Germany’s Damiano von Erckert represents a growing breed of artists not bound by genre constraints. Raised near and now residing in Cologne, his broad interest in a number of different musical spheres inform his varied releases, while his label, AVA., boasts a wide scope of music from a tight-knit group of similarly minded artists.  

Having recently remixed Tito Wun’s ‘The Way U Do It’ to tremendous effect, we thought it was about time we invited him to mix an In Their House session to show us what he can do.

You grew up on soul, hip hop, funk, afro and disco… when did house and electronic music come into your life?

Actually I grew up with all kinds of music. In my early childhood I used to listen (via my father) to house music, soul, disco and funk. When I was a teenager I’d start to check out different styles of music: punk, R&B, Hip Hop. Now I’m back into electronic music and stuff like afro, jazz, brazil etc. for the last 8 years or so. 

Tell us about the philosophy behind AVA… you work with a fairly tight knit group of producers… was that always your intention when you started the label?

AVA. is kind a like a family of different producers with unique styles but all of them are coming from a quite similar base. Every one of us have similar interests. Not just music but also the way of life, I guess. For me AVA. is a dream which became true and I’m really thankful for that! Lots of lovely people like my girlfriend, my man Crackler which is responsible for some administration stuff, Pete which is the hatchet man and all the supporters around the world create AVA.

Tell us about the mix… where and how was it recorded?

I’ve recorded it in my studio here in Cologne which is also the AVA. office. It’s mixed on 2 x Technics MK II Turntables + E&S DJR 400 Mixer.

Any particular records on there you’d like to highlight?

For me it was important to show the people who are into Defected some songs they might never heard before. This mix contains more other kinds of music than house or techno which I prefer in this case. It’s a chance to reach lots of people to present music which is not just produced with a computer.


Your remix of ‘The Way U Do It’ has just been released on Defected… have you been pleased with the response so far? 

Oh yeah! I feel very honoured to be part of it! I think the people like all of the mixes.

How do you see your own productions developing over the coming months and years? Any plans for an album?

Yeah! I’ve started to produce my second album. My first LP Love Based Music was released in September last year so it’s quite long ago and I’m ready and excited to release my second LP, although there’s no release date yet. Before that I’m gonna release a new EP on AVA. which is called ‘Mickey M. and The Marlboro Man’. This release contains a production I’ve made with Peven Everett and is also remixed by Max Graef.

Anything else you’d like to tell us about? 

Don’t stop supporting good things and the right people! And don’t believe the hype.

The Way U Do It (Damiano von Erckert's '1994 Rave Till Dawn' Mix) is out now on Defected Records – buy from Juno