DJ Soltauw shares his soundtracks for life

Mikkel Soltauw, better known as DJ Soltauw, was one of the finalists in this year's burn Residency competition and is fast becoming a well known face in Copenhagen's DJ scene. Having started DJing when he was just 16, he is now a resident DJ at Butchers and plays regularly at Hive.

When asked to name his idol, Soltauw immediately chooses Kölsch, which certainly says a lot about the music he plays: a melodix mix of house genres, from deep house to techno. For our „Soundtracks for Life" series, Soltauw has picked out an eclectic mix of all-time classics and dancefloor bangers.

I think it has to be „Inspector Norse" by Todd Terje. Every time I hear this song I can't stop smiling and always start dancing. The melody is just so happy and easy-going. I'm pretty sure that if everyone in the world woke up to this song, there would be world peace within a week… Or there'd at least be a few more happy faces walking around!

'Stomp' by the Brothers Johnson is one of the songs I tend to listen to before leaving the house to go out. It's an old song from 1980, but it has everything you need to get in the mood. Along with its perfect instrumentals, the lyrics scream party time! "Gonna stomp, all night! Wanna party, 'til the morning light." This, for me, is the essence of a good night!

The first track I often play when I'm playing the prime time spot, is „Eye I Eye" by Claude VonStroke. It has a long intro and is a bit of a tricky one for the crowd. It keeps going up and down as if the drop is about to come, but it doesn't. And when the drop finally arrives, the crowd tends to be that 10% more into it than they would be with any other track. This track even works in more mainstream clubs as a party starter.

One of the tracks I listen to when I'm running is 'Conjure Dreams' by Maceo Plex. It has a high tempo and a driving melody. Besides being one of my favourite tracks to work out to, it's also one of my favorite tracks in general. When I listen to this track at home, I just can't sit still. The track in theory is quite simple with the same melody that just keeps going. But Maceo Plex did so much around the melody that it's interesting from the second you put it on until it ends over seven minutes later. Huge track!

'Girls' by Style of Eye is a track that really got me into DJing. I think I was around 16 years old at the time and I managed to get into an 18+ club in Copenhagen. I honestly don't remember how, but it's probably quite lucky since I might not have been where I am now if I hadn't got in back then!

Throughout the night, a lot of mainstream music was being played until this track suddenly dropped. The first part of the track is quite simple, but after a couple of minutes it starts to get really interesting. And then there's the breakdown.. it's just perfect. Together with the drop, it got me hooked!

It's pretty important to remember that this was some time before Shazam and other similar apps had been created, so I just went up to the DJ and asked him what he was playing. Since the music was so loud, I could hardly understand what he was saying! All I heard was 'Girls Style - The Eye'… I'm sure you can imagine just how long it took me to find the track afterwards!