When he’s not on the road nowadays, you can find him in London but as for where he lives, “I don’t really live anywhere,” he laughs, “but I stay here often”. While Berlin appears to be the Mecca for all seminal DJs and producers, Seth shrugs it off, “There is a 24 hour dance culture and there’s more clubs there than most places but it’s just another city”. Don’t mistake his nonchalance with a lack of appreciation. Living in Berlin for sometime and travelling the world constantly while touring the most amazing cities week after week has become commonplace. “Berlin’s cool but I think the culture there in the last year has changed a lot… I feel like the party is in England.” Troxler grew up immersed in the Detroit house scene, with his stepfather and mother to thank for.
“I mean you don’t really realise you’re involved when you’re a kid. You don’t really realise what is happening until later and I happened to be in the right city and the right time. It was an amazing experience and I’m really thankful for it”.
It is no surprise Seth has taken the path he has and it’s been a successful journey thus far most notably playing at Panorama Bar at the age of 18. To achieve such a feat a few weeks out of graduating high school is what makes Troxler’s ‘house legend’ status at such a young age commendable. Resident Advisor named him 2012’s best DJ and although I’m already a big fan, Seth endearingly admits, “I try not to think about it too much because it’s embarrassing”. He laughs and goes on to say “It’s cool though man, it’s a reader’s poll so it’s cool that people like me. It’s really um… what’s the word?” and after a really long pause and a few ‘uhs’ he sheepishly admits, “Shit, I’m kind of stoned but it’s really humbling,” he laughs, finally figuring out what word he wanted to use. “I’m really blessed to be given that accreditation by my peers and fans.”
With a giant fan base and great respect as a producer, it was interesting to hear Seth’s take on EDM. “It’s just the commercialisation of marginalised music but I feel like everyone has done their part to expose what I feel is true or real electronic music to the public and it can go to a place where we can play cool music to a lot of people”. It’s not always serious talk about the purity of electronic music with Troxler.
While he loves cooking up a great track he similarly loves cooking up a great meal. “I like sauces and cooking but I really like sauces… sauce”. After revelling in the aural pleasure the word ‘sauce’ can generate Seth continues, “I really like mustard, there is a lot of types of mustards. If I could only eat three condiments mine would definitely be mustard, hot sauce and maybe barbecue sauce”. Getting stuck into the mechanics of how to differentiate between condiments and sauces (something I’m sure that doesn’t belong here and maybe in a copy of Beat: The Donna Hay Story) Seth does appear to be a sauce connoisseur.
Seth is one of the most endearing and friendly characters in dance music, it’s no secret that there are a few producers floating around who like to act as though they are the second coming of Jesus or at least his techno counterpart. The most we can do is publicly shame them with the publication of their extravagant riders but Seth takes a different approach: a ‘No Dick’ policy.
“When I’m meeting people and if they’re arrogant or a dick, it’s a pretty easy quality to pick out… We could sit here for hours and talk about what makes a person a dick but I won’t play their music.” So be warned, even if you are making good music, the chance is if you’re a “dick” to Seth it’s likely you won’t be getting the thumbs up from him anytime soon. “Nina Kraviz and I, we have a thing where we kind of hate each other. She’s my arch nemesis and I won’t play her music because she is a dick.”
Armed with a bunch of friendly produced tunes his return to Australia is right around the corner and Troxler admits that he’s excited to return. “I have a lot of friends in Sydney and it’s exciting to just hang out.” It’s not just a bunch of old mates that is bringing him back. Besides contracts and his general fan base, Seth exclaims that, “Playing in Australia is really cool, everyone is really up for it and Australian people are really polite and nice. It’s a mix of all the things I like about England and America.”
Each year things seem to get exponentially better for Troxler and his steadfast mantra maybe the key to his enviable success: “I don’t like to think about the future too much. Think about the now, it’s the only thing that is real.”
BY KISH LAL
