Thomas Datt (Ten Questions with...) Exclusive Interview

Tomasz Krakowiak, aka Thomas Datt, is a legendary Polish trance music producer. He has released his music on labels such as:

🔴 Discover Records

🟠 Future Sound Of Egypt

🟡 Landscapes Music

🟢 Technoclub Records

🔵 Monster Tunes

🟣 Flux Delux

🟤 Stellar Soundscapes

⚫ Anjunabeats

⚪ Supreme Music

🟥 Kill The Lights

🟧 Borderline Music

🟨 Damaged Records

🟦 Fundamental Recordings

🟩 Armada Music

and others.

Tomasz took the time to share his thoughts on trance music. Thank you for your time. We invite you to this exclusive interview conducted for Visions Of Trance.

1. What is trance music to you?

Trance is a lot of things to me. It’s my childhood and my teenage years. It’s my career and soul purpose. My passion and my drive.

Discovering trance music didn’t just excite me, but also spoke to my soul. Trance is the definition of a multidimensional journey through space, time, and emotions. Especially emotions.

Trance to me is… emotions expressed as frequencies which create a hypnotic state of consciousness.

That state of being, when done right, will transform you to another place. This can be a memory. It can be a feeling. It can be a cosmic journey. It can be a self-reflection. It can give you goosebumps and make you wonder what just happened. Sometimes it can make you cry… make you angry… or simply make you want to shake your ass with a big smile on your face.

Trance is freedom and joy and happiness and, and, and…

Is it music or a portal? Depends how you look at it, I guess. Personally, I see it from all the perspectives now, and I am very excited to explore it further with my newfound knowledge and experience.

2. How do you perceive the state of the current trance music scene?

You know what my first reaction to this question was, as I started to think about the answer? It was a big meh, a shrug of my shoulders, and my face looked like I smelled a nasty fart. Maybe it’s because I’m not sure how to answer… maybe because I might upset some people. Who knows?

The way I perceive it, is sort of like how I used to see it years ago, except it’s worse now.

One of the problems that I noticed, is that producers are just banging out boring as fuck tracks, left and right. I mean technically they sound good. Yea sure, you nailed the sound, the mix, and you’re basically ticking all the boxes… but at what cost? There’s no soul in there anymore. There’s no real emotion. It might sound like it’s trying to be emotional, but when music is made with the mind, then it is no longer an authentic emotion. It is a manufactured emotion. It’s trying to be an emotion.

Why would I spend my previous time connecting to something that is dead on the inside?

I think one of the biggest problems is that a lot of musicians are thinking emotions into existence.

Another problem is that maybe these creatives have no real idea of who they are. No real idea of what the music wants to say, or rather what their hearts are trying to say. Copying someone else is not the answer, it can only get you so far… surface-level fake emotions.

Another issue with the state of trance music could very well be the fact that producers are comparing one another, instead of just focusing on themselves and how they show up in the studio, in their music career, or in their life in general.

Or perhaps, this is something that really troubled me and made me feel kind of sad too, and semi hopeless… is that the guys from 10 years ago, or even further back, are still making the same song.

They still use the same sounds. They still recycle their biggest hits and try to force a big new hit out of them. I heard some of these tracks and felt sad… that this is all there is… that this amazing creative individual can’t do something more… stuck in a self-created box, unable to understand that it’s not the presets you use. It’s not the big song that matters. It’s the emotional state you are in when you are at your most vulnerable and creative self.

I feel like being creative, is kind of like being naked. You’re fully putting yourself out there, and the last thing you want is for someone to tell you that your emotions or that your creation is shit. So a lot of people would prefer to hide those real emotions behind some kind of wall. Making the same fucking thing over and over again because it’s safe. Because it’s comfortable. Because it’s easy. Or the worst of all because it’s faster and then you can churn out more shit so that you can stay relevant in the music industry because if you don’t put out enough tracks in a month, then you won’t get the gigs, the radio and DJ support, make a few dollars that won’t actually support your life, and continue to grind away thinking that someday you will be so famous that you will be able to finally pay your bills! But by then, you might actually start to hate your life, and the music itself… and forget about being truly creative because at that point you are completely burned out.

The rat race is not good for creativity. You know, there’s this other thing. Musicians not having any self-worth, or self-value. Do you know what that looks like? That looks like getting paid in exposure. Or you are getting paid very small amounts, for many, many hours of work. That at the end of the day, you’re making less than minimum wage because the music industry TOLD YOU that this is how it works. So sorry, we don’ have a budget, but you should totally spend 30 hours of your precious time to get very little in return.

