Seen from the outside, the DJ lifestyle appears glamorous and easy: champagne on tap, business class flights, five-star hotels and attention from attractive members of the opposite sex. However, what’s it really like to be an international DJ, travelling from club to club, city to city, country to country, every weekend? German DJ/producer Thomas Schumacher has been spinning for as long as he has been making music. Here, he describes a recent weekend’s worth of gigs and provides a rare insight into what it’s really like to play records for a living.
“I’m based in Berlin and was playing in Lyon on Thursday, so in the early afternoon I flew to Munich and then onto Lyon. I usually don’t get a chance to see the city I visit, I just go there, go to the hotel, have dinner at a restaurant or order room service and have a listen to what I’m going to play that night. I still use vinyl, I’m very happy with it and I haven’t heard anyone say yet what’s wrong with it: anyway, I find it better than having to look through a million MP3s. In Lyon, I got picked up at 1am and was brought to the club. There’s a music festival on that the city is funding -so it’s free into all the clubs tonight. The venue was packed, the sound system was very good, the set up was perfect -once it’s like that, all you have to do is play good records.
I had bought loads of new records and it took me about 20 minutes to connect with the crowd. The night went really well. What also made it special is that two of the guys from Underground Resistance came to the club to check my set and I felt totally flattered! I looked through my box and played a Detroit special! I ended up playing for three hours, which is often the perfect length of time. I finished the set with Maxence Cyrins piano version of “Nights of the Jaguar” and received a nice round of applause from a great crowd... Then it was back to the hotel, room service -I’m always as hungry as a wolf -and I had a sleep.
The next day I flew from Lyon to Paris and then onto Manchester direct flights are the best, but not always possible! -and arrived in the late afternoon. I stayed at the airport hotel, which I usually don’t like, but which was the best idea this time. I had more room service, took a long hot bath, had a little nap and got picked up at 1am. I like getting to gigs about 30 minutes before I play. This was my first time in Sankey’s, but I had heard many great things about it. The club was full when we got there and I got the feeling that there were a lot of people there to hear me. The crowd was going crazy, Chanting, throwing their arms in the air: they were very open-minded and able to express themselves, but were also into the more energetic music. They wanted me to play a lot of my own tunes. It can be fun to do that, but I would say that I’m not that predictable as a DJ. The tracks of mine that I played fitted well in my set and sounded great over the club’s massive sound system. I’d say Sankey’s holds about 1,000 people over two floors – it’s a proper club. The visuals/lights reminded me of a club in Sao Paulo (D-Edge), and the promoter told me later that it was the inspiration for Sankey’s. I DJed for two hours, which is often a good length of time for a more peak-time set, and then I went back to the hotel and had a good sleep.
The next day, I had a direct flight to Hamburg and got there at 2pm, then I was picked up by an old friend. We went to his place and had a barbeque and it was great to drink a few beers, eat some Wurst and not talk about music for a few hours!
Later on, the promoter drove me to Lubeck, where the gig was on. Again, it was a totally different vibe, it’s a small city and it doesn’t get so many international DJs. I opted once again for room service, got picked up at 1.30am and the club was full when I got there. It was more of a general crowd and the warm-up DJ played a rather mellow set, but there were also some dedicated people there! The sound system wasn’t as good as the other clubs, it was making the tunes sound harder, so I played more
minimal and housy stuff for most of the time. As it was a more casual crowd, I made sure there were no breakdowns -there’s nothing worse than a people standing around on the dance floor!
I played for two and a half hours and then went back to the hotel while the sun was rising and had yet another good sleep. The next day, the promoter drove me back to Hamburg and I took the train from there back to Berlin. It’s only an 85-minute journey and I had some lunch on the way. If I could only take trains more often. It was a busy weekend and I was looking forward to seeing my family.
People think DJing is a great lifestyle but 80% of the time is spent travelling to and from gigs. Having said that, the few hours that you can do what you love makes up for it. I meet a lot of people, but it’s often very superficial so it’s nice to get to know people a bit better over time, so I look forward to it if I play for someone I’ve made friends with.
Discography
12“ MAXI/MAXI CD
NIP Collective "Advanced Structure E.P." Pedo Beat 08/92
NIP Collective "Humate Remixes" Pedo Beat 01/93
NIP Collective "* 2 *" Syndrome Audio 01/94
T-Phunk Essentials "Volume One" Natural Vibes 05/94
NIP Collective "Extra Sensory Tunes" Tranceplant 02/95
NIP Collective "Tracks 1-5" Stereoscope 04/95
Silverstar "From Bremen With Love" Proxximate 04/95 Elektrochemie LK ".
