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Oliver Huntemann On Getting Old But Never Older

"I'll admit it was kind of awkward when my son told me he was going to start DJing at the same club where I was messing up transitions in my sets in 1990."

Oliver Huntemann is a 47-year-old producer from Hamburg, Germany who has been preaching the dark arts of techno for over two decades. He runs the labels Senso Sounds, Ideal Audio, and Confused Recordings, and has released a series of collaborations with Dubfire since 2008. Huntemann has also remixed The Chemical Brothers, Underworld, John Dahlback, and Cirez D. With his long-running career and sharp sense of humor, he was the ideal guy to talk about walking the tightrope between relevancy and mastery as DJs get older.

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Until now, I haven't worried about my age that much—my younger self would probably still greet me with a "what's up, bro?" instead of a formal handshake. Due to my crisp 47 years of age, I've been labeled as a veteran DJ by some, but that doesn't mean I've been moved to the scrap yard.

I'll admit it was kind of awkward when my son told me three years ago that he was going to start working as a DJ at the Metro in Oldenburg—the exact same club where I was messing up the transitions in my sets in 1990. And let's be honest: theoretically, I could still imagine hanging around the schoolyard, swapping Afrika Bambaataa and Egyptian Lover singles with my friends Mathias or Selcuk without attracting any attention at all. Although carrying vinyl with you on a schoolyard today would probably only make others laugh about your outdated crap.

Going through all of my old photos for this article, I hardly see any major reasons to wishing I could go back in time. If it weren't the younger me in almost all of these pictures, I'd probably laugh my ass off looking at this strange dude. Whether it was 80s haircut, my red glasses, or the combination of sailor suit and teenage peach fuzz, I have absolutely no desire to relive those days.

Some of my childhood friends have already lost their lightheartedness and seem disillusioned. Despite (or because) of their steady jobs, townhouses, families and expensive cars, they only seem to get worked up about their bosses, wives, and money. I sometimes feel like I've been catapulted into the world of The Office and all of my old buddies have replaced the original cast.

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Real accomplishments aren't properly cherished anymore. Realizing your achievements, and being happy about what you have accomplished so far will remove all of those worry lines (without expensive skin care products).

There are currently three generations of ravers working at my office and this mixture is the perfect way to always stay up-to-date, while at the same time drawing from a large pool of expert knowledge. DJs also can't avoid having to deal with young people's tastes and preferences, and it's an incredibly easy way to stay young yourself.

Traveling is also an important aspect of this whole "forever young" thing. Anybody who constantly chooses to spend their days at the same boring pools at German-owned hotels on Mallorca shouldn't be surprised if they're quickly starting to look old. I have nothing against a relaxing vacation, but advancing into the unknown will demand your undivided attention and free your mind.

Youth is not about your age, but your attitude. The key is being continuously curious about anything new. Vinyl was cool, and as a DJ you should know how to handle it properly, but it's much more important to learn new things and be open-minded towards new technologies. I pity my fellow colleagues who still believe that vinyl is the holy grail of a good set, and at the same time bitch about laptops, sync and USB, as if they were the worst.

Without ever considering possible upsides and downsides of using CDJs or mixing software on your laptop, the most important aspects of a good set will always be the selection and the dramatic composition. Too many people focus merely on the tools. Vinyl is no guarantee for a great set, just as much as Ableton Live will not automatically lead to a bad set, and vice versa.

In the end, techno and house are about transporting emotions, and this is my key to staying young. As long as every week, new songs and tracks manage to touch me on an emotional level, I feel alive and up-to-date.