Munich born Markus Mehta has been doing exceptionally well on the production front lately. He also recently released an awesomely groovy “Side Effect EP”  on Smiley Fingers. Here is a special 60 minute podcast and an interview with Markus.

Markus Mehta Podcast Tracklist:

01. Mr. G “My Sound” Monique Musique
02. ONNO “Entertain You – Sidney Charles Remix” VIVa Music
03. Lauren Lane “Magic Flight” Saved
04. De La Maso, Marco Zorano, Dexxis “Danzar” Area Remote
05. DJ Boris “Give Yourself – Danny Serrano Remix” Nirvana
06. Paul Rodner “Black Magic” Bitten
07. Sergio Pardo, Alex Delgado, Mr. Rodgall “Mambo” Motech
08. Mladen Tomic “Expectancy” Night Light
09. D-Unity “Redlight District – Ron Costa Remix” Kinetika
10. Markus Mehta “Side Effect – Hermanez Remix” Smiley Fingers
11. Solaris Heights “Vital Signs – Brunni & Danielle Remix” Yuma
12. Paul Woolford “Untitled” Hotflush

HMWL: It’s been a busy year for you by the look of things. What were your own personal highlights?

Markus: This year my focus lies on being as productive as possible in the studio and perfecting my craft as a producer. I got a lot of creative work done alone and also together with my collaboration partner Alec Chizhik. So most of my personal highlights have been in studio so far this year, but I also played some great gigs as well. Just last week, I played for Harry Klein club’s ten year anniversary, which was great.

HMWL: Talk to us about Munich. A good place to grow up for electronic music?

Markus: Since I can remember Munich always had a very health scene. The city has quite some history in electronic music as well. People such as Hell, Monika Kruse & tINI are all originally from Munich. The Ultraschall club has been the Mecca for house and techno in the south of Germany for many years before it shut it’s doors. Today the hotspots for me personally are clubs such as Bob Beaman, Rote Sonne and Harry Klein. You can go out here every weekend and hear some of the best talent on the circuit. Munich has never been as important as Berlin or Frankfurt (back in the day) for the music, but it was definitely a great place to grow up with it.

HMWL: Do you get to play there often?

Markus: After I stopped my long time residency at Rote Sonne not as much anymore. I would like to play here more often again. I still do play in Munich a couple of times per year, but not on a regular basis.

HMWL: ‘Your Mind’ has done really well for you this year. How did that one come about?

Markus: ‘Your Mind’ came about very naturally while Alec and me were jamming and hunting for new sounds in the studio. We were playing around with grooves, vocal snippets, samples etc. Once we found that Marimba sound, we knew that we needed to build the track around it.
HMWL:  What inspired the track? And who inspired you growing up and continues to inspire you every day?

Markus: It was inspired by a Sci-Fi movie. It’s quite moody and mystical. The 909 patterns were programmed in a certain classic Detroit techno aesthetic – very snappy and energetic. The Marimba sound we’ve used transports the overall feel perfectly.

I get inspired by all kinds of things. I am constantly listening to various styles of music – jazz, hip-hop, electronica and of course also a lot of house and techno. I am inspired by people who make music for the right reasons. The early concepts and ideology behind Detroit techno are still inspiring to me today. I like listening to dj sets by Derrick May & Laurent Garnier, those two have been an inspiration since the early days.
HMWL:  Away from music, what are your biggest inspirations?

Markus: I love traveling and going to places I have never visited before. Exploring different cultures, especially the Japanese is inspiring. I also get inspired by talking and listening to like minded people, exchanging ideas and experiences.
HMWL:  Do you go in to the studio knowing what you’re going to create every day? Or is it all dictated by your mood?

Markus: I always have a certain direction and idea in mind when I am starting to work on something new.

HMWL:   Why did you decide to set up Electronic Soul and what was your thinking behind it?

Markus:A couple of like minded friends and I were looking for a platform that we could use to professionally throw events and that could represnt us and other artists in the best possible way. We’ve had people like D’Julz, Jamie Jones and Paul Woolford play for us at very intimate venues. Electronic Soul is also a booking agency. We’ve been looking after Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Stacey Pullen for the German territory. Right now it is a bit quieter around ES as my focus lies on more artistic things.