I have more to say on this… you guys should follow my podcast The Temple of Sound podcast, which is currently only available on my YouTube channel. If you want real and authentic truth from a perspective of a musician that has been through it all, then the podcast is perfect for you.

The Temple Of Sound Podcast Here 👇

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9VJt8VnQ4iv41I4uYY60-QUNje5ksnpe&si=EUiwQLvIhZvx0dn-

3. What are your goals in producing trance music?

My goals differ from day to day, from session to session. Each time I sit down the music demands something different from me, but it always goes back to the emotion.

What is the emotion here?

What is the story here? What does the song need next? What is it trying to say? Express? I feel it, and then I let it come through me. Sometimes I show up with a specific intention, for instance today I'm going to be working on a heart opening melody, and that is my only goal.

4. Who was your inspiration to start producing trance music?

There was a lot of inspiration that led me to trance. A lot of it came from the 90s eurodance on VIVA. A lot of it had trance elements, house, happy hardcore. That massive electronic music revolution blew me away. It wasn't just the sound too, I love synths, it all had to do with how it made me feel. The emotional ride it would take me on. The energetic frequencies that made me move and want to dance. When speaking of actual trance music, that would be likes of Ferry Corsten, Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, Armin, Paul van Dyk, Matt Darey, Oliver Lieb, Chicane, Sasha, Digweed, Deepsky (LOVE THEM!), and many more.

5. Which song are you most proud of and why?

In no particular order, of course. Alone - because it was very emotional, it may have been one of the first times I went really deep into how I was feeling. It was also loved by Paul van Dyk, as he included it in Politics Of Dancing 2. Part 1 was one of my favorite trance albums and compilations from back then, and I never dreamed or imagined that it would be possible to make it to the second one.

My Britney Spears remix - because it felt like an impossible task. The original version was a guilty pleasure, although it had parts in it that I didn't really enjoy personally. So I had this love and slightly hate relationship with the original. Being able to turn a pop song, into a beautiful and extremely positive, uplifting, and fun trance tune, was a big achievement for me. There have been times where I held back from playing it because I didn't think the crowd would like it, or I didn't want to kill the vibe or whatever stupid reasons I came up with... but every single time that I have played it out, it went off! The crowd loves it, and that love feeds back to me, so we all just have a great time dancing and singing along.

My Still Alive remix, from Lisa Miskovsky. This one I'm very proud of because it was exactly what I wanted this song to be and represent, but none of the previous version of it delivered in a way this one did for me personally. The original one is beautiful, and of course I love the Mirror's Edge games as well. I can still feel, hear, see, and remember that melody playing during the menu screen. I would just let it play on a loop and feel hypnotised by it.

When remixes were announced for Still Alive, I was extremely excited, but I found them lacking. I just felt very "bleh" about listening to them. It didn't feel like there was love and passion for the original in those remixes. They just felt like products, like someone got paid to do it, not because someone loved it. So my version of the track was made as a fan of the original, as a fan of the game.

I wanted to combine the feeling of the original, with the energy of what my style of trance was at that time. I still play it to this day, and probably will continue to do so until I'm dead.

The Love Frequency - because it was hard to pull off. Before this came to be, I was trying to do a follow up to Prana Flow by forcing it into existence with my mind. That doesn't work, and this is something I teach my students. You don't think art into existence, and you don't think your emotions into sound. You have to feel it. So when I stopped trying, The Love Frequency came through me so beautifully, that the idea of having to follow up Prana Flow melted away, and naturally became that anyway. I also had the courage to use my own voice saying something profound, and having to deal with people either loving it or hating it. On top of that, it was my first and only Beatport Trance #1 single. There are many more, perhaps we can talk about them some other time. But I think the biggest one of them all is of course 2V2! Now, I have been very open, transparent, and vocal about my feelings towards this track throughout all the years of its existence and to now.

And now, we have 2V2 (The Frequency Of Return) which is my masterpiece. But why would I say such a thing? Because the song started my career… for many years I hated it, disliked it, even all the remixes more or less… I forced myself to play it at times, thinking I actually liked it but I didn’t. I forced myself to people please too because my friends or fans loved it, or had some kind of an emotional attachment to the track. I didn’t feel like that until recently, with the new version.

