Guest of Honour: From seven-day work weeks to Thai beaches with Oliver Koletzki

Mar 20, 2012 | by Rob | Music

Who wrote this?

Rob is 28 (but needs his beard to actually look like it), loves music, adventures and spontaneous people. His scribblings are about these things too, so if you share his interests, stay tuned!

Oliver Koletzki is a 37 year old musician from Berlin. His fourth full length album was released last Friday and he has been touring all over Europe for the last seven years. He is famous for his DJ sets and numerous hits such as Arrow and Bow and Hypnotized. What less people might know is that he also leads his own band, The Koletzkis, and runs his own successful label, Stil vor Talent.

I’ve personally been a fan of the man for many years, and I am very happy I got to ask him some questions about his music and career:

Oliver, you are a man of many talents and successful as a DJ, producer, band leader and label boss. Do you have any challenges left?
“I am actually quite happy with how things are going, it’s nice to be busy with music. I like the variety of both DJing and playing with the band. As you said I also run my label Stil vor Talent, where we focus on pushing newcomers such as Niko Schwind and Channel X.”

What takes up most of your time nowadays, the label or your own musical career?
“I’ve just finished recording my new album Großstadtmärchen 2 which was just released (March 16th), but before that I was really busy. Every morning I would go to the office to work on the label, then into the studio in the afternoon and more answering e-mails in the evening. Every Friday I would still go the airport for two or three gigs, but that has calmed down a bit now.”

Your own career got kick-started when Sven Väth released one of your tracks on his Cocoon label many years ago. You are helping upcoming talents in the same way with Stil vor Talent right now. Which of your discoveries or releases on the label are you most proud of?
“I am most proud of just seeing the whole thing grow. The label can now fully support itself and I don’t need to put any private money in it anymore. The start was really hard, but artists like Nico Schwind and Channel X can now live of their own music. That’s something I am really proud of.”

Großstadtmärchen 2

Oliver’s new album Großstadtmärchen 2 features a lot of different vocalists, all with their own stories and style. The album ranges from very poppy songs to real house bangers; but also trip-hop, down beat stuff and even a hip-hop song with Jake the Rapper.

Was it hard to find all these vocalists for your album?
“Not really. Some were really easy, like my wife Fran, hahaha! Most of them are Berliners I already knew like Jake the Rapper, Jan Blomqvist and MC Ramon.”

You’re coming to Amsterdam soon to perform at STRAF_WERK. Do you enjoy playing here? Is there any special connection you have with the city?
“Oh yes, definitely! Between my 18th and my 25th I would come to Amsterdam every month to smoke marijuana, hahaha! I’ve also played at Studio 80 very often and the people are very wild in Amsterdam. There is a good mix of boys and girls which I like. I am also looking forward to seeing H.O.S.H. again. He is a good friend of mine who used to release on Stil vor Talent also. He is now part of the very popular Diynamic label; it should be great! I also know &ME and Tapesh who are great and I think I have heard of Homework before, but I am not sure.

You tour around the world a lot, so you must get into a lot of adventures. What has been your most crazy or wild gig ever?
“Well, I often play in Germany, and sometimes also in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy. A lot of my songs have German lyrics and titles so I am more famous at home than abroad. I do go on tour to Australia and South America one a year. But to answer, last summer in Thailand was really great. The DJ booth was on the beach with people dancing in the water, the sun shining and my wife Fran singing.”

On March 30th, Oliver Koletzki will play at STRAF_WERK in the Westerunie. See you there!