Larry Ghetto

DJ Larry Ghetto is a DJ and producer from a small village in Northern Germany. Already as a teenager he had a strong passion for electronic music. It all solidified after his first visit to an illegal rave. After that, his love for house music and the scene was sparked. He quickly started to DJ himself, first digitally then soon on vinyl. That was 15 years ago and since then, he's been continuously active behind the decks.

The sound of his sets varies from acid house to very minimal deeptech, to trance-like tracks and back again, whereby the love for the house groove can always be heard. The current productions of DJ Larry Ghetto are partly minimalistic, deep or house-like. In any case something for the dance floor and to move.

If you could go back in time and give guidance to your younger self, what would you say that would impact your career the most?

I’d say: don’t overthink, just keep playing, keep learning, and trust that your passion will guide you. And definitely start producing earlier. I spent about 10 years just DJing and not producing because I always thought I didn’t have the talent for it. In reality, it’s mostly about practice.

How is making a living from music affecting your creative output? Do you feel as free as when you started?

I’m still far from making enough money with my music to rely on it alone. I work full-time as a caregiver in a children’s home and make music in my free time as a hobby. Getting paid for it is nice, but I did it for many years without earning anything. I make music because I want to, not for the money.

At Outboard, our aim is to establish a new way of remunerating music producers , fairly and transparently. Why did you choose to come on board?

The idea behind Outboard aligns with my values: putting the focus back on the music and the people who create it. If we want a healthy scene, we need to support the artists properly.

The common  saying “ Starving Artist”, describes the all too common path of artists and their lack of commercial success.  Yet, millions of new artists emerge every year, hoping to make a living from their art. In your opinion, is art compatible with money ? How do you stay authentic in your music when  your livelihood depends on it?

I think it’s the completely wrong approach to start making art just to make money. Real artists create because they want to create. Once you earn enough from your art to make a living, there’s always the risk of not staying true to yourself and making art that sells better instead.

I respect artists who can live off their art and still stay authentic. I hope that if I ever make enough to live entirely from my music, I’ll be strong enough to stay true to myself too.

Do you have a ritual when composing music and how do you stay inspired after all these years?

I wouldn’t say I have a strict ritual. Since I'm constantly digging for new records as a DJ, I'm always listening to fresh tracks that inspire me to produce something in a similar vibe. When there’s no inspiration, I sometimes don’t produce anything for a week or two and that’s okay. Maybe one thing you could call a ritual is something I had to teach myself over the years. And that's finishing tracks even when I’m not completely happy with them.

Sometimes I get stuck in a loop and lose inspiration and after a few hours the loop just doesn’t sound good to me anymore. To avoid ending up with a thousand unfinished projects, I’ve tried to get into the habit of finishing even those tracks. It feels better knowing I pushed through and actually completed something.

DJ Larry Ghetto's track "On And On And On" is now available on OTBD010