SLIM chats with dj and producer Art Of Tones

Though your music is played a lot around Berlin, I never saw your name on a line up in the past years. Why do you think this is and what's your take on the Berlin scene? 

I don't know. I think Berlin's scene is already crowded with international dj's and producers, they don’t need another foreigner! I guess I already got some 'hits', but I never was this 'hype' dj, even when I had some tracks in the charts. Another reason could be that I don't stick to one genre, doing sometimes deep-house, sometimes more techy tunes. That can be confusing for people. And it's also true that I used many different monikers. It doesn't help drawing a clear artist profile !

Speaking of different monikers, do people expect Llorca sets sometimes when you play as AOT? How do you handle it musically?

Back to the 'Newcomer' album, I remember people coming to the dj booth and asking me to play 'jazzy house'. Fortunately, it doesn't happen anymore, because I get booked as Art Of Tones quite often now. But it's true that people expect you to play this or that kind of sound, and to stick to it for 2 hours. This is not the way I'm having fun at the decks. I've been trying to split up this Llorca and Art Of Tones projects for some time now, one being devoted to a soul/funk/disco sound, the other one focusing on electronic music. Obviously, the border between both monikers gets blurry, as electronic music is influenced by its funk and disco roots. Especially nowadays, with the 'slow-disco' genre and the "90's deep-house" sound revival. Eventually, when playing, I always end up with a couple of disco / funk tunes in my selection. So, yes, it can be very confusing and tricky.

You have a new limited vinyl release on Room With A View. Is there an album on the way?

I would love to say there's an AOT album on the way. Truth is, if I finished only 5% of the drafts projects on my hard-drive, there would be enough material for 2 or 3 albums! I think we'll speak about an AOT album with Phil from Rwav in 2012. Oh, and I'm still busy with a Llorca album, which should be a soul-funk oriented LP. But I'm having such a hard time finding the right singers to work with!

Who are some of the new artist catching your attention lately?

Funny thing is, there are a lot of 'old producers' with new monikers. Danilo Plessow is young, but he has been here for a while now (with his inverse Cinematics moniker). I think MCDE is still my favorite electronic artist today. There are also many talented newcomers. I fell absolutely in love with Simon Hunter's first EP on Phil Records. I love Nebraska's album on Rush Hour, and Brawther's tracks are always dope!

Any last words to the people of Berlin?

I haven't played in Berlin for a while now. I'm raising big expectations about this gig! If anyone comes dressed-up as Batman, I swear I'll take off my pants.

Taken from SLIM Mag December Issue

Artist of the Week: Art of Tones will air Tuesday December 27th at 18:00, with repeats Wednesday at 12:00, and Saturday at 10:00.