MICHAEL RITTER

Introduction 144

"My set includes some of my favorite tracks at the moment, as well as some of my own productions that were recently released on my own label Grey Bar Hotel & Obenmusik. I had a lot of fun recording it, and hope that you will enjoy it! Thanks for having me, it means a lot! :)"

DIT KLINGT JUT · Introduction 144 | Michael Ritter

Hey Michael! A warm welcome to our Introduction series. Besides being a producer and DJ, you also run your own label & events and work at one of the leading services for music distribution in the scene. Would you say being in touch with artists through your various activities has inspired / influenced your productions? If yes, in how far?

"Hey Malte, Bäggy & the whole DIT KLINGT JUT team, thanks for having me - it's an honour! :) Let me jump right into it: As you mentioned, besides making music myself & DJing from time to time, I am actually working with people from the music industry on a daily basis. This includes label owners & managers, artists, DJs, agents, as well as people working at the DJ stores / streaming platforms, among others. Because I am so involved with music & its industry on a daily basis, it´s probably not a big surprise that I´m also actually listening to music myself many hours per day. This circumstance definitely has good & positive influences on my productions & my production routine.. On one side, I draw a lot of inspiration from new sounds that I discover, but on the other side, since I'm listening to so much good music, I've also developed some sort of perfectionism over the past year that I sometimes can't quite satisfy, because I lack the skills of an experienced producer! By listening to so much good music every day, I set the expectations too high, and I´m often not 100% happy with the final result of my productions."

Do you have a morning routine?

"I usually drink coffee directly after getting up (I should probably change that). On some days I can convince myself to go for a run in the morning before, but usually only if the construction site in front of my balcony is louder than usual. Then I usually put on the famous album by Buena Vista Social Club on my vinyl player (literally every morning) and check my emails, as I´m most concentrated in the morning. My plan is to incorporate a short yoga session into my morning routine, but I haven't managed yet.. :)"

How would you describe your approach to social media as an artist?

"To be honest, I don't like being on social media, and I´m really bad at managing it. Luckily, for my label we found someone *amazing* who is helping us out & reminds us if there is content to be shared, but this is something I simply don't have the skillset / no feeling for. I had tried different strategies in the past, posting certain content in a specific way / schedule, but at some point I just forget about it or don't have the time to keep up."