Thomas Gold has been a legend in the scene for many years now with countless hit tracks released. He recently announced a brand new alias called AU-1 where he will be displaying his techno and tech-house music. As he stopped by to perform at Marquee in New York City, we had the chance to sit down with him to discuss his new project as well as his upcoming releases.
Thomas, you’ve always been a techno guy with plenty of tech-house releases. You recently announced your new alias AU-1 as your techno project, can you tell me more about this new alias?
AU-1 is going to be all about tech, tech-house and tribal-house music, I am going back to my roots with to when I was producing releases on Toolroom and CR2. I’ve always wanted to start this project but it was hard for me to fit it into the Thomas Gold profile and format because it just doesn’t match music wise. I actually started working on it last year in March, I had to find out what I wanted it to sound like in the end and what kind of productions will I start with and yeah it’s all about this techy music and it will be totally separate from my Thomas Gold project. I also won’t be mixing my projects either so when I perform under Thomas Gold, you won’t hear any AU-1 stuff and vice-versa. I’m actually already in talks about doing some AU-1 sets and it’s amazing how much positive feedback I have been receiving on this. To add on to the project, we are setting up a whole new label based in Berlin, the techno city of the world, and I am doing it with a bunch of Berlin guys who have a ton of experience with techno music so yeah, can’t wait to put out my next releases!
As you just mentioned, you have been receiving a ton of positive feedback for this AU-1 alias, is there a chance that this becomes your dominant project?
Well, everything is new and very exciting with AU-1 but Thomas Gold will remain the primary project for now. I have a new single called ‘Orinoco’ releasing next week and I just finished a brand new vocal track which will be coming out in September. But I mean I hope to balance both of them out together, it would all just depend on how AU-1 develops itself and what kind of reaction and feedback I receive going forward but I will always want to continue the Thomas Gold project as it is my passion.
You have a new single in ‘Orinoco’ coming out this Friday. Steve Angello played it so we already kind of have a taste of it. It sounds a lot like your old stuff like ‘MIAO’ and ‘What’s Up?’, can you tell me more about the production of the song?
It definitely goes back to my roots of when I was with SIZE and Axtone. It’s a collab with Corey James and he came up with this bassline and I just said “hey man, this is awesome, I would love to work on this with you!” and I sent him back some stuff and we just sort of put it together. This kind of music is definitely something I want to do more of but I am also doing songs like ‘Begin Again’ and ‘Dreamer’. I also just finished another club track like ‘Orinoco’ so I think I will keep it balanced between with vocals and club tracks.
This past March, you announced that your radio show, Fanfare, will come to an end after the 300th episode. At the end of the episode you said that you have big news coming for all your fans with a potential new show, could you tell us more about your upcoming plans?
Yeah, I am actually still thinking about what I want to do. I ended Fanfare because we have done so many episodes and I just want to start something fresh but maybe it was just worn out to me. I actually was looking into a possible podcast, I had a name in mind and everything but then the AU-1 project came along and it took a lot of time so I was focusing on that first. After discussions with my team though, we decided that it won’t be a weekly show, that’s for sure, it will more likely to be a monthly thing. Hopefully by the end of the summer, I will have something ready for you guys.
In an industry filled with drinking and poor habits, how do you manage to stay fit and balance out yourself?
When I am not playing/traveling, I am staying very healthy. Even when I am traveling, I always eat really healthy, I look at what kind of nutrition I am taking and it helps me get over my jet-lag. I eat a lot of veggies and lean meats and once you get into the habit of it, it’s pretty easy to keep it going. Even when I am at the airport and I have to choose between a burger joint and a salad bar, I don’t even have to think about which one I am going to go for. I actually got rid of all the sugar, flour and bread products from my own kitchen at home now too. My diet is kind of inspired by the Mediterranean diets with more healthy fats, proteins and less carbs.
In the past, you’ve mentioned how New York is like a second home to you. You’ve had huge shows at venues including Pacha, Roseland Ballroom and Governor’s Island. Have you ever considered making New York your permanent home?
I have considered that of course, but I actually built my house about 10 years ago in Berlin and I just kind of don’t want to leave it. I’ve built my own studio in there which is quite expensive because I had to custom build it. More importantly is that the music world has now shifted towards the east. I have been spending a lot of time in Asia actually. China, Indonesia and Malaysia have all been coming up so it wouldn’t make sense to move to New York just to fly to Asia. But in the end, I also just love Berlin so I can’t see myself leaving my hometown.
You have been performing all around the world for many years now, what is the craziest experience you’ve had at one of your shows?
One time, I was performing at a club in Russia and suddenly the lights in the ceiling caught fire and everyone started running out of the club, the music shut off and people just fled. But it was interesting because after about 10 minutes, they put the fire out and people actually came back into the club and the owner said to me “Come on, what are you doing? Play some music!”. I was just like “Wow, are you kidding?” (laughs) But yeah that was probably one of my weirdest experiences.
What is your favorite ice-cream?
Chocolate! Nice and simple. (laughs)
Be on the look out for his new single with Corey James, ‘Orinoco’ coming out this Friday as well as for his upcoming shows as his AU-1 project continues to pick up steam.
