“I didn’t have that many problems breaking through as a producer, but it was still really hard for me to understand and accept that even after a series of twenty or thirty releases on good labels nobody wanted to book me for gigs, mostly because I was an artist from ex-Yugoslavia. But when I got my chance, I didn’t let it go.”

With over 500 releases under his belt and a global tour itinerary that reflects his now permanent presence in DJ Magazine’s top 100 DJs, Slovenia tech-house producer Umek is a shining example of the importance of persistence. “I always believed I would succeed as a producer and DJ and organised my whole life to achieve this goal,” he explains, “I left school and abandoned basketball training when it became obvious I won’t be able to maintain a career in both sports and music at the same time, and focused entirely on music.”

Walking away from a professional basketball career, he helped create Slovenia’s nowadays thriving club scene from scratch, both as a DJ and promoter, eventually breaking through internationally in the late 90s. Sending up to 100 demos to labels a month, he faced continuous rejection, brushing it off with impressive disdain, “Basically, when you do this every day as a no-name artist, you don’t think much about it,” he smiles, “Labels are great filters for music and they give you feedback. I’d been sending tapes to labels for years before they’ve noticed me at all. But I guess that only means that my production back then wasn’t good enough to be released. When the going gets tough, you have to be determined, patient and work even harder. This is a learning process, it’s training.”

Despite all his positive thinking he’s reflective enough to appreciate the important of luck, particularly for his fellow Balkans artists struggling to make a mark elsewhere.

“There are many talented artists from Slovenia and the wider region, such as Beltek, Sinisa Lukic, Vladimir Acic, Tomy Declerque and Alex Long, who are facing the same problems I’ve had to work my way through 15 or 10 years ago,” he says. “Their sound is amazing and I include a lot of their tracks in my sets and support them, to some extent. But if they want to break through to a higher level and establish themselves on the international market, they’ll have work even harder nowadays. The additional challenge they are facing is the need to establish and developing their own brand. Nobody will notice them lying on the sofa or working in the studio all day long.

“There are many great talents out there and certainly more than a few who work extremely hard for years but remain unnoticed,” he points out, “The stories about how big labels discover an unknown artist and make him a star are the exception to the rule. Usually you have to work hard and be very proactive if you want to be spotted.”

Umek’s own brand and image looks certain to receive a massive boost in the imminent future courtesy of a remix he’s just done of early 90s house classic Hablando. The accordion based anthem is one of the most recognisable club tracks from the early 90s, and Umek’s version both updates it while keeping the original’s essence, a combination that should provide him with a major hit.

“ Hablando reminds me of my teenage years, when I’d just began my career. The accordion riff is unbelievable,” he enthuses, “When this track came out in the 1992 it was very unusual to put an accordion sound on a dance track and still, after all those years it still works every time I play it.”

You’re travelling the world non stop, flying business class and staying in luxurious hotels more often than not: how easy is it to stay grounded, i.e. socialising with old friends who might be struggling for cash?

Flying business class and staying in good hotels makes travelling a little less stressful. I take holidays whether at the seaside or ski-slopes just like everyone else. Sometimes I even invite some friend along as I like to have fun in the company of the people that are dear to me. I do pamper myself and spend a few more bucks than average person on this kind of thing occasionally but I believe I am a grounded person and my friends treat me as they did when I was still struggling to break onto the scene. If friends ask me for help, I try to be there for them. But I don’t allow to be exploited.

How easy is it to handle new ‘friends’ who might want to use you?

I am very withdrawn when it comes to making new friendships. It is hard to become part of my circle. Every weekend I meet lots of people that want to be my friends. But sadly this doesn’t work so easily. I establish quite quickly those with whom I’ll only have superficial relationship while it takes years to become real friends with someone.

What’s your take on the economic recession: has it had much impact on you? On clubland, what you’ve encountered?

The economic crisis is present all over the world. I can see people are spending less money and some promoters are going through really hard times, but luckily demand for my gigs is constant and even slightly higher. I work hard in the studio, the label is growing, my releases did great this year and we’ve strengthened the promotion and bookings side of things. I am optimistic and think that the good times are already on the way back.

I understand you have a fear of flying: what’s been the worst experience you’ve had?

My fear is not so much connected to the actual planes and flying, my problems start when we fly into turbulence and the plane starts shaking or loosing altitude fast. I have a weak stomach and this is my nightmare. I’ve accepted the fact that flying is something I can’t avoid if I want to do this job, though I’ve never got used to it. This is a big difference. I know the plane won’t fall to the ground if we fly into a storm but I still have my episodes such as imagining I’m a centre of the plane that is spinning around me uncontrollable. That happened once on a trip from Ljubljana to Split. I’ve asked flight attendant if I could get some pill for it, but she said there was no point as we’d be landing before I’d feel any effect from the drug. I imagine that most artists experience similar situations from time to time: the difference for me that I get realy stressed about it.”

Slovenia was the least affected country in the Balkans war of the 90s, how conscious are you of tensions still when you play in places like Bosnia or anywhere else in the region?

Tensions were still present long after the wars have finished but things are getting better. I can’t really imagine what some of those people went through because Slovenia got out of that mess relatively quickly after only a few days of fighting and military activities. The infrastructure in the region is getting better, economies are growing, there are European level clubs in the big cities, the scene is progressing, McDonald’s has become a common thing and globalisation is present on every corner.

The only problem is that a lot of people can’t work as much as they’d like to and consequently their resources for going out clubbing are very limited. As a Slovenian I have a strong fan base in the ex-Yugoslavia territories, the parties are great, people are very passionate and I really enjoy performing in the region. Because of our joint past I’m treated as a domestic artist or at least more ‘their’ than, for example, British or German acts. Right now I enjoy performing in the ex-YU territories the most.

Umek? Hell Yeah! is out now in Australia through Stomp, a 2CD release featuring a mix plus an unmixed disc of 12 exclusive Umek tracks. inthemix is a proud presenting partner of Stereosonic in 2009! Keep your eyes peeled to inthemix.com.au/stereosonic and check out the national tour dates below…

Sat 28th November – Moore Park, Hordern, RHI & Surrounds, Sydney
Sun 29th November – Claremont Showground, Perth
Sat 5th December – Royal Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne
Sat 5th December – Bonython Park, Adelaide
Sun 6th December – Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane