016 IN AN INTERVIEW YOU HAVE SAID THAT YOU ALWAYS LOOK AT TWO FACTORS WHEN SIGNING SOMEONE TO YOUR LABEL. THE FIRST IS UNDOUBTEDLY THE PERSON. FOR INSTANCE, I COULD BE IN LOVE WITH THE SOUND OF AN ARTIST BUT IF WHEN I MEET THEM IN PERSON THEY DON’T GIVE ME A GOOD FEELING I’D RATHER NOT INCLUDE THEM. DO YOU ALSO DO THIS FOR THE ARTISTS THAT SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR PARTY? WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU LOOK AT? First, obviously, I look at the musical quality, but if the musical quality doesn’t match the personality, that is, if the person has certain egos or ways of approaching life that can create a problem for me with the rest of the group, I have to get rid of them. For me it’s very important to have a healthy group and I’m the first to set an example. I teach them that the first thing is the love of music, not the ego. I always tell my wife, Melanie Ribbe, who is the person I spend the most time with: “We are like donkeys, we look ahead, neither left nor right, we go ahead, we go our own way and whatever happens around us is not our business”. This is something I try to pass on to the guys, not to look at others but at what they are doing themselves. You know you are doing well, don’t look at what others are doing. It’s not important. Believe in yourselves because that’s the only way you will succeed one day. My father always told me: “Life is a long-distance race, not a sprint, like a marathon. It is better to take steps at a time than 3/4 steps at a time because if you fall the blow is bigger.” YOU SAY THAT SUCCESS HAS COME TO YOU WITH 25/30 YEARS OF CAREER, NOW THAT YOU ARE 50 YEARS OLD, DO YOU SOMETIMES NOTICE THAT AGE MAKES YOU TIRED? WE SAW A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT IN THE SAME WEEKEND YOU WERE IN MADRID, THEN IBIZA AND AFTERWARDS, MADRID AGAIN. Oh yes, I remember perfectly. On Friday, I can’t remember where it was, but on Saturday I was at elrow Town in Madrid, on Saturday night at the opening of Hï Ibiza and on Sunday afternoon I was playing at elrow again on the NOW HERE stage, and Sunday night at the elrow after party. That doesn’t kill me at all, long trips or weekend overseas are the ones that tire me out the most. Obviously age is a handicap, I no longer have the same energy I had when I was 19 or 20, that’s for a fact. I do have the same passion. That hasn’t changed. I start playing and I forget everything, it doesn’t matter if I’m sick, at home, if I have one person or thousands of people in front of me. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SHARE YOUR LOVE AND PASSION FOR MUSIC WITH YOUR PARTNER, MELANIE? It’s the most beautiful thing. Melanie is 60/65% of the moment I’m living right now, because she makes me feel good, she makes me feel calm. We both talk about the same thing, we are in the studio making music. The only thing I don’t do with her is share our promos (laughs). Her music is her music and my music is my music. But we do have the same experiences, the same concerns, we like the same things, she’s my best friend, my partner, my wife because I’m married, and that peace of mind that she transmits to me and what she makes me feel day after day is what makes me who I am today. She has experienced all the success of NOW HERE with me and all the success that I am experiencing right now - although I don’t call it success, rather the peace of mind - that allows me to develop the sets that I do today, is thanks to her because she is not only my wife, she is my best friend. She really is, I share everything with her, absolutely everything. LAST YEAR, YOU ENDED OUR INTERVIEW WITH A SENTENCE THAT SAID: “ENJOY THE MOMENT TO THE FULLEST AND ALWAYS BE YOU WITHOUT CHANGING YOUR PERSONALITY, WHATEVER YOUR STATUS AND POSITION IN LIFE”. ONE YEAR LATER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? That sentence represents everything. I would tell you to enjoy the moment because nobody can guarantee the future, that’s why NOW HERE is my motto. Perhaps my phrase would be: don’t think long term because plans for the distant future may not come true. And also something very important, always try to be a person with your own identity.
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