Having shared his previous releases through Fred P‘s Soul People Music offshoot, Delsin and Prologue, it was recently announced that Nick Lapien (a.k.a Lapien) is set to release two EPs on DVS1‘s Mistress Recordings.

The Berlin-based Dutch artist—who is perhaps best known for his work under his Metropolis concept project, as well as being one half of the techno-oriented Artefakt (alongside Robin Koek)—first came to XLR8R‘s attention towards the back end of 2015 when he presented his blissful two-hour live set, that included many of the cuts that are included on the first Mistress EP, to a thrilled crowd one Sunday afternoon upstairs in Berlin’s Panorama Bar. It was a special moment, one that inspired us so much that we immediately connected and invited Lapien down to contribute to our Interpretations series the following week. Grabbing various controllers, drum machines and his Roland space echo, Lapien walked us over to a Kreuzberg photography studio to perform “Baby Don’t Leave,” one of his latest productions (though not included on the EPs) right in front of our cameras.

Marking the impending releases, both of which are set to drop sometime late July or early August, we then asked Lapien if he would like jump in front of cameras once more for the latest edition of our ongoing In the Studio series. One late October afternoon last year, with the cold winter months on the horizon, he opened up his doors to discuss how his production methods and setup has evolved over time, including that of his latest work, all the while showing us his analog-focused studio positioned in the corner of the bedroom in his beautiful Kreuzberg apartment.

How did the first connection with DVS1 and Mistress first come about? 
We first got in touch because he was supposed to do a remix for my first Metropolis EP on Other Heights, which never materialized. Through this, I had his contact information and I had some tracks that I thought would be a good fit for Mistress. So I sent some over and from the first selection he said he liked three tracks, and we just took it from there. Those three tracks all appear on the first EP, Something to Tell You.

Is that how you ended up playing at the Mistress night at Panorama Bar? 
Yes. The booking came as a surprise because the first EP was not finished so there was no release date yet. But I was thrilled to play there, and later I found out that Zac (DVS1) anticipated that I would make some new material for this live set that could potentially then complete the EP. This actually then led to the second EP, which is more orientated towards the dancefloor because all tracks were written especially for the live set.

How long were you preparing these tracks for the live set?
I had one month. I basically renewed my whole live set, apart from the three tracks that were already assigned to be released on Mistress. With a two-hour set that is a lot of material! But sometimes you need these time limitations, and the fact that that you’re preparing for something worthwhile like a set at Panorama Bar.

Is there anything behind the names of the EPs, namely Something To Tell You and Something To Show You You?
We already had the title for the first EP, and we wanted to maintain a relationship between the two EPs. The first one has a more narrative quality to it and is slightly more introverted.