Hey! thanks for taking time on this Interview. First of all we would like to now how you got into this whole music thing?
Trve Hill: At the age of 15 I was watching a DMC DJ Championship on MTV, which made me getting really vinyl addicted at that time. I wanted to do the same thing, like beat juggling and stuff like that. So that’s my origin. I teached myself DJing, so learning by doing. A friend of mine was already in the DJ scene at this time and had many Miami Bass vinyls. So he gifted me about 50 of them. I kind of stayed in this whole Hip Hop and urban ish. I’m a DJ for 20 years now, at some time I was fed up with those classic hip hop styles and wanted to do something more open. On the long run, I didn’t want to play music that everyone plays and do something new. That’s why I created the „Trve Hill“ format. Where I can play and do whatever I want. No matter if it’s Uptempo, Baile Funk or what ever. I can do what I feel like. With no restrictions like it sometimes is in the German Hip Hop scene. That’s the short story.
As already said, you like to play Uptempo styles and some Baile Funk. How would you define your music as a producer?
Trve Hill: That’s kind of hard for me to define. But what I really love to have in my Songs are some jazzy aspects, because I’m at the same way a 90s RnB Kid, where they used a lot of jazzy notes in their sounds. Another signature of my music are definitely heavy drums. I love to layer my drums! When it comes to genres of my music, I won’t even put them in any of them. Of course, I like to play with Baile Funk sounds, UK Garage, UK Bass, Uptempo stuff but im also in for classic Trap sounds. I’m fine with any of them and don’t want to restrict myself.
So you have been DJing for 20 years now. Which moments do you remember in all these years had a big impact on your work as a creative?
Trve Hill: There are many special moments. It’s kind of hard to pick one. The first 10 years were really defining, for sure. As well, to connect with people and to see that there are many like-minded people out there, because back in the days there were no internet. Another special moment for me in those years was definitely to see Soulection playing the first time in Germany and the Netherlands. I never heard those kind of sounds before and was totally stunned. I’ve been to the USA many times were you can hear these sounds a lot but I never really thought that this will come to Europe because it’s kind of a niche. Suddenly it’s here! To witness that live was crazy. The energy at those parties were not comparable with other parties.
Mentioning Soulection. In my eyes you are for many known as a producer in the „Future Beats“ community. How do you see the current state of this Genre?
Trve Hill: On one hand, I really love to see how it’s growing right now. When I started to play this kind of sound I never thought it will be a thing in Germany. I knew that you can hear this sounds in the Netherlands, UK, Belgium or France. So for me it was like, I’m living in Germany but I will never have the opportunity to play this kind of sound here. A couple years later, first parties started to launch in this segment. Nowadays you can hear Tracks by Sango and others at almost every Hip Hop Party. It’s getting more open-minded. Many DJ start to play UK Garage or have Baile Funk Edits in their Sets. That’s a good thing but on the other hand what get’s on my nerves are that some producers are just using splice kits and become somehow part of it. What I’m missing in those Tracks is simply the feeling. Of course, Future Beats are getting more recognized and that’s good. But many just jump on the train but ain’t feeling it. It’s kind of the same process like in the Techno Scene or in almost every genre. At least that’s what I’m observing. It comes to a point when everyone is playing the same Tracks over and over. To be honest, I never wanted to play just in Germany because in other countries the Crowds are definitely different. Here you have a catalogue of Songs which you have to play and that’s not my approach. I just want to give the Crowd something new.
You are also Member of thatboiiwave collective. Can you tell us more about this project?
Trve Hill: One of my best friends started a fashion brand based in Munich called „that boii“. Both of us were DJing together for many years, long before the Future Beats thing. When we saw that many of our friends from the fashion scene hear the same type of sounds, I was like „Hey, let’s start a collective out of this“. Simply to connect people of the same sound style with people of the fashion brands. Out of that we did regular radio shows. Now it comes to the part where we are building label structures. We definitively want to release our own music there and keep pushing the radio shows.
We already organized parties and wanted to go on tour, but of course we have to wait how the Covid situation is going right now. We are already looking for DJs, producers and musicians who have the same vibe. There will be a website where you will see all relevant news about the collective very soon.
Like you mentioned, we all have to stay patient until the Covid-19 situation will pass. Besides your work for thatboiiwave, how did your life as a DJ and producer changed, during this pandemic?
Trve Hill: In all those years, I never had a longer break of DJing than 4 weeks. All of a sudden all clubs are closed and you can’t DJ anymore in front of a big crowd. That’s really hard for me. As well on a financial side. Somehow you had to work with it. Luckily in the first weeks of the pandemic, I became a father. That really helped me to keep going and to spend time with my daughter. But after many months of different lockdowns, I’m really looking forward to play in a Club again, to tour different countries and stuff. That’s were I get my input for new music. 2 years ago I went on a USA Tour, came back and had like 30 projects going. Now during the pandemic I need a lot more time for like 30 projects to finish. I still release music and see how to work out new stuff to keep it going.
Going into the future, what are your plans for the upcoming months?
Trve Hill: I will definitely release some singles, every 3-4 weeks on Soundcloud and Spotify when it has no samples in it. I’m working with artists from the Future Beats community right now, these sounds will be released in a couple moths. As well I’m teaming up with Andrew from Stuttgart. A really talented Dude! We are working out on a EP or something. New thatboii radio shows and some plans for the summer are set as well, depends on Covid.