Hi Benjamin, thanks for joining us, how are you today, where in the world are you and what are you up to? I'm good, I'm excited my first solo album is coming out. Tell us a bit about yourself, how did you discover electronic music and what led you down the path of wanting to be a producer? Hey I’m Dirk Kanters, born in 1978 and raised in a town near Eindhoven, the Netherlands. My parents would always be listening to music when I was younger so, growing up I was influenced by a lot of different artist. When I started to develop my own taste of music I mainly listened to rock, grunge, blues and alternative. That changed when I went to a drum and bass party somewhere around the mid 90’s. My love for electronic music was born. I love to feel the atmosphere of the crowd, the pounding bassline, the dense air. So, I borrowed a Roland 303 drum computer from a friend and started producing, soon after that I bought my own equipment and I have not stopped producing ever since. Wh

Born and raised in Rome, with German DNA and a diverse musical palette Ae:ther is an artist who has quickly established his pedigree as a formidable producer and selector through scintillating DJ sets and a batch of stunning releases. Now based in Berlin, the 29-year-old has returned to the motherland where he is steadily cultivating a reputation for haunting melodies and narcotic rhythms. With strong connections to Damian Lazarus at Crosstown Rebels and the Afterlife crew, Ae:ther has considerable industry support with his focus on delivering high-quality dance floor ready cuts that channel his love for ambient electronica and transmitting deep emotion, while keeping the energy levels high. Hi Ae:ther, thanks for sitting with us today! Tell us where in the world you are today and what your plans for the week are.  Hello, thanks for having me! I am currently living in Berlin. At the moment I have no plans to move to another city. I found a good harmony for my life in Berlin.

With releases on esteemed imprints such as Atlant, Movement, Sudam and Nick Warren’s The Soundgarden, Ran Salman has become become one of his Israel's most exciting electronic music talents. We had a chance to catch up with the Tel Aviv resident on the cusp of a new EP for DJ Zombi's Beat Boutique Records. Enjoy! Hi Ran, thanks for sitting with us today! Tell us, what does a studio day look like for you? Hi, thanks for having me. I usually like to work in the studio in the mornings, If I had an idea before arriving to the studio I start by recording it and trying to come up with something cool, otherwise I start my studio session by listening to recent tracks I have in progress and decide what to work on. What’s been on your to-do list this week? Finish some new tracks, working on my custom midi controller called SALMANiZER. It will be ready soon and will be a big weapon in my live sets. Tell us more about your story. How did you discover electronic music and what l

Widely regarded for crafting the deep and progressive spectrum’s of house, Sebastian Busto has long been a favourite of world class DJs Hernan Cattaneo and Nick Warren. Also laying claim to an impressive discography of releases on Magician On Duty, Replug, Sudbeat Music and The Soundgarden, the Buenos Aires resident remains on the pulse of all that is progressive minded. Now on the cusp of a remix for Italy's Cigarette Music, we had a chance to catch up with Sebastian in this exclusive interview. Enjoy! Hi Sebastian, thanks for sitting with us today! Tell us, what does a studio day look like for you? Hello, friends of Progressive Astronaut! Thank you very much for receiving me. Right now my days of study are increasingly divided between my tasks as a producer and my tasks as a dj. For a while now I am lucky to be playing every weekend, and many of those gigs happen in Buenos Aires, so I strive to offer something different every time I play. I spend a lot of time listening to n

Hey Johannes, great to chat! Autumn is here - are you someone who likes this season? Does it affect the music you make? Actually I’m not a big fan of rain ;) Here in Germany it's often rainy in autumn, but I do love to be in the studio while it's raining outside. Winter and Autumn are my favourite times for studio work, and of course it's a completely different mood, which I really love. How often do you draw on your formal classical training? Is it useful? Yes it's super useful! The way I do music is a very traditional approach, like with real instruments and real performances. I don’t use loops or something like that. I try to really play and record everything, that’s how it gets artistic, in my opinion. What gear do you use now, software or real instruments or? My studio setup is changing all the time. Especially of course the electronic or digital instruments. For me it's about finding special or unusual combinations. Special microphones, traditional ethnic i

