We caught up with Prosumer between a packed run of international shows to talk about the things that keep him moving: music, connection, sex and the energy of the dancefloor. From desire and sensuality to the freedom of losing yourself in a crowd, he reflects on what makes club culture feel truly alive – and why, after 30 years behind the decks, it can still surprise him.
Photography Christan Trippe
Hey Achim, lovely to meet you. You're in London today. You always seem to be on the road. What are your current plans?? Where have you been? What's next?
This has been a relaxed weekend. I just had one gig in London. The last few months have been quite busy. The week before I was in Ibiza in Germany and Budapest. Thursday, I go to Glasgow. Friday, I go to Leeds. Saturday, I go to Manchester. Sunday, I play in LA and that's the start of a six-week US tour.
Wow, that's quite a plan. What's your current favourite track?
Oh, I'm really obsessed with D’Leesa. She's a producer and vocalist in Atlanta, I think, in the US. She has an amazing voice and is an unapologetic lesbian. I've never heard that many sexy, sensual songs about sapphic love. I love that she does everything herself and sounds amazing. She has such good energy. She's the best. So her song Healer is my fave at the moment.
"I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday about what music means for me, and I think there needs to be something raw, emotional in there, and it can be sexual.”
Talking about sex, how important is sex and sensuality in the club culture?
I think it's really important. I'm glad that you said sex and sensuality because I don't think it's only sex. I think I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday about what music means for me, and I think there needs to be something raw, emotional in there, and it can be sexual. So, I really like a track that feels like it's just humping your leg, but also, yeah, longing, sensuality. I think it’s really important to music, and probably healing that on a dance floor we get to experience that longing together. I think it feels like a place for exploration without actually having to go for it. So, yeah.
What makes someone sexy on the dance floor?
People embracing who they are. So, I can find someone who is totally in his own world and happy there, and quite introverted on the dance floor, eyes closed. I can find that incredibly attractive, but also the opposite of that. So someone being quite extrovert without needing the audience, so being an extrovert but not directed at someone, but someone just okay, this is me. I want to show the world who I am, and with a big ‘tada!’ attitude, I can find that incredibly attractive as well. So I think people enjoying genuinely being who they are.
“I had a humongous record collection. I have downsized to 20% of it, which is still around three and a half thousand, something like that.”
I've heard you have a very large record collection.
I had a humongous record collection. I have downsized to 20% of it, which is still around three and a half thousand, something like that.
What's the next record you're going to buy?
Ooh, I try not to buy records, and I constantly fail. I don't know yet. I'm not planning on a purchase, but I know I will be somewhere and hear something and be like, okay, this only exists on vinyl, and this I need on vinyl. So yeah, I'm gonna go to New York. There's great record shops there, so I'm sure I will not be able to resist
The dancefloor is…?
Sacred.
What's the favourite moment of the night? The first track, peak time, 5 am, 6 am?
Not knowing what the favourite moment is until it's there. So, I love how the night can evolve. I had my first paid DJ gig 30 years ago, so I've been doing this for a while, and I love that it can still surprise me. Obviously, something like last track has a high potential for being that moment, but there are so many things coming together that are beyond my control. I can never tell, and that's good.
“The dancefloor is…?”
“Sacred.”
What keeps you going and keeps you coming back?
Oh, music and connection. I have been obsessed with music since I was a kid, and always had the longing to share that. I was the idiot at school who made tapes for people, and you have to listen to that. And isn't this amazing? And so that was always really important for my world and my wellbeing, and there was always a sense of wanting to share that, and I get to do that, and I think nightlife is an ideally shared communal experience, and that is still magic to me, and will remain so.
Is there anything you think we lost in club culture?
Yeah. I mean, yeah. Like ‘dance like nobody's watching’ in the time of mobile phones being everywhere is a little bit gone. I think also the way people are socialised and introduced to clubbing has changed a lot. I remember going to the clubs for the first time, and it was kind of a hidden world behind the door, behind the bouncer, and you had to explore that place, find where you fitted in, find out how that worked, kind of, and that has changed to through things like Boiler Room, where people before they are of the age, where they can go to clubs, have a chance to see a version of nightlife which is different to what I grew up with. They see that, and that is the main point of focus for people, so they act according to what they see on podcasts and not find their way into it and build their own experience as much.
“I had my first paid DJ gig 30 years ago, so I've been doing this for a while, and I love that it can still surprise me.”
When you're not DJing or travelling, how do you switch off?
Depends on how much time I have, cooking. If I have very little time, cooking always completely gets me out of my head. It's a quick relaxer. Nature helps. I love spending proper quality time with friends. Usually, more one-on-one than in groups. Nature, art, theatre, those things.
Tell us something people don't know about you.
God, I have something in my head which I'm not gonna say, but it's blocking my head right now, so we need a moment for it. What do people don't know about me? I have been quite open in interviews about who I am. So, yeah, probably a lot of people don't know that I work as a therapist as well. Is that interesting? I don't know. What do people not know about me?
That's all. Thank you.
Thank you.
About Prosumer
To keep up to date with Achim’s music and latest live dates, make sure to follow him on Instagram
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