Raw, atmospheric, experimental and innovative. That’s how we like Perc best – the London-based producer, DJ, live acter and a label owner is considered one of the most essential reference points in the sound of modern techno. He created his own quality mark thanks to Perc Trax and worked for over 20 years for the status of a key figure in the global scene – and at the same time he keeps on exploring, progressing and taking risks.
But there is another face of Perc we can hear of his latest EP. „Microtrax” is the most personal, intimate and introspective release in his career, created while travelling all around the world, experiencing jetlags or strange surroundings. We simply had to ask him a couple of questions about the brand new release, but also about his upcoming gig at Warsaw’s Jasna 1.
Agata Omelańska: Hi Ali, it’s a pleasure to have you here! It’s only the beginning of 2026 and you surprised us all with your new EP – right after releasing “Soft Launch” in October. That’s really impressive and I must admit that “Microtrax” made me curious about the stories behind it.
When I first listened to “Microtrax”, I was strongly impressed. Musically, it’s raw, rhythmic, very clubby, but at the same time I found some softness and delicacy there – and it turned out to be something very surprising. I perceive this combination as beautiful, very intimate and personal – how did you reach these layers of yourself?
Perc: I just wanted to express something else, take things a little deeper and explore different emotions. So much techno these days just plays on a shock & awe kind of dynamic. The only emotion these modern hard techno tracks contain is a kind of aggressive punch, which is fine and it’s very popular, but if you listen to a range of music that conveys different emotions then you want the music you produce to do this as well.
The tracks from my “Microtrax EP” were sketched out as I travelled to gigs or rested after events, so they were produced through a haze of jetlag and strange surroundings. I produced the original demos on headphones which I think contributed to the close, intimate feelings of the tracks and using my own vocals on the tracks made them more personal as well.
When talking about the circumstances of this EP, you mentioned being constantly on the move, jet lagged, feeling confused or lost in different places around the world. These states and emotions are definitely not easy – but you managed to transform them into sincere pieces of music. Thank you for revealing yourself to us, your listeners, in this form: the way you really are.
There are many sides of me, but the one people know best are when I’m playing a peak time or closing set, ramping up the intensity and mixing the harder side of techno with acid and rave influences. This side of me still exists and will still be seen when the time is right, but to go somewhere more introspective, more isolated and more spacious really appeals to me right now.
You also emphasised that you did not expect to release new material so quickly – in October 2025, you released the “Soft Launch” EP. Only a few months between them, but I could definitely feel the difference in sound and atmosphere of the tracks, an even deeper immersion inside. How much courage did it take you to make this step forward? Or was it a completely spontaneous decision?
The “Soft Launch EP” was planned for a long time and because it was a vinyl release, the tracks were finished at least 6 months before the EP was released. As soon as that EP was finished I was asked by the Hypercolour label to do an updated remix of my own track, ‘The Drums’. I did this remix quite quickly as I had to move studios around this time. I knew I wanted to go deeper with the remix and the end result was my ‘Future Mix’. This became the blueprint of where I wanted to go next. These deeper tracks have fewer elements than tracks like ‘Soft Launch’ or ‘Resistor’ and can be made when traveling and still sound good in a club.
I never thought of the change as brave or courageous, but it is something that I had to do.
There was too much about the harder techno scene that I did not agree with and that I didn’t want to be associated with. I didn’t have to release these tracks, but I knew I had to produce them.
I would venture to say that the sound of “Microtrax” is Perc as we have never known or heard before. Literally, because for the very first time you used your own voice as an instrument. How did you find working with it? Did you experience any resistance, or on the contrary, did you liberate your voice and some new part of yourself?
Yes, it’s a very different sound for me, but it is still essentially ‘Perc’. A lot of the same elements and production and arrangement tricks are in these tracks as in my older tracks, they are just implemented in a different way. Using my own voice was partly to make the EP as personal as possible, but also because I recorded the vocals in hotel rooms around the world, I wanted to capture a moment in time and a feeling, not wait for weeks for a vocalist to interpret my ideas. Some of the vocals are very clean and some are heavily effected, but the main point is that they are me. I don’t think anyone commented negatively about the vocals, even if some people were surprised that I was doing vocals for these tracks.
“Microtrax” has been very well acclaimed by the industry. You have been praised by Luke Slater, Daniel Avery, Jennifer Cardini, Randomer, Scuba, DJ Hell, Kwartz and Blush Response, among others. What do their opinions mean to you? And is it easy for such an experienced and respected artist like you to ask for feedback?
Some of the feedback was from me sending the EP directly to artists I admire and some was from myself and the Hype Filter PR company sending it to a large pool of DJs. Even doing this the response rate from DJs was only about 15%. That’s standard, as it is common industry practice to not leave negative feedback to a release you don’t like. You just close the browser tab and move on.
Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? Do you set your personal bar very high, or do you try not to put pressure on yourself?
I try to set the bar as high as I can, but aiming for perfection is a fool’s game.
I always have a cycle where I produce a release and I’m unsure of it, then I release it and it does well. Then I start working on the next release and think it is poor compared with the last release and the cycle continues. One reason for this is I am comparing half finished demos with fully finished mastered tracks, which is an unfair comparison really.
You’ve been present in the electronic music scene for over 20 years. Many consider you their main point of reference, one of the most respected producers in the world of techno and an artist who has brought his own quality. Looking back in time, how do you see yourself today? Which of your releases or events do you consider to be the most important achievements in your career and why?
