Eddy Ramich talks Dayglow with Roman Rauch, Pete Josef & Shuya Okino, working with Sonar Kollective and living djing and promoting in Berlin and Croatia
An Interview with The Insider for Le Visiteur
With more than 30 years in the game Eddy Ramich has long been regarded one of the finest producers on the scene with releases on BBE, Far Out Compost and SSOH. Renowned as a DJ he has made some fantastic connections across the years several of which he has brought together for his brilliant new track. Dayglow which we premiered a couple of days ago HERE sees Eddy collaborating with Viennese talent Roman Rauch on Dayglow which also features Pete Josef on vocals and Kyoto Jazz Massive’s Shuya Okino on remix duties. The release also sees him hook up with longtime friends Jazzanova to release on their label Sonar Kollektive.
To celebrate the release the Insider spoke to Eddy in depth about his career including living in Berlin, his home country of Croatia where he cut his teeth as a Dj and promoter, Radio 101 and all about the current single. Eddy also put together this sublime mix for us.
Grab this excellent release via: https://sonarkollektiv.lnk.to/Dayglow
Eddy Ramich Talks
Thanks for taking the time to talk Eddy. Where are you today and what are you up to?
Hi, right now I’m in berlin and enjoying my birthday week. Lot of parties going on right now.
How long have you been in Berlin? What brought you to Berlin initially?
I’ve been in Berlin for last 5 years and I moved here because I became father 5 years ago and my daughters mum was already based in Germany. It was easy for me to move here as I had a lot of friends here anyway. It was a good decision.
Croatia
So, you come from the beautiful country of Croatia. Where are you from there exactly?
I grew up in Zagreb. We moved to Zagreb in my teens. So, I would say I was formed by the city of Zagreb. I am truly a Zagreb boy. But I was born in Rotterdam, and I come from a super mixed family which is beautiful.
On a recent trip to a festival, I visited some waterfalls, Krka. I had no idea the country was so incredibly beautiful! Where is your favourite place?
Actually, one of my favourite places in Croatia is city Sibenik; you might know it as its close to Krka waterfalls. Incredible energy can be felt in the stones from that city, and it has a incredible history as well all that area around Sibenik.
Who were the first DJ’s you were aware of in your teens?
I got into club music through break dancing, so somehow the first DJs I was aware of were of course Africa Bambatta, Grandmaster Flash,.. etc. but when it comes to club music and my first influences were out of the Manchester sound. I was very impressed in the late 80s, my Mike Pickering, Graeme Park etc.
Radio 101
Was radio important to you in the early days? What did you listen to? What stations?
In Croatia, I was heavily influenced by Radio 101 where I worked later. Thanks to Radio 101, I got into the 80’s boogie sound, later becoming a huge fan of the SOS Band, Loose Ends etc. I was checking out a lot of Italian radio stations as well. Back then Radio Italia Network was the cool thing!
When did you start to get into record buying. What were some of the first records you bought?
My first record I bought was when I was 7 and it was the Star Wars sound track. As a kid I was was fan of John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, so I was buying soundtracks like crazy. I was always into huge orchestra arrangements.
How / when did you first start to get in to Djing?
I remember it was in in 1984 after watching the movie Beat Street, that I said to my sister that I will be a DJ. I started to play at school parties playing music from tapes. There were older guys who were discotheque DJs at the time, who were buying records in Italy, and I would copy that onto a tape. I would make mixtapes and sell them to clothes shops! That was the first bit of money I earnt.. It was everything from electro funk to Italo disco, from underground to pop, but with acid house I realized that I wanted to become a proper DJ – and then I started to buy records. My first vinyl shopping was in the UK in Brighton while I was there attending summer school.
First DJ Gigs
Where were the first places that you played?
At my primary school, then later at local countryside parties while visiting my grandma in Slovakia. But first time playing from vinyl it was in a huge tourist club club called Saturnus in Zadar. It was the summer of 1989 I think. I will always remember instead playing the A side of Coldcut’s ‘People Hold On’. I put the B side on by mistake, with the acid track ‘Yes Yes’, and the club went crazy. That was the moment I realized I could play unknown club stuff and mix it with pop stuff, or do it the other way around!
You’ve played all over the world Eddy. Is there somewhere that was really special for you?
Maybe my first time playing at Yellow in Tokyo or first time playing at London’s Plastic People… and yes playing for the first time in Paris at the legendary Palace Club in 96. Actually, it’s always about playing the first time somewhere.
So much going on in Croatia these days with festivals. How does that feel to have so much going on there musically?
I have to admit that I’m bit away with my thoughts from Croatia since I leave in Berlin, but definitely it’s great to see cool events happening during the summer there. On other hand, it has not much to do with Croatian music scene, to be fair.
Kontrapunkt
You ran the Kontrapunkt night in Zagreb for a long time. What was so unique about that night?
We were different and we didn’t think about it. We just played music that we liked without compromise. Actually, we started as a soulful deep house night but then we started to play crazier, and we created that something that was somehow special. We would throw parties every Sunday and we were so packed that we couldn’t believe it! People would go straight from our party to work on Monday morning. We were just different.
You brought a lot of significant people over to Croatia. Would you say you spent a lot of time working as a promoter too?
