As some begin the wardrobe dig for the shortest shorts and loose fitting singlets, David August is getting excited for his first trip down under. Harbourlife 2013 is just around the corner and this year, David will be playing along side Carl Craig and Art Department. But first! Guess how old he is? 20. (yep) If you hadn’t read it before you probably wouldn’t believe it. Just chilling in the kitchen of his Berlin apartment (a place of inspiration for many) it soon transpires that David is more than just your average young adult. If the maturity in his music doesn’t give that away, just have a chat with him and you’ll find he’s thoughtful, intelligent and just  a downright cool guy. (And not afraid to rip on shitty DJ’s).

There’s a lot of diversity in your music. For those who may be unfamiliar with your work, what genre would you say you fall under?

Nowadays, all these kinds of electronic music are just being categorised by genres. Like on Beatport, “Beat port genres” are basically the new genres and I hate them, I hate categorising music into genres. ‘Deep house’, ‘new indie rock’ whatever that shit is called, I don’t know, I don’t care about that. Music is being made and called ‘deep house’ when it’s not deep house and so on. So on Beatport they need to categorise it to sell it, I get that. But this word ‘deep house’, for example, is just everywhere and I hate it. Just because it’s deep house on Beatport, doesn’t mean it’s ‘deep house’ in real life. All these people are calling their music ‘deep house’ when they don’t know what ‘deep house’ actually is.

What do you think are the best characteristics of the German scene?

It’s very tolerant. Like, the people who enjoy the music here. The fact that we have no real closing time, in Germany the club keeps going until the last man standing. Sometimes there are parties until 1pm, it’s crazy! This is a good strength and characteristic here but it’s also pretty dangerous… When there’s 8 hours of non-stop partying or more. Other countries just compensate with the illegal stuff, like the after parities. Just because the club closes at 5am, the people are still thirsty for more so you’ll get something else too. There are a lot of artists who come from here, and this is something that makes Berlin this institution. It really helps polarise this area, to make it this home-base.

You can’t have a party without Music and it’s undeniable that drugs lurk, somewhat prominently, in the background. What’s your stance on this?

I don’t think about drugs that much, I don’t do them. I think drugs are such a big part of the scene because the repetitive structure of the music fits perfectly with the reaction you get with these drugs. It’s like a perfect match. If people need to do that, then go ahead. But I think if you really get into the music or go to the right places, you can get the same trips and have your own experiences without taking anything.

Artist fee’s seem to going through the roof at the moment, especially when you consider the pay checks passing through Vegas. What are your thoughts on this?

Yeah it’s getting crazy. I mean, DJ’s are not underground anymore, DJ’s are the new rockstars. David Guetta and Avicii and all these different DJ’s are getting played on the radio and people don’t care as much about RnB and Pop. Now it’s not just Beyonce and Rihanna anymore, these guys are getting pop-star positions so they’re getting a lot more money. And people forget that they have been DJ’s playing for a lot less. This new status and popularity changes the way they are seen. Maybe they deserve it, I don’t know. But the thing that’s sad for me is that they’re getting lazy. They just put in one CD, press play and fake it. I mean, you earn so much money, don’t you have any shame? It just makes me angry. The times have changed. You don’t have to play the guitar anymore on stage, you just play your computer and make a big show. And it’s fine you know, but just do it for real.

David certainly had a lot of wisdom to share for such a young charater in the scene, be sure to check out the rest of the interview here where he talks drugs, future sounds and which countries are doing dance best.

While you’re at it, grab tickets to see him play live at Harbourlife 2013 alongside Carl Craig, Moodyman, Art Department, Finnebassen and more.