Hello, my first question is how you started making music?

I was mostly raised by my grandfather. He was a music teacher at a elementary school here in Germany. I had access to an old piano which was placed in our living-room. So I started playing some chords and melodies on that old piano. Shortly after that I received a wonderful birthday present. It was a Casio Keyboard. The keyboard also had some kind of drum pads…so I started programming beats and played synth sounds to the beats. It was 1984 or 1985 and the synth sounds really influenced me. Eighty`s music like Pet Shop Boys or The Cure was a big thing at that time and influenced me a lot. Later, I started to learn drums. My teacher was a jazz drummer and he showed me how to explore other genres like pop music that was playing on the radio.

Can you tell us about your music?

For me music is like the air we all breathe. I need it for living. I`m influenced by 80`s pop music, the 90`s grunge scene, today`s electronic music and, of course, the big names in post-rock like Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and Caspian. I only make instrumental music because I`m a really bad singer. Also, I think that lyrics are putting me into a certain direction regarding the meaning or feeling of a song. Instrumental music is unique and a soundtrack of my life. I`m listening to so many different genres of music. That means that my influences on each release are totally different. During the last months I discovered modern classical and ambient music. So I decided to release my first ambient album called “Convex” which is available for free on my Bandcamp page. In February 2017, I released my post-rock album called “Smile” on Fluttery Records. It`s a pretty heavy album with lots of distorted guitars and huge riffs. “Rock and ambient album? Both released in 2017?” you might ask. Yeah, I don`t want to limit my horizon to just one genre. It would probably bore me. Also, I released music under my name Jan-Dirk Platek. This music is more electronic than We Deserve This. Layed back piano stuff.

How do you promote your music?

I use Bandcamp notifications, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote my music. I share my music in different groups on Facebook to spread my music. I`m pretty good (and annoying) in spamming my audience on social media. Some like it and others are hating it. I think that Social Media is a good tool for promoting music and art. But I also have a mailing list and from time to time I send out newsletters. The Internet destroyed the market of selling music but it opened the door to get more attention. I really don`t care if someone is downloading my music from an illegal download page. Nearly all my releases are leaked. But I don`t care. More important for me is the fact, that my music is spread all around the globe. I´m not in it for the money, I just want to reach as many people as possible with my music.

Can you tell us about your sold-out CD campaign? How did Artglider help you in the process?

Artglider was a huge help for me. They created my CD called “Versions” in a very short time on a high quality level. They helped me with the artwork on their page. It`s so easy to produce high quality CD`s through Artglider. And the best thing is, if an album is sold out you can easily order new ones via the internet. Artglider is an outstanding service for small artists like me.

What do like most about Artglider?

They produce high quality print on demand CD`s for very low prices and deliver these CD`s to your customers if you want it.

Would you recommend Artglider to your friends or any artists?

Yes, no doubt about it. Artists can trust Artglider and services they offer.

Do you do any jobs besides making music?

My normal day job is sound and light technician in a theatre here in Germany. Music is just a hobby for me. Producing music is like vacation for me.

What’s your daily life look like?

I have a beautiful wife and two little daughters. I`m really enjoying the family life. I go to work (mostly in the evening hours) and when I have a day off or two I produce music in my own studio space. My life is not very spectacular, I`m a daddy with lots of instruments. It`s fun.

We can see on your Bandcamp that you release a few albums in a year. How do you keep yourself this productive?

Like I said in the beginning: I need music like I need the air to breathe. I can`t live without music and I always have a riff or melody in my crazy head. I love creating music. I`m also into photography and this is also very inspiring for my music work. I`m a workaholic, I can`t be lazy. Live is too short to be lazy. Thanks for asking me these questions!

Thank you very much for your time.

To listen Jan’s music you can visit his Bandcamp page
If you want to have your music on CD, you can check Artglider’s CD Producer

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