Out here over the Easter break for a string of shows under the ‘Outrage’ banner, French electro prodigy Surkin chats to inthemix about what fans can expect from his shows, and where his bloody album is.

Hey mate, hope you’re doing well. You’re coming back to Australia in April which will be just a few months after your visit for Stereosonic, is there something that you like about coming to Australia and playing to Australian crowds that brings you back this frequently?

“Australia is one of my favourite countries. Great weather, beautiful girls, amazing gigs. What else?”

Your gigs this time will be club shows instead of festival dates, what’s the difference between the two for you when you prepare your set?

“I really love playing big touring festivals here, I’m with all my DJ friends, and obviously it’s great to play music in front of thousands of people. Still, there is something with playing in smaller clubs that you can’t really emulate in festivals. Parties are starting later, you’re closer to the people, you can take more risks and there
is always something unexpected happening.”

Any fond memories from the Stereosonic tour? I imagine it would’ve been a crazy experience playing with diverse artists like Deadmau5, Bloody Beetroots, Umek, etc.

“It definitely was a great one. The best moment was going to the Sydney Aquarium with Drop The Lime and DJ Generik after having way too many cocktails. Unreal.”

It seems as though the labels over there really hold a lot of power, like the Ed Banger crew and of course your own posse of Institubes brothers like Chateau Marmont, Das Glow, Teki Latex. What’s your relationship like with the people on the Institubes label? Are you guys all long-time friends?

“We all toured the world and shared amazing moments together. Even if we didn’t know each other a few years ago, we are a big family now.”

You’ve just put out the new Silver Island single/EP, which from my point of view is a bit of a departure from older Surkin material. The tracks seem a lot ‘fuller’ if you know what I mean. There’s a lot of structure to them, with a lot of different sounds and noises balancing
together. How did you manage to create that balance?

“I wanted to get a ‘80s radio/megamix feel in the tracks so it’s maybe a bit less optimized for clubs. Sometimes there is so much happening it’s harder to play in a regular dance music set. It’s more extreme production wise than my previous records, I’m really happy
with the result.”

Have you noticed a change/growth in your productions from when you first started? How do you think you’ve developed as a producer over that time?

“I get bored really fast so I always tried to evolve and to push new directions. Never the same drum kit, never the same master chain. It’s taking more time but I don’t know if I could to the same track again and again like a lot of producers and still be exited about my music.”

I managed to speak to you last year before Stereosonic and you said that you had been working on your debut album, what is the state of that right now and when do you think it’ll be ready for release?

“Before 2015 I promise.”

Surkin headlines the Outrage tour this Easter long weekend; check out the dates below.