I had my club night, so I wanted to bring over artists that I liked. If I wouldn’t do it, nobody would do it for me. So, I was always doing bookings for myself. There is a huge list of artists that were playing at night or festivals for the very first time in that part of Europe.
With over 30 years in the game, some say you were responsible for raising awareness of a specific sound in Croatia like Broken Beats, and Jazz.
Probably yes.
Are you still involved in Radio 101? How long were you there for? What kind of stuff did you play?
Radio 101 does not exist anymore. Unfortunately, it went all wrong. What people can create, people can destroy. Ego and mediocrity is the worst enemy of people. I was on Radio 101 for 18 years and I will be always thankful for that because I had the chance to play on my daytime and evening shows always super upfront music through to crazy old stuff.
Notable Releases
Over the years, what would you say was your most notable release?
The Eddy & Dus ‘High Life’ album and the ‘Eddy Meets Yannah’ ‘Just Like’ album. I wish we could have done it better when it comes to sound production, but we did the the best we knew how at the time. And deffo my fave remixes are for Sun Ra ‘Sunset On The River Nile’ and for Les Gammas ‘Outro Vida’.
Have you been connected for a long time with Sonar Kollektiv?
I’m connected for a long time with Sonar Kollektiv as the Jazzanova guys are my friends for long time. Yep there was remix work in the past.
Why do you think they have been such an incredibly consistent label over the years?
Because they didn’t get stuck in time, and because they have a great A&R manager who keeps it fresh.
Dayglow
On your new release you work with Roman Rauch. Do you go back a long way?
Yes, Roman and I know each other a pretty long time. When I’m in Vienna I always stay at his house.
What parts did you both play in this release?
I remember I was woken up by Roman’s beats that he was making in the room next were I was sleeping. I went straight to him and said that I like the groove and that I would love it if we could to something together. We went to the studio on the other side of the street, and we made the track.
Who’s idea was it to get Peter Josef onboard? How do you feel about his vocal?
The idea to get Pete Josef came from Alex Barck. Alex heard me playing the track in a club and loved it straight away. He said that he thinks it would be cool if Pete would sing over it. The chorus melody was already as a part of the instrumental, so asked Pete to stick to that melody. I was always a huge fan of Peter Josef.
The remix is pure gold. Must be a real honour to have Shuya on board..
Shuya heard the track while staying the last time in Berlin at my place and he asked me straight away to do a remix for it. Shuya described to me how he would do it and the remix came out just like he said it would.
What are you working on at the moment?
When it comes to production I have now a bunch of stuff ready to be finished, as well remixes. The majority I was doing in the pandemic was with my buddy Igor Fabris from Croatia who moved to Berlin. So hopefully we will catch up sometime soon to finish it.
After 30 years in the game, do you still have ambitions within music?
Yes off course. I’m not leaving music and don’t think music will leave me.
If you hadn’t dedicated your life to this industry, what else do you think you might have done?
I started a new job in the pandemic! Wine has always been my hobby, so I stepped up professionally, into the wine world and I sell wine. I’m happy to say that I can do something else and not just dream about it.
LV Selector 60
What can you tell us about the theme of the mix and what are some of the key tracks for you?
This is a mix that features tracks that I like at moment. It’s more a kind of mix when I would play some when I play up-tempo stuff on radio. A feel-good one I feel 😊
How does the style of mix here compare to how you would approach a live DJ set?
My DJ sets are different, and they are always different. I never know what and how I will play in the club and in a club, it’s for me quite a lot about super long mixes and lot of EQ-ing. All the time I play with the dynamics.
Which other artists DJ mixes do you find yourself coming back to time and again and do you have a favourite that you gravitate towards?
I’m not so much a DJ mixes listener. Of course, I used to listen back in the days to DJ tape, but recently, I play sometimes randomly, a mxi in the background. Although there was a mix by Louie Vega that I played a lot in my house because my daughter reacted somehow to it when she was 3 years old and that was here first introduction to Little Louie and she remembers his name since then and asked sometimes for the mix 😊
For more info check:
Eddy Ramich Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eddyramich/
Eddy Ramich Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/eddy_ramich
Eddy Ramich Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eddy.ramich/
Eddy Ramich Twitter: https://twitter.com/eddyramich
Sonar Kollektiv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonarkollektiv
Sonar Kollektiv Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sonar-kollektiv
Sonar Kollektiv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonarkollektiv/
Sonar Kollektiv Instagram: https://twitter.com/SonarKollektiv
Love this? Check out more from Sonar Kollektiv HERE
LV Selectors 60 – Eddy Ramich – Tracklist
1. Roy Ayers – I Am Your Mind (Pepe Bradock mix)
2. Kaidi Tatham – We Chillin Out
3. Eddy Ramich & Roman Rauch feat Pete Josef – Dayglow
4. Dave & Omar – Starlight
5. Crackazat – Im Easy (Dub)
6. Dego & 2000 Black Family – The Stakeout
7. Scrimshire & Afronaut – No Be Today (Tom Excell & Nick Richards mix)
8. Mop Mop – Kamakumba (Marcus Worgull mix)
9. Axel Boman – Atra
10. Sound Signals – Stevie’s Groove (Soul Renegades mix)
11. Lea Lisa – Love to the End
12. Cor.ece – Whats the Word
13. Make – Holy Sun
