the best song to play if you need to sneak away from the decks to pee?
Right now there is a DJ Koze remix of Roman Fluegel which is 9 min long. perfect ;)

If you could have a picnic anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I'm in washington right now and just came back from a long walk to visit the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, etc. The idea of being alone in the garden of the White House just with a bunch of friends, some great food and a decent boom box and, at one point, big O and his wife will join and we play some good old chicago traxx and all go down… yeah baby

Don't miss Till Von Sein on the Solotech Stage from 4:30pm-7pm this Sunday, June 12th.