Da Phonk" Confused Recordings 06/95
Elektrochemie LK "Da Phonk The Remixes" Confused Recordings 08/95
Silverstar "Speedskater '96" Proxximate 11/95
Thomas Schumacher "Ficken ?" Bush Music 02/96
Vincent Vega "Monster Joe" Deejays Recordings 05/96
Silverstar "You See It, Now You Don't" Proxximate 09/96
Elektrochemie LK "Schall und Rauch" Confused Recordings 01/97
T.Schumacher/ J.Mahlstedt "Pressure/The Chase" Superstition Recordings 01/97
Thomas Schumacher "Shelford Road" Bush Music 03/97
Thomas Schumacher "Shelford Road LyPo Rmxs" Bush Test 04/97
T.Schumacher/ J.Mahlstedt "The Boost" Superstition Recordings 06/97
Elektrochemie LK "Raw Deal" Confused Recordings 07/97
Eva Krynova "Alte Schule" Consused Recordings 10/97
Thomas Schumacher "When I Rock" Bush Music 12/97
Southampton Ltd. "Chicago Hope" Superstition Recordings 03/98
Elektrochemie vs. Huntemann "Bass Heavy / Strip" Confused Recordings 04/98
Thomas Schumacher "When I Rock Remixes" Bush Music 05/98
Thomas Schumacher "Wig-Out Into" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 05/98
Mijk van Dijk / T. Schumacher "Delivery / Ride-In You" Superstition Recordings 06/98
Thomas Schumacher "Rhythmatic" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 10/98
Elektrochemie LK "Solid Deep" Confused Recordings 10/98
Southampton Ltd. "Up That Hill" Superstition Recordings 11/98
Thomas Schumacher "Ficken? Remixes" Bush Music 10/98
Thomas Schumacher "Payback Time" Superstition Recordings 04/99
Elektrochemie LK "Schall Remixes" Confused 06/99
Thomas Schumacher "Hymn / Revolution" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 09/99
Thomas Schumacher "Supreme Funk / Trace It Back" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 10/99
Tobi Izui / T. Schumacher "Train To Tokyo / Talon" Planet Vision 12/99
Thomas Schumacher "Integrate 1 and 2" Superstition 05/00
Thomas Schumacher "Remixes By Advent / Ben Long" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 07/00
Elektrochemie LK "Schall Ltd. Remix Edition" Confused Recordings 09/00
Elektrochemie LK "Schall" East West / Leaded 10/00
Thomas Schumacher "Tek 29" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 11/00
Elektrochemie LK "Schall Ltd./ T.P. Heckmann RMX" East West / Leaded 12/00
Elektrochemie LK "When I Rock Ltd. Remix Edition" Confused Recordings 11/00
Elektrochemie LK "When I Rock" East West / Leaded 12/00
Thomas Schumacher "RMXS By The Advent and B.Long" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 12/00
Elektrochemie LK "Girl" East West/Leaded 04/01
12“ MAXI/MAXI CD (continued)
46 Thomas Schumacher "The Fortunate Ones" Superstition Recordings 10/01
47 Thomas Schumacher "Who‘s Your Daddy?" TSX Recordings 04/02
48 Kaori "Good Life" Disorient 05/02
49 Thomas Schumacher "Ficken?" (Remixes) TSX Recordings 09/02
50 Thomas Schumacher "The Fortunate Ones" (RMX) Superstition Recordings 02/03
51 Elektrochemie LK "Sweet Darling" Massive!/eastwest 09/03
52 Elektrochemie LK "Sweet Darling" Massive! 07/03
53 Elektrochemie LK feat. Inga Humpe "You Know" Massive! 10/03
54 Elektrochemie LK "Boogaloo" Massive! 11/03
55 Thomas Schumacher "The Long Hot Summer E.P." Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 10/03
56 Thomas Schumacher "1,2,3 und 4" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 01/04
57 Thomas Schumacher "Rhythm Queen" TSX Recordings 05/04
58 Thomas Schumacher "Keep Believing / Renegade" 06/04
59 Thomas Schumacher "Tainted Schall / Bonus Beast" Superstar 08/04
60 Thomas Schumacher "Tainted Schall MCD Superstar 12/04
61 Thomas Schumacher "Yara / Ferris" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 06/05
62 Thomas Schumacher "Heat It Up / Tiger" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 07/05
63 Thomas Schumacher "Bring It Back -EP" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 09/05
64 Elektrochemie "Pleasure Seeker" Get Physical 11/05
65 Thomas Schumacher "Perlen -EP" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 12/05
66 Thomas Schumacher "Heat It Up / Tiger" (Oliver Klein Remix) Vale Music 02/06
67 Thomas Schumacher "RedPurple" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 03/06
68 Elektrochemie "Don’t Go/You’re My Kind" Get Physical 03/06
69 Thomas Schumacher "Home 1" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 05/06
70 Thomas Schumacher "Home 2" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 06/06
71 Thomas Schumacher "Home 3" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 07/06
72 Thomas Schumacher "Is Not" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 12/06