As one of Europe’s most in-demand mixing engineers Hannes Bieger spent a decade cultivating an untouchable reputation, with an exhaustive client list that includes some of the biggest names in contemporary house and techno. In 2017 Hannes decided to step back into the foreground and return to making his own music again, emboldened by years of studio experience, a renewed zest for production and a lifelong romance with electronic music. Since then he has made quite an impact; picking up a series of releases with highly influential labels, and traveling across Europe and South America to perform live. One of his most recent cuts, ‘Stars’, which dropped on John Digweed’s Bedrock label, hit the No.1 spot in Beatport’s Progressive House chart. An impressive list of achievements in a very short space of time, and it’s just the beginning... Hi Hannes, thanks for sitting with us today! You are a music producer, a mixing engineer, an electronic music live actor… Tell us how do

Based in Leipzig, Marc DePulse has become one of Germany's most widely regarded electronic music talents. His borderless approach to production has seen him find a home on some of the underground's most cutting edge imprints, most notably Eleatics Records, Einmusika Recordings and Parquet Recordings. Now on the cusp of a new single for the fast rising Swiss imprint Inspired By Trees, we catch up with Marc in this exclusive interview. Enjoy! Hi Marc, thanks for sitting with us today! Tell us, what does a studio day look like for you? Well, my studio is my home and my home is my studio. Currently I moved with my little family and don´t have an external studio yet – but looking for. That means my newborn daughter and my studio is in the same apartment. Actually not the perfect match but we all are doing our best that I can have quality time for music. What’s been on your to-do list this week? I´m working on a lot of things at the same time so this week I was taking care

Having forged a distinctive sound over the course of his decade long career, Matter's fluid, hypnotic style has found a place in the sets of progressive music tastemaker's Hernan Cattaneo and Nick Warren. Also laying claim to an impressive discography, the Melbourne resident has showcased his music on Cid Inc’s Replug Records, Hernan Cattaneo’s Sudbeat Music and UK behemoth Anjunadeep. Now landing on Roger Martinez's Higher States with a new EP alongside fellow Australian Funkform, we catch up with Matter in this exclusive interview. Enjoy! Hi Matty, thanks for joining us today, tell where in the world you are and what are you up to? What are your plans for the week? Hey  Mitch, great to chat again mate! Right now it’s 9:15am and i’m on a Melbourne tram on my way to work. This week is pretty busy -  I’m flat out writing music leading up to my European trip while i also juggle being a lead frontend developer at a tech company. Tell us a bit about yourself, how did

Hailing from Tel Aviv, Israeli duo Weekend Heroes are one of their country’s most highly regarded crossover acts. Their unique blend of progressive grooves and psychedelic design have landed them releases on Beat Boutique, Flow Vinyl and Iboga Records. The first release on their new HIGARA imprint is out now and we had a chance to catch up with the much loved duo in this exclusive interview. Enjoy! Hi Guys, thanks for joining us today, tell where in the world you are and what are you up to? What are your plans for the week? Good day to everyone, we are in Israel (Eli in Tel Aviv and Felix up north at Maalot). Felix just moved into new house so he busy building the new studio and Eli full time babysitter as school vacation still on. Besides that both of us play several gigs on weekend. So, busy but happy:) Tell us a bit about yourself, how did you discover electronic music and what led you down the path of wanting to be a DJ and producer? We both discovered underground el

London-based producer/dj John Monkman is the founder of Beesemyer Music. His unparalleled productions are also signed to globally recognised imprints such as Ellum, Last Night On Earth, Noir, Anjunadeep, Kompakt, Crosstown Rebels & Get Physical. Hey John, great to meet you! How are you today, what have you been up to so far this summer? You too, I’m well thanks! It’s very nice to be here. My time has been split between travel and gigs. The highlights so far have been Fabric in London, as well as the The Noisily Festival. I’ve also had an intense studio schedule over the last few months. When was it that you discovered electronic music? Around 16 years old. Looking back, a lot of the music I was listening too before that was early forms of ‘electronic’, but it was around the mid-teens when I guess I could really differentiate between styles. How much do you structure your time to be making music, looking for music to play, practicing your DJing, or do yo