Exclusive Interview with Agaric
Patrik Skoog isn’t only one of the youngest veteran techno and house producers from Sweden, he’s also one of the most interesting and inspired. Though incredibly versatile, the sustained energy in his sets and productions are equally exceptional. As a technical DJ with a magical sense for momentum and selection, he’s been playing worldwide for more than 10 years, while his equally as stellar Live sets are one of the few that can rock a crowd throughout its duration.
Siam2nite had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Agaric, shortly before his performance at Glow Nightclub on 16th May.
You grew up in Malmö, Sweden's third largest city by population, after Stockholm and Gothenburg. How did you get in touch with electronic music in the first place and made you start to create it and not just consume?
Yes being a teenager in Malmö and being into electronic music didn't leave you with a lot of options concert- or clubbing-wise so we actually ended up going regularly to Copenhagen, which is nearby. I first got in touch with industrial ebm and new wave and had quite a natural transition into techno and dance music from that in the 2nd half of the 90s. Great warehouse spots like Pakhus11 in Copenhagen hosted nights with artists like Dave Clark, Blake Baxter, or even Jeff mills so we had no problems being inspired and influenced by the international European and American techno scene at a young age!
Your music is a mix of Techno, Tech House and Minimal. How would you describe it with your own words?
I would say that I've returned to making the sort of music that I loved the most in my early 20's and I guess I would describe it as varied techno music with quite a lot of attention to vibe and melody.
Your production history counts over 100 vinyl releases. Out of all tracks you have made, which tracks would you recommend to someone that is not yet familiar with your music?
Oh wow, I guess it does yeah, at some point I think I might have been working on too many projects for a period of just a couple of years but I am still feeling some of the older tracks. Having said that though I think I definitely am one of these people who have made a record, was happy with it and played it for a while, and then move onwards without caring so much for it afterwards! Some techno EP's that I made as "Headroom" I still would recommend checking out would be the two EP's on Synewave, the records on my old label Native Diffusion, and more recently the "Club Tracks" series on We Are, and last year's album "exit earth" which was released on Third Ear.
Your chart topping debut album ‘Who Made Up The Rules' was released in 2011. What are you currently working and focusing on?
Directly after the above mentioned LP I started working on a new Agaric album for my small label "we are". That was actually just released and is titled "Into the large air", very happy with the outcome of it, much more so than the last one!
What was the best and the worst gig you ever played, and what was the funniest thing ever occurred during any of your performances?
Living in Berlin I'd have to say we have damn near the perfect club and it's pure fun to play at Berghain! Other great gigs have been playing a live set at Womb, and Fusion festival in Germany. I'm not sure about "worst" but one hotel club gig where the crowd and owner got all aggressive on me because I didn't have any r&b records was both funny and scary I guess - I stopped the music and just left in the end after some brutal verbal abuse.
In 2007 you relocated to Germany's capital Berlin, where you now play at hotspots such as Watergate, Arena and Berghain's Panoramabar. What made you leave Sweden for Berlin and how did it influence you music-wise?
I left because it made little sense to stay in Sweden, you had to travel all the time to where likeminded people and promoters could be found, and on top of that me and my friends where going more and more frequently to Berlin so it was the only choice. Besides Berlin being super nice I could also play lots of gigs there and enjoy sharing a life with people doing what I was doing! The spectrum of dancemusic was, shall we call it "wider" than I anticipated, yet you quickly found your favourite spots and clicks to hang with, as a city it's inspiring me now more than ever before and it is really in a continuous movement of new art, culture, music and people. What more can anyone ask for.
On Friday 16th May you will perform here in Bangkok at Glow Nightclub. Have you visited Thailand before? Will it be your Bangkok debut? What can Bangkok expect of your upcoming performance?
I am in south east Asia since about a week and also playing in Bali, this is my first time down in this corner of the world and I'm super excited to come play my tunes at Glow and feel the vibe of Bangkok for a bit! People can expect some energetic tracks to make their feet move!