Offering a shimmering, melodic take on trancey pop music, ATB (aka André Tannenberger) has found plenty of international success with his Movin’ Melodies album on Radikal Records. The DJ/producer’s infectious single "9 PM (Till I Come)" went Top 10 on American dance charts in 1999, but was an across-the-board pop smash worldwide – including No. 1 in the U.K. where it has sold over 800,000 copies.

Snappy follow-ups "Don’t Stop" and "Killer 2000" – a remake of the early decade Adamski/Seal smash – expect to further raise the Stateside profile of the 26-year-old native of Freiberg, Germany. DJ Times recently caught up with ATB via trans-Atlantic wire and translation from studio partner Woody van Eyden.

DJ Times: What musical influences encouraged your career?

ATB: Music is not something you start doing, it’s something you have or don’t have - from the inside. The first instrument my parents bought me was a sitar from India. I was six years old. My parents were not musical, but my grandfather was quite famous in East Germany as a one-man band show touring around doing festivals. As for other artists, I appreciate melodic electronic music like Jean-Michel Jarre. I like the sound quality of Enigma’s productions. Actually, I’ve just been asked to remix a track for them. And I love the production on Madonna’s tracks. William Orbit just asked me to do a remix.

DJ Times: How did you hook up with your partner Woody?

ATB: We met at a techno party he was organizing. He knew everyone but me in the VIP room. This was 300 kilometers away from our home city. The next time we met was buying records from DJ Quicksilver’s shop. We recognized each other and realized we lived around the corner from each other. We had a coffee and realized that I made the music and Woody had the contacts, so we decided to collaborate. I was just getting into production in those days and my main job was in building construction.

DJ Times: How did you get into production?

ATB: When I was sneaking into nightclubs – I was not yet 18 – I knew the DJ at this club called Tarm-Center in Bochum located in the Ruhr area comprised of seven or eight cities grown together with a population of about 20 million. It’s the most people in the most industrial area in Europe. The company who built the club is world renowned for designing lasers and laser shows. I had an Amiga computer and sampled a loop and took a beat and a vocal and I was playing it for this DJ. He liked it enough to want to produce it and he had a studio. From that day on, I made money with music and everything I earned was reinvested in my little bedroom studio. This was in 1993 and now I am the Thursday night resident DJ at that same club where I got my start.

DJ Times: How big is the club?

ATB: It holds 2-3000 people, but Germany has massive clubs. One just opened in Berlin with a capacity of 8,000.

DJ Times: It’s unusual that you became a DJ after getting into production.

ATB: That was because Woody was pushing me. He said I needed to play in a resident club to understand the feeling of how a crowd will react from week to week – to know when a song is good and when it isn’t. If you produce dance music, you should work with a dancefloor as well.

DJ Times: What type of music works your crowd?

ATB: I am the same type of DJ as I am a producer. I like to satisfy the people. There’s a lot of good melodic house and trance tracks and I combine these sounds just like on my album.

DJ Times: Is there any equipment you are particularly fond of?

ATB: My favorite mixer is the Lemon M1 and for productions I like my keyboard. But I am constantly buying new synthesizers. I get test products from companies in advance of their release. I have a Yamaha mixing board the 02R, which has total digital recall. I am also into mastering the final product myself.

DJ Times: Do you produce other acts?

ATB: Right now, I’m finishing up a project for Woody coming out under his name as a DJ. Then there’s a project with Germany’s six top trance DJs called "Trance All Stars." Then there is "Miss Jane" which went Top 20 in Europe. Then there is SQ1, which comes from a techno project called Sequential 1, which had 13 single releases and two albums.

DJ Times: Do you have your own label?

ATB: Yes, Woody and I have third partner named Space Kid and another DJ works with us. We just had our first Top 20 in the charts by Bad Habit Boys called "Weekend." Our releases are vinyl only to cater to DJs and we will make another deal for CDs with Universal.

DJ Times: Why do you only put out vinyl?

ATB: It looks better to the audience. When you work with only CDs, they don’t perceive it as a skill. Most trendy DJs all use vinyl.

DJ Times: What do you think future music will sound like?

ATB: If I knew I would produce 10 albums right now and be No. 1 in the world. I’m currently working on a double album that will have things for both the dancefloor and listening at home.

– Stephanie Shepherd