Interview with Topic.
Interviewed by: Sarah Evangelista
You get in the car, buckle up, and get the car started. A catchy DJ tune starts playing, the radio says it’s one of Topic’s and A7S’s hits: “Breaking Me”. This is how you discovered your new favourite EDM artist, Topic. He recently released a new track with Bebe Rexha, and we got the chance to chat with him.
So nice to meet you! Thanks so much for chatting with me. How are you?
Topic: I’m good! I’m a bit jet-lagged, because I just came here a few days ago, and the jet-lag was very bad, but I’m good. How are you?
I’m good! I just got home from school, and now I get to talk to you!
Topic: [laughs] Nice! Great to hear.
You started making music for YouTubers from an early age. Back then, did you think you would become this popular?
Topic: No, it was actually never my goal! When I started out, I was hoping to have some success, but the fact of this global success, and radio play in the US and UK… It always seemed so far away when I started making music in Germany. Maybe I’m still not realizing it right now.
I hear your songs on the radio all the time, and I’m from Montreal, so that must feel so surreal, right?
Topic: Yeah, definitely! Whenever I open Instagram, I get tagged in stories from all around the world kind of. It just feels so surreal.
Do you have a fondest musical memory?
Topic: There’s so many. Like even in the beginning, the small steps. I remember the first time hearing a song on the radio was in 2015 or 16, that was really such a big step and such a crazy moment. Then over the years, so much more came, like entering the US Billboard charts, and going gold and platinum, but also being played at BBC Radio 1. So many crazy moments.
I also learnt, that in your early years of music, you didn’t learn any instruments. What was that like while making music?
Topic: Well, my household wasn’t very musical, my parents don’t play any instruments and don’t make music. It was just so weird, in a way, that I had so much fun with creating music. Now, over the years, I’ve learnt how to play the piano and a little bit of the guitar, but I’m always a bit too lazy to learn. Also, if you don’t play for a few weeks, then you lose it.
You’re from Solingen, Germany, so what should people do when they visit your hometown?
Topic: There’s not much to see in my hometown, honestly [laughs]. But there’s a very crowded place surrounding where I live. There’s so many big cities surrounding it. If you come to visit my hometown, I’d suggest you visit all the big cities.
Let’s talk about your new track, “Chain My Heart” with Bebe Rexha. How are you feeling about this release?
Topic: It’s amazing how it just came out. It’s even more great, because in the early stages of the song, we instantly thought Bebe could fit on it. 99% of the time in my career before, the first feature ideas didn’t end up on the song. She was the first singer we had in our minds, and she also took the song and did it with me. It’s amazing.
And Bebe fits so perfectly with the track too!
Topic: Yeah, she’s amazing. She has this '“pop voice”, but also some swag, which is a great mix.
You also produced this track. What major differences do you see while producing, rather than being a DJ?
Topic: The difference is in the studio, you’re alone and you don’t have any feedback directly from anyone. You’re just doing your thing for hours and hours. When you’re DJing, it’s like a lot shorter, and the energy is so different, and you get feedback. In a way, DJing is more exciting in the short time I’m doing so, but producing is just as exciting in the long run.
If you could perform on any planet, which one would it be?
Topic: Pluto [laughs]. I don’t know why, but it was my favourite planet as a kid, probably because blue was my favourite planet as a kid. But yeah, maybe we’ll take it to Pluto [laughs].
Who are your favourite artists at the moment?
Topic: Jon Bellion is definitely number 1 on my list, I think he’s just such a genius. I think he did the whole Justin Bieber album, and even some on the new Maroon 5. It’s crazy, because you can tell when he’s worked on something, you’re like “okay that’s Jon Bellion who wrote this melody”.