The Yak caught up with German electro house producer Matthias Richter, aka Tujamo, after his recent gig at Sky Garden.
Tujamo, when did you arrive in Bali?
I just arrived this afternoon. Yesterday I performed in Singapore.
Have you been sight seeing yet?
Yes, I was here – I would say a year ago – and we’ve been to the other side of the island. We also went to the Monkey Forest. This time we just arrived so we didn’t have time to do stuff. I really like the other side of the island, more than this side because this side [Kuta] is too busy for me.
How did you start performing?
When I was 18, my ex-girlfriend signed me up for a DJ contest. First I didn’t want to play in front of people because I was so shy. But all my friends pushed me, so finally I participated to the contest and then, apparently I won. After the contest, I started at Index Club – a club in Germany – and then it took off slowly. It went step by step but I think it’s better like this.
Do you still feel nervous before you have to perform?
I wouldn’t say nervous but sometimes I play at big festivals of up to 50.000 people – then I get a little bit nervous! It only lasts for five minutes and then it’s over.
I saw that you are playing your set at Tomorrowland the 29th of July. Is it your first time?
No, it will be the fourth time, I think. I really love it. It’s very cool.
What do you do to relax before or after performing?
The schedule is always very busy but in between we just go out to take one picture in the area where we are and then we try to sleep as much as we can. So that’s it, there’s no ritual that I do or anything. When I am at home, I am just doing stuff with friends but I never go to clubs.
Can you combine a relationship with this kind of job?
I used to have a relationship for five years but we broke up because of the heavy schedule. First it worked out quite well but you need to have a strong girl at home. Sometimes we’re on the road for more than four weeks and you only see each other on FaceTime and that’s it. But … it works sometimes, you just need to find the right one.
Do you have an idol?
I really like Calvin Harris but I wouldn’t call him an idol. I like what he does and I like his personality. He’s just pretty cool.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Well, I don’t want to spend so much time on a plane anymore! I will be pickier and I would only perform the shows that I want.
What is the weirdest gift you ever got from a fan?
I got bras already and I even got underwear. I was like: ‘What should I do with these? Do you want me to put it on?” That’s pretty weird.
Last but not least… have you experienced anything really embarrassing while performing?
At the beginning of my career I was always very nervous. One day I was playing on a festival – which was quite big for me – and everyone went crazy. I was so nervous that I touched the wrong button and suddenly the music went off. It took me a few seconds to figure out what happened and I was like “Oh. My. God.”. It was pretty horrible because everybody started shouting “Booooh”. That moment was pretty hard but I learned a lot from it.
the Dj’s ultimate nightmare. Thanks for your time!
My pleasure.
