Ninetoes - "First of all: find your own sound."

In the latest edition of Behind the Heaphones we spoke to Hot Creations artist Ninetoes. Ninetoes made shockwaves through dance music with his 2013 smash hit Finder. Since then he has released on a host of labels such as DFTD, Crosstown Rebels, and Toolroom to name a few. We sat down with the Ninetoes to talk about his early beginnings, touring and getting tracks signed.

You were born and grew up in Stuttgart, Germany’s motor city, what are your earliest memories of music, and what was it that pushed you to pursue this as a career?

My uncle. He was a DJ back in the early 80’s. I saw him once playing and I knew I wanted to do the same when I grew up 🙂

For people that didn’t know, before your 2013 smash hit “Finder”, you had spent more than fifteen years mastering your trade, predominantly producing and playing Hip Hop, what was it that made you make the switch over to electronic music?

Playing and producing hip hop music and promoting hip hop parties became boring in 2009-2010 and so I started promoting house music parties and started producing as well. My first production was ‘Finder‘, which was the door opener for me into the electronic music world.

Ninetoes · Ninetoes – Same Same EP (Hot Creations)

You have toured across all continents of the world, is there a specific city which has stood out to you the most? (culture,party,food,sights)

I love Asian food and also Mexican, Italian or Turkish food and I also love touring through Asia or South America and the rest of the world as well. But I’m more a beach guy. I need sun, nature and the sea. So when it comes to cities there are a few like Rio De Janeiro, Berlin, London, Barcelona or Sydney I really like. Party wise it’s difficult. Most of the time it’s a closed room with party people in it. So it can be anywhere in the world, but when you have a special place and the right people, the right DJ at that time, that party will be one for the books for everyone involved. it’s just the timing 😉

In 2019, you started your own label “Head To Toe” , what pushed you to start your own label? Was it something you always wanted to do and can you tell us a little more about the project?

Yes, I always wanted to start my own imprint. It makes releasing music easier. Whenever you want you just can release a track / ep or an album without waiting for other labels to release it. It’s also an opportunity to push new and talented artists and give them a chance to grow.

You have a new release out on Hot Creations called Same Same. We love the sample on the track, can you talk us through the inspiration on this release?

It was my uncle, again 😉
He used to play the original back in the days and the hook / melody became one of my favorites. I always wanted to recreate my own version of the original track.. and here it is 🙂

You have released music on many esteemed labels – Crosstown Rebels, Noir and Defected, to name just a few. What advice would you give to artists, on looking to get their tracks signed and approaching these sort of labels?

First of all: find your own sound. In the beginning it was very hard because there is a lot of music, but when you know what you like – your taste could change from time to time, which is very good. This means you’re evolving – keep writing music and be creative. A lot of producers are just copying other producers or trying to sound like someone else. Be yourself!

After you finished your track, imagine to which label it could fit and send it out. Don’t be shy. Even when no one knows you. When the music is good the labels will sign it because quality will always win and people will know your name after your release!

What has been the lowest point of your career and how did you overcome it?

There are ups and downs in every career but I never had this extreme point where I thought everything is over and I have to stop my career. I am blessed and very thankful for that.
For more than 20 years I’ve made a living out of my dj / producer career and it keeps going and going 😉