Marek Hemmann is one of those artists who doesn’t need a huge marketing and promotional presence to gain notoriety in the dance music industry, his music just speaks for itself.

With his roots reaching far back into the nineties, where he was living in the small German town of Jena and soaking up the influences from their local techno parties every weekend. From there, it’s been nothing but a meteoric rise for the German artist, creating timeless tracks like Gemini, to 2016 where he will be making his Australian Debut at Zoo Project in Sydney and Let Them Eat Cake Festival in Melbourne. Stoney Roads was lucky enough to chat to him just as 2016 ends and a new chapter of his career begins in 2017 for even bigger and brighter things. Full interview below.

SR: For those of us who don’t know you, give us a little bio on yourself.

MH: Hi I am Marek. Born in a small town in East Germany, started playing on my dads guitar when I was a teenager, discovered my passion for electronic music, spent half of my life producing music and now coming all the way from Berlin to Australia to play some tunes for you to welcome 2017.

SR: Tell us about your time in Jena. How did that influence your output of tracks at the moment, as well as the sound you have established your career off?

MH: I still remember as a child how Germany was divided. We lived in the communistic part of Germany, where being a free artist was definitely not an easy one. Jena is a lovely city, surrounded by little mountains. I had a great and very productive time in Jena, recording and finishing my first two albums there. Maybe it was easy to find my own musical style because we were far away from the big and noisy citys.

SR: How has your career changed since releasing your monster track Gemini? Do you think that changed your creative direction in how you make music? Or has it always been that way?

MH: It has always been that way. Using a saxophone just gave Gemini that little something that it needed to make it groovy. Of course I got more attention after the release, my booking requests increased and luckily people also discovered my other songs.

SR: Being a resident in Berlin what are some of your favourite stores to shop there? Any tips for any Australian’s venturing over in the coming months?

MH: To be honest, I am not a guy that is into shopping. Ask me for stores to shop records in our next interview and Ill let you guys know. If you are looking for all kind of weird things I can recommend going to the flea markets in summer all over the city.

SR: What was it like being voted in the top 20 DJs by Groove Magazine? Did you ever expect this kind of reaction to your music and performances?

MH: It always feels good if people acknowledge my productions. I am not the typical Dj, more of a live artist. Still feels good, but I rather have a packed dance floor than being voted into Dj Lists.

SR: What are your studio must-haves? How did it end up that way? Did you just keep trying out synths and different creative practices or did it come naturally?

MH: I love the Korg Polysix for all kind of analog sounds, Midi Fighter Twister for controlling plugins, and Ableton for recording / arranging / playing live. Been using it for more than ten years now. Besides that I use almost everything from Soundtoys, U-he and Sugarbytes.

SR: What are your thoughts ahead of your Australian tour? Do you have any expectations of what Australia will be like?

MH: When I look at the line ups of festivals happening in Australia I am surprised how musically independent and educated Australia is for being so far away from the rest of the world. Other musicians have been telling me that the energy is amazing. I can’t wait to play infront of an australian crowd for the very first time. Ill make sure to play a very unique live set for you guys. Thanks for having me and see you on the dance floor.

You can catch Hemmann before 2016 closes out at Zoo Project in Sydney and then bringing in 2017 with Novel at Let Them Eat Cake in Melbourne on January 1. Last minute tickets still available here.