It’s really hard to be objective when you are right in the middle of it all! I’ve been doing this for a long time and
I like to think I’ve kept progressing and taking risks throughout my career, the “Microtrax EP” is a good example of that.
A lot of producers seem to make the same music for most of their career. They refine their sound and update the tools they use, but essentially it’s still the same music being made over and over again. I like to think that I’m relevant and respected and I still get booked by new promoters, which means a lot to me. I have relationships with some promoters that I’ve played for once a year for many years which I really cherish, but working with new promoters and events gives me a sense that I’m still part of the scene that I love.
Key productions for me in chronological order would be: Up, My Head Is Slowly Exploding, Take Your Body Off, Dumpster, Look What Your Love Has Done To Me, Toxic NRG, Resistor and Introspect. Plus my remixes of DJ Hell, Peder Mannerfelt & Sissel Wincent and Furfriend all did well for me. Events I hold dear include the Perc Trax showcases at Tresor and with Intercell in Amsterdam, my Awakenings performances, my sets for 6AM in LA and Detroit and my 10+ sets at Under Club in Buenos Aires, there are so many more I could list but that’s enough for now!
I’ve worked hard but I’ve also been very lucky and I’m very thankful for everything I’ve experienced.
And when you look at today’s electronic music scene, what is your opinion of it? Is it evolving, changing, developing, or have we fallen into a loop of similar and derivative sounds? What interesting, new and fresh things are happening on it – and where or with whom can they be found?
There are amazing things happening in techno right now.
I think it’s as good a time now for techno as there has been in the last 8-10 years. I’m not crass enough to tell people to ignore everything that the mainstream dance music press promotes to you, but just remember that 90% of this press coverage is paid for. If you dig deeper, there are micro scenes producing amazing music. These are small groups of producers working together but spread around the world. Some names for you:
Producers: Snaga, Dog On Acid, Arjun Vagale, Barbosa, Ketch, Franzizca, Salat, Jacobworld, Inlimen, Clinical Hates, Sjush, PageOne, Kameliia, Erik Jabari, Decoder, Vera Grace.
Labels: Heist Mode, Undivided, Float, Radiance, Night Format, Skuxx, PHTM, Mason Close, Format 416, Subsensory, TSSRCT, Flat 7, Primal Instinct, Vault and many more.
I’m winking here, because many new and very interesting recordings appear at your own label, Perc Trax. You release your own music there, as well as artists such as Scalameriya, Frazi.er, Ansome, Ghost In The Machine, Million, Marc Acardipane and You Know Seth. Which of them are you most proud of? And will anyone soon join this group and release their music on your label?
It’s hard to pick favourites really, I love them all equally. Thankfully my love for a Perc Trax release is not based on how well it sells or even if it breaks even. It’s more on the experience of working with the artist and how it affected the career and even the life of who produced it. The Ansome releases are very close to my heart and also the way the first Ghost In The Machine EP sent shockwaves through techno, I think it was the most ‘what the hell is that?’ release on Perc Trax along with the Tymon remix of my own ‘Hyperlink’. The Forward Strategy Group album ‘Labour Division’ is really beautiful in places and the Go Hiyama EP
with the remix from Berghain resident Norman Nodge means a lot to me, as it was the first time the purist techno guys took Perc Trax seriously.
What are you looking for in music? What catches your attention, what is the most important evaluation criteria for a demo, and what makes you choose one track over another?
I just want someone that has their own music character and sound. Something that instantly excites me and feels new and fresh. I don’t want anyone that sounds like any of the artists that are already on Perc Trax and I don’t want anyone that sounds like everything else that is being released right now. Obvious use of sample pack sounds and Splice type loops is a turn off as well.
A track should be well produced, but I’ll always take a good, original idea over a perfectly produced bland track. A track has to be something I’m excited to play in a club, that is crucial.
What does Perc’s music world look like outside of electronic music? Which artists, albums or genres have had the biggest influence on you, and which of the recently released albums impressed you a lot?
I’ve mentioned it before, but I like to listen to jazz, but my knowledge of it is tiny compared with what I know about techno. I quite like being a newcomer to jazz.
It’s refreshing to not know all of the relationships between every musician, group and label.
Years ago I used to listen to a lot of metal and hip-hop and I still go back to rap occasionally, but it’s mainly the stuff I was listening to a long time ago. Public Enemy – both sonically and politically – have always been a big influence on me. Despite being a totally different genre, Public Enemy was the primary influence on my track ‘Dirt’.
I’m already thinking about the future and imagining your upcoming gig in Warsaw. You haven’t been to Poland for a long time and it won’t be your very first time at Jasna 1. What can we expect from you – and what do you expect from the club?
My last time in Poland was at the start of 2024, so it’s been just over two years. I have played at Jasna 1 once, before the pandemic, but I’ll be interested to see how the club has evolved since then. In terms of my set,
I just want to represent everything that I’m passionate about in techno right now.
So it will be a mixture of my recent productions and unreleased tracks of mine, plus new music from Perc Trax and the labels and artists that I’m really feeling right now. Derschein are a great promoter and always put on really mixed line-ups, so I’m looking forward to hearing what the other artists play as well.
Thank you so much for the interview and time dedicated, Ali! I hope you’ll feel good under Jasna’s lights and show yourself at full power!