John Falke: Through The Prism

Originally hailing from Northern Germany, John Falke has risen through the ranks aided by a colorful menagerie of releases that have earned him coveted spots in the catalog of revered brands, including Innervisions, TAU, and Sum Over Histories to name a few.

Now based in Berlin since 2016, Falke’s ascent continues with superlative aplomb as he joins the revamped ICONYC crew with the release of his wondrous two-tracker, Octi. With some state-of-the-art weaponry, John Falke’s latest outing is an imperial assault on the dancefloors that goes beyond the traditional confines, redesigning and rewiring the way pleasure is perceived for a weirdly exquisite joyride.

Join Type < / 01 Magazine as we dive inside the creative world of John Falke to learn more about the drop of his new Octi EP, his studio process, views on AI, and more.

Hey John! How are you doing? How have you been? Thank you for joining us today.

Hello, all good - I’m happy to be here, thanks for having me.

Congratulations on the release of your ICONYC EP, Octi. We can imagine the excitement must be high! So, how are you feeling about this one?

Thank you very much. Yes, I’m really looking forward and I’m just so happy to release new music again.

Speaking about the record, Octi features two different cuts that explore a similar “headspace”. Was that your idea from the go, to showcase that facet of your sound and explore how deep that emotion can go?

To be honest, I hadn't planned to release the two songs together. It just happened, and I'm very happy about it. However, I believe that there is a certain recognizability in all my tracks, which is also my goal.

“Octi” is quite a unique name for a track. Is there an emotional trigger or story here? How was it that “Octi” came about?

Yeah, I'm a bit picky with names - I like it short and it looks cool too. Regarding “Octi“, it's funny because it's the name of a jewelry brand I admire.

And on the B side, we’ve got “Tuk”, which also feels like a very “guttural” piece. It really feels out there. What’s the angle for “Tuk”?

Yes, “Tuk“ is very special to me. I finished it at the beginning of 2023, and since then, it has been sitting on my hard drive. A few DJs have played it, but regardless, I knew that it had something special. I really trust my gut feeling, and with this song, it was clear to me that it needed to be released. That's why I'm even happier that ICONYC was open to releasing it so that everyone now has the opportunity to listen to it.

With releases on ICONYC, Innervisions, Sum Over Histories, and more…are you making the music that you thought you’d be making when you first started? If not, what do you think of the voice you have found as an artist?

First of all, I feel very lucky to be working with such labels. Regarding my sound, it took some time to find myself, or rather, to find my own sound. When I first started 8 years ago, I had a totally different sound inspiration, and the outcome was definitely different from what it is now. But I think that’s healthy, and I hope to continue evolving in the coming years as well.

We know that every track requires something different, but do you have a “process” that you can rely on by now? Where do you usually go to for inspiration?

Actually, I often stick to a certain mood/vibe that I feel at the start of the process. And then it begins. My inspiration to create music actually comes from everywhere: fashion, movies, art installations, and friends. It can be anything, like go watching a movie at the cinema. It always fascinates me.

By the way, in the past weeks, we’ve seen the closure of ASLICE, which was intended to bring some balance to the DJ/producer dynamic. What do you think of its closure? Should big-name DJs be sharing their fees with the producers who create the tracks they are playing?

The loss of ASLICE was very sad, for all of us producers, who saw their first money ever for their music through the platform. It's just really a shame.

Whether big DJs should share part of their feed, I think so. It would be fair, but nowadays I’m thinking more carefully about whom I send my unreleased music to.

And with AI? What is your relationship with that like? Have you implemented any form of AI in recent releases? Do you think this is one of those things that will drive the scene forward?

In my opinion, AI is extremely fascinating. I don't use it nearly as much as some others do, but sometimes I like using it to create stuff. There are already some really cool plugins with AI features and so on. Yes, I find this whole topic extremely exciting and gives also hope for the scene to continually find new opportunities and ways to develop further.

Finally, having gone over the recent past and the present, what’s next for John Falke? What new milestones are you looking forward to now?

I keep working hard to produce good songs. There’s so much more to discover and learn. Also, I’m looking forward to playing some gigs in the near future.

But the most important thing is to stay healthy and enjoy life.

Thank you for your time, John! Best of luck with Octi. Catch you soon!

Thank you very much! See you around.

John Falke’s new Octi EP is out now via ICONYC. Find your copy here.