Making global impact with his worldwide hits and own emotional yet exhilarating dance sound, it’s fair to say that Topic is a superstar DJ and hotly in-demand producer. His numbers speak for themselves and are eye-popping by anyone’s standards. The German-Croatian had over 1 billion streams in 2021 alone and is rapidly approaching 1 million followers across all social media platforms. He has gold, double diamond, double, triple, quadruple, and even decuple platinum certifications in 28 countries around the world to his name and holds a steady spot in the Top 10 of Spotify’s Global Top 200.
DMCWORLD grabs a world exclusive as he releases his new single ‘Lucid Dream’…
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your new single, “Lucid Dream”?
For me it´s entering a new territory as current music is getting faster and faster, I wanted my own track to go with the pace of my current live sets. Energetic, building up with higher bpm.
How would you describe the overall sound and vibe of “Lucid Dream”? Can you walk us through your creative process when producing this single?
“Lucid Dream” is an energetic dance track. It´s an original Topic – inspired by 90s trance. I don´t have a blueprint for producing music. I experiment with different styles and genres and then add my sound to it. I never go into a session thinking of what has to come out of it stylistically.
Are there any specific messages or themes you wanted to convey through the lyrics of “Lucid Dream”? How did you decide on the title?
In the process of producing mostly the melody comes first. That´s how it was with this track also. I was in the studio with Alexander Tidebrink aka A7S (who also wrote & sung “Breaking Me”, “Your Love (9PM)” and many more) and with the melody and the gibberish, which comes with it at first, we heard the words lucid dream. We then stuck to it and created the lyrics around it. We also kept it als a title as it leaves room for ones own interpretation.
How did you first get started in music, and what drew you to this form of expression?
I owe it to my former music teacher that I got into music production at all! He had a project in 10th grade in which he introduced us to the DAW software Logic Pro, which I currently still use. In the process of learning the basic skills I fell in love with it and spent my whole time outside school making music. Other kids played playstation and I threw myself into learning the skills of making music.
For a while I only produced hip hop beats for others. I then experimented a lot with different genres and begun producing something for myself – that´s where I also switched to dance music for my own project. I still also produce for other artists in different genres though.
As an artist, you’ve amassed over 1 billion streams in a single year and achieved numerous platinum records. What does it feel like to see your music connecting with audiences on such a massive scale?
I feel very honored! I never even dreamed of having this kind of success on such a high scale. I used to make music on my laptop in my room, not much has changed about that, only that this music now goes around the world and reaches alot more people. This opens alot of doors of course and I know that this is a big privilege.
How has your artistic style evolved over the years, and what factors do you believe contributed to this evolution?
Good question. I honestly haven´t thought about the hows and whens when it comes to my evolution as an artist. I always gave myself the freedom of making music I feel like doing at that very moment and not follow particular guidelines. What I have noticed is that in the beginning I imitated other artists styles a bit, but that is a natural thing to do as it takes time to find your own sound. Now I can truly say I´ve found my own style in melancholic dance music.
What do you think about the music scene in Germany at the moment? What sets it apart?
In my opinion THE German music scene no longer exists. Everything is becoming much more global.
Are there any German producers you find particularly inspiring or that you looked up to?
Boris Brejcha for instance is one of the German producers who stands out for me. Just recently I´ve seen Neelix perform. I never really had him on my radar but his set was great!
Looking forward, what exciting projects or goals do you have for the future of your music career? Can you give us any hints about what’s coming next for Topic?
At the moment festival summer is still going strong so I´m touring quite a bit. I recently released a new single with Restriced (“Sleepless”), which is also higher paced. I´d like to release more club tracks in the upcoming months. But I also continue to live in the moment and get inspired every day. I don´t tend to plan my releases for months to come… so maybe I´ll surprise everyone with completely unexpected!
‘Lucid Dream’ is out now via Virgin Records/ Positiva – Stream here
