SNS: Hi Mechatok, we have come to know, that before you started producing you were classically trained to play the guitar, did that help you to become a producer and where do you take your inspiration from? Mechatok: I think my classical training and playing the guitar has helped to develop an intuition and helped me to hear things a bit differently. A great source of inspiration for me is definitely mainstream pop. That's a thing for me, even though I do not think it's the best music or consume it personally, it's a fascinating field of music, and all the time I try to create a different angle with my music or create a minimal version of it.

SNS: Why is it that pop music inspires you that much? M: I always find it very inspiring even if I do not like the songs and even if I am not aware of the song. I'm getting out of the cab and I still hear that melody in my head. This manipulative virus effect of radio music is appealing to me that I would like to transfer to music that is not somehow banal and that gives you something more, except that it is contagious, so to speak.

SNS: Do you want your music to be contagious? M: Absolutely

SNS: When listening to your music we found it to be very diverse, from melodic to techno. Where does that come from that you produce so diverse and broadly? M: I have been playing the guitar since I was 12 or 13 years old, even my producing is now 5 to 6 years old. It was just not very visible to the outside world. Back then it was more about imitating what I liked, and over the years I found my own aesthetics. You can't ignore the fact that you're influenced by some kind of industrial and Berlin techno as well as EdBanger and Justice and French pop stuff, because that's all part of you. That's kind of my 13/14-year-old me up to my 21 years old me.

SNS: Can you be more creative in Berlin than anywhere else? M: Definitively, yes. I can be more creative here in Berlin, not only in comparison to Munich but also to London or other places where I have lived. Here in Berlin you have relatively little pressure financially and altogether the well-known attitude here is that everyone does their thing. Its maybe a bit cliché, but at the same time it is also super handy for you, because you can sit at home relatively unconcerned and sometimes don't call anybody for 3 days and just work, and quite simply, because you can pay your rent.

SNS: Is Berlin different from the other cities you visit, is Berlin special for you? M: Berlin is sort of like your super unpretentious homie, all other cities are kind of pushy, and they want to communicate a message or an idea. In Berlin no one says „hello“ to you, but that is the chilled part, you will be left alone, that's what makes Berlin so unique to me, it's anonym. The place where you can be anonymous and a little bit grumpy without anyone having a problem with it.

SNS: You are working with people from all over the world, is the exchange with other people important to you and enhances your creativity? M: I'm primarily a solo act, but I think the idea of collaborating is extremely important. It probably comes from my background that I've been playing in bands, jazz bands, rock bands and other different formations. I just think that one develops much faster artistically when one collaborates all the time because you are basically in a feedback loop when you make collaborations, and if you come out of it you are 2 kilometers further. While if you are always alone at home and your only feedback is when you release something and then hear what people say, that is just a reaction to the whole presentation of your output and not an honest reaction to a cool little idea. And that's why I find collaborating extremely important as a learning process for every artist. On top of that, because I like pop music, it makes sense to me working with vocalists or rappers.

SNS: How did it happen that you collaborate so much internationally?* M: The Internet helps and accelerates and amplifies everything, but it is always based on a real scene, where you also see each other in person, that’s why I try to meet with everyone in person.

SNS: Do you like going out at night? M: Yes, because of my circle of friends. If you have a few friends that make music and play from time to time you quickly have this 3-times-a-week rhythm of going out, that's where you have to take care of yourself and stay at home. That's almost more difficult than to find things where to go.

SNS: Do you run out of creativity when you go out or does it help? M: That totally dependents. When it's in a phase where I'm going out too much, definitely inhibiting. You're just too wasted to do things, really simple speaking, and in a period where it's well balanced, definitely enhancing. When I see someone perform or DJ that I have never seen before or a friend plays a set that I did not expect or, when I see some magical moments during a show, then I come home, and it´s just “wow”, it's time to do something cool again, then you have a certain amount of energy.