Looking at the tour schedule for Berlin all-rounder Daniel Steinberg, it’s clear he’s a talent in demand. The man is set to spend one heady weekend here for The Likes Of You tour (he’s intent on seeing a kangaroo and sweat dripping from the club ceilings), before warming up to the European summer with stops in Brazil, Germany and Italy.

Part of the appeal of Steinberg is his adaptability; evidenced by his releases on the likes of Frontroom, SupDub and Style Rocket. Like all good DJs, his sets mould to meet the occasion, so expect to hear a wide spectrum of house and techno at his shows here. As he told inthemix, “I want it to be absolutely heaving”. Here’s our chat with the shapeshifting star.

How did your interest in DJing and producing all begin?
It started really early actually. Even as a kid I was into music and loved all my electrical contraptions. I got my first cassette recorder when I was seven and that seemed to start my slightly misplaced fascination with knobs and buttons. It was written on the wall really. While the rest of the kids were outside playing, I had my fun sitting in front of my gear and making music.At school I got to play my favourite tunes on the school radio station. That was cool.

Early on, I was inspired by artists of the Italo-disco sound like Hypnosis, Black Box and Koto, as well as the early techno pioneers like Joey Beltram, Marshall Jefferson, Bizarre Inc., L.A. Style and Technotronic. Now I suppose what’s keeping me interested is my deep love for electronic music itself. I love clubbing and the crazy situations that are created when people are just losing it on the dancefloor.

You produce a large catalogue of music. How do you approach a track in production? Is there always a familiar pattern for you?
Every track is its own and produced in that way – its own special way. There is some method, however. I always start with the beat; the basic groove of the track. Sometimes I know from the beginning in which direction that musical journey should take us, but a lot of the time I surprise myself in how the track ends up.

You like to mix it up, playing club-friendly harder tracks to more jazzy house. When you play in the clubs, does it depend on your mood? The crowd?
Definitely, I like to provide a change-up and diversity in my sets. The people should never really know what to expect. I really make an effort to keep the set interesting. With some DJs, people have a pretty good idea – even after the first track – how the set will end; generally that is exactly how it began. I don’t want to be that guy.

What are you listening to right now? Who’s exciting you?
To be honest, I am not really listening to anything new. I don’t listen to the radio at all; I never watch MTV or any of the other music programs, so I am not really ‘up to date’ in what’s going on right now with modern music. It may sound a bit odd, but I still get basically all my inspiration from the tracks or albums from the good ol’ days of the last century.

What spurred the decision to tour Australia?
I only do it for the money really – lots of it, ha ha. Nah, I really like Australia. Last year was my first time here and it was amazing. I had such a good time. The crowds were brilliant and for me personally it was one of the highlights of 2009. Hopefully this year will be the same, but this year I am not leaving until I see a kangaroo.

What are your expectations of the club scene here?
I want it to be absolutely heaving. I hope the punters – like last year – will be going for it. I expect every last skirt to be soaking wet and for sweat to be dripping off the ceiling.

What is the difference between you, Daniel Steinberg and your moniker Harry Axt?
Quite honestly, mostly only the music. As Daniel Steinberg I can live out my lighter, funnier side. That is in contrast to Harry Axt, who is the darker, dirtier of the two – and the music reflects that. I am lucky enough to be a little bit like the both of them but that means I have to deal with trying to figure out at any given moment who I am supposed to be.

Which side of you should we expect to see when you play here?
Always my good side. Though I imagine that most of the time it will tend to go in the DS direction, but interspersed with a few Axt-man treats. Naturally it will depend a bit on the night. I will do my best to do what it takes to get things moving.

What are the benefits of releasing under so many different labels (Frontroom, SupDub and Style Rocket to only name a few)?
I kinda think that I have more ‘room to play’ so to speak, when I release on a few different labels. Some labels are housier – if that’s a word – for example, Frontroom. On the other hand, SupDub and Style Rockets are a bit more techno-y. Again, grammatically challenging.

Having released a large catalogue of music in the last few years and playing extensively, particularly in Germany, is there much downtime?
I feel pretty relaxed, so I guess that implies I have enough free time. The thing is, I love what I am doing. It doesn’t feel at all like a job to me so ironically my downtime is often spent making music. It is just what I want to do – it’s what I need to do, in fact. It’s how I keep my sanity and maintain my happiness. Sounds like the title to a spiritual self-help book – Keeping Sanity & Maintaining Happiness by Daniel Steinberg, aka Harry Axt – coming soon to a store near you.

Outside of that, I recharge my batteries with the normal everyday stuff. I have a really close-knit group of friends that I have basically grown up with. We do normal shit, play badminton, table tennis, go jogging and so on. Then I really love to eat and drink well, so we do that too…

Daniel Steinberg plays these shows on The Likes Of You tour:

Thu Apr 1 – Tatou Nightclub, Melbourne
Sun Apr 4 – Home Terrace, Sydney

For all you need to know about The Likes Of You tour, stay tuned to the hub on ITM, inthemix.com.au/thelikesofyou.