With a decade radio hosting under his belt, Caramel Mafia has also been a club DJ for 8 years. A regular resident of Berlin’s biggest HipHop and RnB clubs, he plays across Germany and Europe. Caramel Mafia is a regular in magazines, being DJ of the Month in Siegessäule and Blu. His mixtape “The Late night special vol. 2” hit the top 10 of the Mixcloud-charts and drew attention his way. In spring 2016 the Dutch TV show “College 010” introduced Caramel Mafia to its audience following his life for a week and shadowed his first show in Rotterdam. In 2017 he introduced “Ratchet” in Berlin, his own club night, which is proving to be a popular feature on the Berlin circuit!
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/CaramelMafia/
Mixcloud:
https://www.mixcloud.com/CaramelMafia/
So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
I grew up in the south of Germany but after school and social service I moved to Berlin to become a Radio Presenter. I always loved night life, music and showing people a good time so it was just a matter of time till I would become a DJ. In my early Berlin years, I went to this party called “Peaches & Cream” which was amazing and inspiring at the same time. I remember how I stepped up to DJ Pa$cha – he used to be a very famous DJ here in Berlin – and asked him if I could play at one of his parties and he gave me the chance to do it. This is how everything started.
Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
I think it’s hard to generalize. It really depends on the person and what they want to achieve. But I think it’s always good to have a clear idea about what you want to do. It’s important always to believe in yourself – also in hard times – and yes, we all do have them. Being stubborn and having courage is always a plus.
Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Off course. Mistakes happen to everyone sometimes. I think the more experience you have the more sovereign and professional you can react to it.
Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
There is not that much happening when I’m touring. The only thing I can remember that was funny was when I flew last year to Amsterdam for a show. When I went through the airport security area they had to check my luggage and the Securitas took out my DJ-Controller and while that the whole team played with it and sis some scratching moves on it. This was funny and annoying at the same time. (laughs)
What are you working with now?
Right now I’m working on two mixtapes I want to release this year. One is coming out this summer and the other one in fall. The first one will be a mixture of HipHop, Trap and Afrobeat and will be the follow up of “The summer is mine” which I dropped last summer. The other one will be very smooth and slow. Plus in January my party night, which is called “Ratchet” will have its first anniversary and therefore we are preparing an amazing event. It’s about to go down.
If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
This would be a super amazing but also very surrealistic festival somewhere in Brazil. Having a line-Up with featuring Aaliyah, the whole Murder Inc-Crew Including Ja Rule and Ashanti, Major Lazer, Crime Mob, SXTN and me. (laughs)
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
I would probably work in media and work as Radio – or TV-Personality.
What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?
I can’t say that much right now but I will be playing some amazing events including some very cool Festivals. Just got signed with a new label and they are providing some very interesting possibilities for me and I’m sure we can do some amazing projects. I’m also planning my Radio comeback with some very cool show concept. I can’t say that much about it yet but wait for it. 😉
