Swedish Tiger Stripes is a well-known producer and DJ that gained worldwide popularity around the mid 2000s. To this day, Mikael Nordgren is still touring the world and showing each venue and party that he has got a style that fits any vibe. With floor filling DJ sets, countless hit productions and remixes on labels like Get Physical, Noir and Toolroom, Tiger Stripes is more than ready to show you what he’s all about when it comes to having a good time!
Hey Mikael, how is today treating you compared to the first day of 2016?
Well the winter in Sweden is long and cold but today it is a warm spring day over here, so today I’m feeling great! I guess the long winters makes me stay inside the warm studio, so it’s a productive period for me.
How did DJing become your profession?
I started playing live with my Indie band when I was 17 years old at a club in Sweden and after a while (since I was also working in a record store) they asked me to be their DJ every Wednesday. Years later I started my own club nights in Stockholm and they became more and more popular with around a thousand people every Saturday. By then I also had started to produce my own house music and I slowly started to understand that I could make a living from my music. So I quit my day job as a graphic designer and gave it a shot.
Hardware in the studio that you use regularly in your productions?
Mostly synthesizers like my Jupiter 6 or Prophet 5 going through a nice pre amp. I also use a lot of old digital Yamaha classics like the TX81Z and a lot of cheap reverbs that sound really cool.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I’m cooking food for my family, getting the kids to and from school, brushing their teeth, get them to bed and after that, if I’m not totally exhausted, I lay down reading a book. Most often a music biography but even more often a book about Persian rugs.
Any up and coming artists that you know are going to make it big this year?
I would put my bets on DJ Assam, Lukas Nystrand von Unge or Jayda G. And definitely on Reelow who is the first artist on my new label Strange Idols.
What do you think about the nightlife scene in Indonesia?
I started hearing about the nightlife in Indonesia and famous clubs like Zouk (Singapore I know) a long time ago when DJs like François K told me about them. He was saying that the night life was great and he was right.
I am super exited going back to Bali, for me it is a super exotic, I can’t wait!
Do you party as much as you DJ/work? Where is your go-to place when you want to party?
I always thought that being in the DJ booth is the best way to party. That is my favorite spot. I’ve got my favorite drinks and music there. I’m playing most weekends so when I’m free I prefer hanging out with my family or catching up with my friends at a bar drinking far too many vodka tonics.
Tell us about the party scene in Berlin.
Well I don’t live there but it is definitely one of my favorite cities to play and whenever you stop playing, there is always a fun place to go.
If you were stuck on an island with three tracks on your Ipod, what would they be?
I could chill out to Mood II Swing’s ”All night long”, David Bowie’s ”The Secret Life of Arabia” or Warpaint’s ”Shadows” every day. No problem.
You can catch Tiger Stripes along with James Zabiela and DJ Vixen at Double Six on May 14.
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