He’s arguably one of the busiest boys in the business (seriously, we’re not sure he ever sleeps) and has been for years, so we were lucky when Tobias Lützenkirchen graced our shores last year for his Pandora Electronica release tour. Now, he’s on his way back, this time alongside Tomcraft, Martin Eyerer and a host of others to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Great Stuff Recordings.

Since dropping his first track – the gobsmackingly good Daily Disco – for Great Stuff back in 2005, Lützenkirchen has been busy producing for and working with the industry elite, building up his own label Platform B, and touring just about every corner of the globe. No doubt that he’s one of the producers of the moment, Lützenkirchen gives us the full banana on what to expect when the 5 Years of Great Stuff Records tour hits our shores at the end of the month, and chats about music that’s good enough to eat.

First up, welcome back to Australia! Punters here are very excited about having you back. So, what can we expect from your sets for the Five Years of Great Stuff dates, and how will they differ from what you dropped for us during your visit last year? You’ll be playing with others, including Tomcraft, for starters…

You can expect quite a different setup. I will bring more gear and play more live-orientated this time. Also, there will be a lot more new (and unreleased) stuff.

Looking back, did anyone involved ever imagine Great Stuff would do so well? What have been your proudest Great Stuff moments, and what are your hopes for the label in the future?

Actually, I think that Great Stuff does so well because the crew noticed quite soon that they have to get away a little bit from the obvious “hit tracks” and get back to the “roots” of real quality club tunes.

How’s the tour being received so far? Are you having fun?

Great Fun. You could say sometimes a little bit too much … It’s sometimes really exhausting to have too much fun.

It’s all systems go for you – following your week here, you’ll be off to Europe to play at Mayday and you’re also confirmed for Nature One in early August. Are you looking forward to both? What’s your interpretation of Nature One’s Smile is the Answer theme?

Yes, I am really looking forward to both of ’em. Mayday, because I started making techno around a time when Mayday was for me the greatest thing, so it’s a nice end of a chapter for me – to actually play there now for the first time, and immediately mainstage, too. And Nature One also, of course, because last year’s N.O. was my best festival gig ever and this time I will play the biggest stage. My interpretation of the N.O. theme is that you shouldn’t take things too seriously, too often.

You’ve obviously travelled extensively throughout your career, both DJing and playing live, from Scotland, to Japan, South America, Australia and beyond. Where have you experienced your craziest or most memorable clubbing moment(s)?

Oh my, there’s been soo much. I think every DJ and artist who is travelling that much has a looooot of stories to tell. I really can’t say what the craziest moment was. Maybe once, in an after-hour moment, where a guy was eating a techno CD.

Platform B is your own label, focussed on developing a, well, platform for mainly Munich producers, in part as an answer to the amount of support and attention the Berlin scene gets. Can you tell us what’s happening with Platform B at the moment? What excites you most about the label?

Platform B is doing quite well, but we’ve reached now a level, where not all of the artists can keep the pace. I really try to support the guys, but from now on there will be some changes in the artist roster. Some new faces will appear. And, sadly, some will disappear. But I think this is normal. Not everybody is up to this “mission”. What excites me about Platform B the most is that I started it alone, with no promo company or DJ mailouts, and only with Munich-based, totally unknown artists; and that you can come so far without all this other crap around. This is most exciting. But I have to admit now, that we’ve reached a level where you need some other “tools” in order to keep progressing.

You’ve mentioned before that the inspiration for your massive hit 3 Tage Wach came from the impressive partying abilities of you and your friends, but that you can’t go that long anymore. Inquiring minds don’t believe you. You’re such a busy guy, we’re convinced you, in fact, never sleep. Seriously, how do you find time for everything? Are you just driven by passion for what you do?

Yes, I am totally driven by passion. 100 per-cent pure. But the days of “3 days awake” are over now, because if you’re travelling so much and you have so much to do (or so much in the pipeline) you really have to stay a little bit more focused. It doesn’t mean that two days is not an option … this happens from time to time still now. But it’s very exhausting and, of course, we are all getting older. So you have to pick the special moments to go totally rock’n’roll.

Under Great Stuff, you’ve produced some stuff for TV commercials. Is this something you enjoy?

To do it, yes. To deal with the commercial company guys – no. That is very, how do you say, boring – and sometimes really disgusting – ’cause these people are really into money and industry stuff. But I want to keep in touch with this kind of musical work also, ’cause if anything else fails, it’s also an option to do music until I really get old.

Paperboy, All That Jazz and Out of the Ordinary – particularly your ‘Extraordinary Edit’ – have all proved massively popular here and are being played extensively in clubs throughout Australia. How does it feel to get continuous love and support so far away from home?

It’s, for me, the greatest thing and the best motivation and acceleration I can and ever could get. I always do music 50/50. This means 50 per cent for me and 50 per cent for other people. I am not that kind of guy who does music only for me, and if somebody else doesn’t like it, okay. I am really always thinking about what other people think about my music. And I think that this is also a part of my success, because this keeps someone always motivated.

What projects are you most excited about in the coming months, and are there any Lützenkirchen secrets you can let us in on?

Hehe. I am quite excited about the next Lützenkirchen on Great Stuff, ’cause it’s (once again) something quite different. And I am working on quite a lot of new stuff also for Platform B and other stuff. There is even some more to come but to speak about this now would be really too soon.

Catch Lützenkirchen on the 5 Years Of Great Stuff tour…

Apr 23 – Monastery, Brisbane
Apr 24 – Brown Alley, Melbourne
Apr 25 – Arthouse, Sydney

Want the chance to go and hang with the Great Stuff DJs in the VIP area at the Sydney event, sipping on complimentary champagne and free drinks for the evening? Click here to find out more about this exclusive competition!