73 Elektrochemie "Mucky Star" Get Physical 02/07 EXCLUSIVES
01 Thomas Schumacher "Boogie Down" Bush Sampler 01 09/98
02 Elektrochemie "Big One" Full Body Workout Vol. 2 / Get Physical 12/05
03 Elektrochemie "Caiti" 5 Years Get Physical Compilation 06/07 LONGPLAYER
01 Thomas Schumacher "Electric Ballroom" Bush Music 12/98
02 Thomas Schumacher "Save As: Thomas" (Best of) Sony Japan 07/99
03 Thomas Schumacher "Electric Ballroom" (Japan Version) Sony Japan 08/99
03 Thomas Schumacher "Electric Avenue" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 09/00
05 Thomas Schumacher "Selections" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 06/02
06 Thomas Schumacher "Selections" Hardware (Australia) 06/02
07 Elektrochemie LK "Come Right On Time" Massive!/eastwest 09/03
08.Thomas Schumacher "Home" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 06/06
REMIXES
Hector "Luv Me" Sony 06/96
Future Breeze "Read My Lips" Le Petit Prince 06/96
Lyrical Poetry "Vom Teufel Besessen" Deejays Recordings 06/96
Motion Unit "In The Land Of Funk" Confused Recordings 05/97
Trancesetters "The Search" Le Petit Prince 11/97
Tank "The Return Of Power" Epidrome 01/98
DJ Digress "In My Mind" L.M.E 02/98
Tyron "Mama Used To Say" Wea 06/98
Denki Groove "Wicked Jumper" Ki/oon Sony 06/98
Clemens Neufeld "Rettung" Confused Recordings 06/98
Afrika Bambaataa "Planet Rock" Afro Wax Records 07/98
Quazar "One" Superstition Recordings 07/98
Clemens Neufeld "Bolzen" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 07/98
M "Razzia" Wea Music 03/99
Wicked Wipe "Rock Da House" DMD 05/99
Kagami "Beat Bang" Remixed Pt.1 Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 06/99
Kagami "Beat Bang" Remixed Pt. 2 Frognation 08/99
Co-Fusion "Zit'r Bug" Sublime Records 08/99
AWeX "It's Our Future" UMG 08/99
Denki Groove "Wicked Jumper Remix" 2 Sony Japan 09/99
Takkyu Ishino "Anna" Ki/oon Sony 09/99
Patrick Coutin "J'aime Regarder Les Filles" Universal France 10/99
GTO "Elevation" Bash Again 10/99
Vanguard "Dort wo alles began" Frisbee 11/99
Pascal F.E.O.S "I Can Feel That" Planet Vision 01/00
Starfighter "Apache" East West 03/00
Saba "Die Strasse" Le Petit Prince 07/00
Blank Jones "DJ Culture" Kontor 07/00
3Phase / Dr. Motte "Der Klang der Familie" Low Spirit 10/00
Storm "Stormanimal" Polidor/Zeitgeist 11/00
DJ Misjah "Access" X-Trax Records 12/00
Mono Meltdown "Analog Past" Superstition Recordings 12/00
I-F "Spaceinvaders Are Smoking Gras" East West Leaded 03/01
Monika Kruse "Route 21" Terminal M 05/01
System F feat. M.Almond "Soul On Soul" East West/Leaded/Gigolo Ltd. 06/01
Bob Sinclar "Ich Rocke" Defected/Club Tools 03/01
Ramirez "Hablando" Expanded Music 05/01
Emanuel Top "Acid Phase" Kosmo Records 04/02
Zombie Nation "Unload" Gigolo/Zeitgeist 07/02
Co-Fusion "Ray's Cake" Sublime Records 09/02
The Pump Panel "Ego Acid" Primate/Missile 10/02
Ive Mendes "Night Night" Disorient 12/02
Marmion "Schoeneberg" Superstition Recordings 04/03
Asem Shama "P1" Ghostline Recordings 05/03
Huntemann "Freeze" Confused Recordings 09/03
Hacienda "Be With Me" Ministry Of Sound 06/04
Hakan Libdo "Field Work" Frogman Records 09/04
Tomcraft "Shureshot" Kosmo 04/05
French Butchers "The Scalpel"E Media 05/05
REMIXES (continued)
50 DJ Remo feat. Chelonis R. Jones "Black Sabrina" Giant Wheel 05/05
51 A-ha "Celice" Universal/Zeitgeist 09/05
52 DJ Remo "Black Sabrina" Giant Wheel 11/05
53 H-Man "Manga" Giant Wheel 01/06
54 Booka Shade "In White Rooms" Get Physical 06/06
55 Johannes Heil "Freaks R Us" Klang Elektronik 11/06
COMPILATIONS
01 Sci-Fi "Level 2.2. V.A." Superstition Recordings 11/98
02 Perlen 1 "Various Artists" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 11/99
03 Sci-Fi "Level 3.3. V.A." Superstition Recordings 03/00
04 Sammlung 1 "Various Artists" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 08/00
05 Sci-Fi "Level 4.4. V.A." Superstition Recordings 10/01
06 Perlen 2 "Various Artists" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 11/01
07 Sammlung 2 "Various Artists" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 12/01
08 Perlen 3 "Various Artists" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 10/02
09 Got Milk? Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 04/04
10 Sammlung 3 "Various Artists" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 06/04
11 Perlen 4 "Various Artists" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 03/05
12 Perlen 5 "Various Artists" Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten 05/07
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