Many grandparents used to calm down impatiently nagging kids with the elderly wisdom of the saying “it will be worth the wait”. Of course, as a child, you roll your eyes and don’t believe it until you discover that there may indeed be some truth in it. Similarly, the “it will be worth the wait” mantra was put to good use while waiting for XDB’s first album. Kosta Athanassiadis, better known as XDB, is a long-standing institution as DJ and Producer with a significant collection of productions and memorable remixes on a variety of labels. He’s one of those, where even the older productions keep on sounding incredibly fresh, excellently produced, and relevant.

On October 23, finally “Inspiron” (DIAL) found its way into the world, full of XDB’s signature sound containing plenty of forms and textures whilst remaining sharp and groovy. It was not only worth the wait, but also marked the label's 2nd absolute stunning LP release (Soela - “Genuine Silk” was the first one) in its birthday year. To celebrate DIAL’s 20th anniversary you want to open that very special bottle that you’ve been waiting to open and enjoy it. “Inspiron” is absolutely resembling that as a record.

For the occasion, we connected with Kosta and got a glimpse into his production process and special relationship with the Hamburg label Dial.

It has been a while since you had a solo release (2015?) - what were you up to in the meantime?

Thanks for this feature. 5 years already… time is running fast! Yes, the Ferox was the latest one. I gave Russ (Gabriel) 3 unreleased tracks to choose from, for a planned various artists 12". He liked them all and decided to do the solo release, lucky me! Always loved that label. Been working on new music and remixes but.. you know, I am the slowest producer on earth. The time I need to finish something, others - Jamal Moss for example (the Don) - are doing a whole album. When spending production time, it's usually during the night, when my family is sleeping. Also been touring a bit to play out music, but this is on hold now for obvious reason.

A big “finally!” could be heard amongst your fans as you released your long-awaited first album on DIAL. Tell us a bit about how “Inspiron” came to life and the journey that led to this LP.

Yes! When Pete (Peter Kersten / Lawrence) and Dave (David Lieske / Carsten Jost) asked me whether I'm up for it to do an album on Dial Records, it's also their 20th anniversary with the label, there was no doubt, I'd love to do this. But the pressure also went up high… I knew about the quality output they had over the years! I had some unreleased tracks and alternative versions of my music laying around for years, suitable for a long-player, but also had to come up with new stuff. These sweethearts gave me all the time I needed to finish my work and we are all super happy now with the result.

You started your DJ career in 1993 in your hometown Goettingen/Germany. Did you get into producing at the same time?

Producing happened later, in 1999. A friend's been working on music production with Steinberg's Cubase VST and some gear. He showed me the basics and we enjoyed producing and experimenting together for quite a while. Later on, he moved to Berlin and his focus went into video post-production. I've tried to keep on track with my own productions. Cut some dubplates and played them out. Enjoyed it a lot and founded Metrolux Music in 2006 with my first regular solo release, the Jackintosh EP. The A-side was dubby techno, the flipside’s been more housey. A few months later I brought out my second ep and got an email from Brendon Moeller. He was François Kevorkian's A&R at Wave Music / Deep Space Media in New York. François liked my music a lot and wanted to sign two of the tracks, Descap + Descap live, for a rerelease on one of his labels. I agreed and we brought them out on Deep Space. Later on, we did another 4 track ep on Wave Music too.

Looking back to that time and your works up until now - what would you describe as your biggest influences and mentors along the way?

Nature is amazing and I am listening to other people's music each and every day. I guess that's where most of my inspiration comes from. My favorite records influence me for sure, but the worst thing to do is copying their sound. I don't have a huge studio full of expensive gear, but people say my music has its own signature, a typical XDB sound... that's a good thing I guess.

Releasing in DIAL’s 20 years anniversary year is probably very special. There is a long connection between you and DIAL founders Carsten Jost and Lawrence, since when are you connected and decided to team up on this album?

So special, yes. Really feel honored that they asked me to do this. Well, we teamed up on this album almost 2 years ago. I´ve met Pete and Dave for the first time back in 2001. They came to play for us in my hometown Göttingen, at my residency the Electroosho. There was this magical moment when I heard L'usine’s “Flat” at some point and I was totally blown away. That was my favorite track and release back then. Nobody else has been playing it out.. not in my hometown, not anywhere else. Simply too experimental to put it in a DJ set. But these two did it ... that was total class! I will never forget that moment.

Let's talk a bit about equipment and your set up for the production of “Inspiron”.

My equipment hasn't changed much since starting to produce. Most people switched to Ableton. I am still working with Cubase and some key instruments. My speakers are 30 years old and I’ve listened to hundreds of thousands of tunes through them. I know exactly how they sound and this helps also when producing, so not willing to replace them. Like Sir Alf Ramsey would say: "never change a winning team"

The first association that came to mind when listening to “Inspiron” was that it is a very, crisp, yet airy sound. Most of its tracks drag heavily forward but there are many shapes and elements to discover. Is there any way you would describe your signature sound?

I don´t know. Trying to keep the balance right. Well, I'm a bit crazy when it comes to sound design and certain things. Working for hours and hours to make something sound exactly the way I want it to sound. Not with all sounds, but I usually love subtle changes, modulation.. a certain live feel. When you can't really get what exactly is changing, but some key sounds are in motion and morphing, then it's perfect .. at least for me. My equipment is old and low key. That's maybe why I have to put even more time to reach my goals when working on music. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not.

We spoke a lot about the album and you seem to not do too many interviews. That said I was wondering if there was an interview question you always wanted to be asked and why?

No idea :)

Your Facebook page is very exciting content for many- as you regularly post “Tracks you do really love”. It's a very diverse collection of music, fun to explore. What were the latest gems you came across?

People telling me how much they enjoy the “Tracks I do really Love” series. Doing this for almost 6 years now and will continue for sure. Some of the latest gems I came across:

Webb “Elevate” Dark Zone Records / US 1994 // Recently reissued on Mixed Signals / Canada 2020

Exit Cherry “Holy Water” Shewey Trax / US 2002

DJ Slyngshot “untitled” Yappin none / Germany 2014

I found a series of mixes posted on your SoundCloud and they all own titles with a specific color - there is a blue mix, a purple one, etc. I am curious: What is the meaning behind these?
When recording a new mix, I usually give it a full listen. At some point, I close my eyes and the first color which comes to mind is going to be the color of the mix.

We’re super excited to hear the mix XDB prepared for us which is scheduled to go live in two weeks’ time, on November 26th, and until then, enjoy “Inspiron” in all its glory.

XDB on SOUNDCLOUD

xdb on FB

XDB on Instagram

ARTIST OF THE MOMENT: XDB