Congrats on your new single, Unified, which was just released on the 8th of April on Vandit! What inspired this track and is there a message you're hoping people will take away? Does 'Unified' have a special meaning to you?

Thanks Michelle, ‘Unified’ was one of those tracks that seemed to come together quite quickly (if only they all did haha). I started with the chord progression in the breakdown and then wrote the melody around that. I’ve been experimenting a bit recently with my sound and I think ‘Unified’ has the usual Kolonie elements but with a bit of a twist. The name came of the back of all the negativity and division there has been recently in mainstream media. Hopefully listeners will agree it's better when we are unified.

Your music has been supported by artists like Paul van Dyk, Above & Beyond, Markus Schulz, and Cosmic Gate, just to name a few. How did the support come about and what has it meant to you to have the ongoing support from these trance music legends?

Working with Black Hole has definitely helped get my music out there and my tracks into the mailboxes of the right people! I have met Cosmic Gate a few times and thanked them personally, hopefully I will get to meet the rest of the guys at some point too.

The current global situation has had a heavy impact on the music industry. How would you say it has affected you and your music, whether it be negative or positive? 

I’ve always been an optimist, so I've tried to look past COVID, hopefully live venues can pull through and we start to see a return to normality by the end of the year. In terms of Kolonie, it's given me an opportunity to really evaluate what I had been doing previously, become more focused and plan ahead, I’ve got a few surprises lined up so stay tuned!

For our readers that aren't familiar with Kolonie, can you give us a brief rundown of how Kolonie came about, how you've evolved, and what you hope for the future of Kolonie?

Trying to come up with a name took months to be honest and the word Colony was actually a suggestion from a mate, however when written down I didn’t like how Colony looked spelt in English so switched the C to a K and made it German! The foundation of the sound is built upon vocal chops, catchy melodies and rolling basslines! I’d call it uplifting progressive with old school trance elements. 

Who are some artists that have had the biggest influence on you and your sound?

I grew up listening to trance music as a kid and always looked up to the likes of Paul van Dyk, Tiësto and Chicane to name a few, I suppose you could say they were some of the DJ’s that first sparked my passion for electronic music, as a teenager I listened to Eric Prydz, Swedish House Mafia etc, I think the Kolonie sound has evolved from both genres over time.

Where can fans catch you? Do you currently have any planned live streams or shows coming up that we should be looking out for?

I was due to play at Luminosity but thats now been put back until next year, hopefully Europe starts to open up and I can DJ again soon, until then stay unto date by following me on Instagram.