Page 29 - Zone Magazine Issue 020

Having a team around you to help with every aspect of your career is so important, who would you say you couldn’t do without and why?
Brent: Without question, his knowledge, his connections and his overall personal and musical skills are second to none. Obviously in addition to Ingo are the artists involved at Probtech Management everyone one of the guys are part of our team, everyone has provided help in many ways.
Ingo: Almost every success in the music industry is never a solo effort. Without people around you with amazing abilities, qualities and passion, you’ll most probably get nowhere. I personally need to be able to trust the people I work most closely with to 100%, otherwise all of this doesn’t make any sense. Brent is a good example, besides our professional attitudes being very much aligned, respecting each other, we trust each other. Most of the time we don’t even need to talk much about certain things, because we’re on the same page anyway. It’s all a well-oiled machine, and it was like that from day one. But also, without the proper foundation in your private life, the people that support you no matter what, you don’t get anywhere, too. I’m very grateful for the support of my family that backs everything I do.
What music do you listen to when you’re completely away from clubland and which artists?
Brent: Very much a Hans Zimmer and Jean Michel Jarre fanatic. Ingo: If I’d list that up now we’d be talking for several days....
it’s really a lot and through all genres, moods, and different styles and ways of creating music. I’ve found Spotify being a seemingly never-ending huge pool of discovering new music on a daily basis. I’ve created a family account, and sometimes I’m just happy when I realize that the house is just full of music all day, everyone enjoying the stuff they love. I’m very much into Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm and some not very popular electronica stuff these days, plus I still have a huge place for Progressive Rock in my heart, that’s where I come from. This plays in the background all day when I’m doing administrative work, in the car or on my earbuds when going for a walk in nature etc.. To be honest, I don’t listen to club music much in my private life.
It’s such a demanding scene with social media, online presence and the perception of gaining ‘likes’ and plays etc. Do you worry about keeping this up, or are you pretty chilled out about that kind of stuff?
Brent: Kinda chilled out, we see far too many people and options to buy likes and create fake profiles, I really see no point in this, for me market your brand, release, constant good music and this stuff should take care of itself.
Ingo: I have to agree with Brent. I see the future of an artist’s success in going deep, not wide. It doesn’t make sense to run after — or even buy — likes and plays when no one really listens and gets into what you’re doing. Excuse the term, but the quality of your followers/fans/whatever is much more important than the number. In fact, people are still willing to spend money for their favourite music and artists, but that totally depends on what kind of fans you attract.