I got to do a lot of reflecting and healing during my time away from music. Part of that healing was making nice with 2V2, and in essence making nice with myself. Finding a way to be okay with my life, my decisions, my music, my personality, my everything. In short, I had to find a way to love myself again, and at the same time I found a way to love 2V2. And during the full 22 years of its existence, and my own as Thomas Datt… let’s just say The Frequency Of Return is my hero’s journey. It’s my completion, my healing, and all of my authenticity. It is my spirituality, my healing 5D codes. It’s everything that I have been, and have become, with all my knowledge about life, spirituality, emotional mastery, heart break even (Brooklyn, my cat…), and musical expression. It’s all of it. It is as raw and naked as I could have been.

It's my story, and it’s my journey. And when you connect with it… when you allow yourself the full 11-minute immersive experience.

Oh man! You are going to feel it! So if you are ready to feel it, I would kindly ask for your support and getting the track or the experience here 👇

https://www.thomasdatt.com/2v2

6. Will your future releases be collaborations with other artists? Are you more into solo productions?

There are a few collaborations in mind, when they happen or move forward is another story. I’m not ready to dive into that just yet. On another note, I am working with multiple individuals that are in a sense a collaboration as well. Not the usual one you think of, like two well known producers getting together to do a track and release it. It’s more like… I have a client that wanted to express his emotions in the form of a story, an emotional journey through trance music, but can’t do so himself. So I connect to those emotions, to that story, and I create the soundscape that expresses those emotions in a beautiful and safe way. So this way, we are collaborating. When I am working with students, mentoring them, teaching them, we are also working on a piece of music together. So again, that becomes a collaboration. The exchanging of ideas and emotions, and expressing them through sound. We easily do that together, and what comes out is pretty awesome! I’m very excited for all the projects to be finished so that we can share them with you. And of course if you are one of those people that wants to go deeper into understanding your emotions and how to express those emotions through music, please feel free to reach out hello@thomasdatt.com

7. What inspires you to create trance music?

This is simple. Emotions. My emotions. Someone else's emotions. Energy. Frequency. Telling a story. Experiencing and feeling a story. Being able to take someone on a multidimensional journey through sound, that is immensely inspirational to me. And of course being able to create music that helps people heal something internally... that's the one. It's profound.

8. What hardware and software do you use to create trance music?

I've been with FL Studio/Fruityloops since version 1. The usual VSTs like Omnisphere, Spire, Sylenth, you know. A computer, Focusrite Scarlett 18i8, headphones, and sometimes my Yamaha speakers. Although, my "studio" has always basically been a computer in a bedroom, and somehow I still managed to do okay. Just shows you don't need expensive gear, or a professional studio. When the time comes, I'll be sure to make some upgrades to my setup. For now, just being able to have time for trance music again, is a blessing in itself.

9. How do you perceive the influence of social media on the career development of a trance artist?

Social media is like this necessary double-edged sword, that we all have to be part of. I don’t like having to constantly post something to be seen, to get engagement because whatever social platform you are on makes it difficult for your followers to see you. Social media is like a full time job. Learning how to navigate that, requires some patience as well as time and effort. Because organic growth (not spending money on ads or boosting posts for example) takes a long time. For me at the moment, I’m actually leaning towards building a community for artists and musicians. I think social media is going to fade away in a sense because it’s going to be mostly ran by ai agents, not real people. So what will remain is probably going to consist of communities, and they could be through let’s say Facebook, but could also exist on its own platform, app, or website. Maybe all of the above.

10. Finally, what would you like to say to your fans?

Let’s be nice and vulnerable here… I believed so much in my return to music, that I became delusional in how it would all happen. So I made up a story in my mind that I would be able to jump on all of the things again, and that it would be easy and quick. Reality kind of kicked me in the face and said: “no, this is going to take some time and you’re going to have to really focus.”

To put it another way, I put immense pressure on myself, on music as a business, on teaching/mentoring, doing remixes, ghost production, my own releases through my website, masterclasses, podcast, radio show, label, all of it… All of it! This was without having solid foundations either. I had a dream, a massive vision, and I ended up falling on my face because I didn’t realise that I wasn’t in a position to do everything all at once, and that I would have to slow down a bit and go slow and steady. It was another deep self-reflection and healing experience. So, I’m here again, taking a nice big breath of fresh air. Not quite ready to give up because I know in my soul that music is why I am here on this planet. I can feel it! It calls to me, it pulls at me, it fuels me! Believing in myself has been one of the hardest obstacles to overcome. It’s a work in progress, and I made it this far… so, it would be a massive shame to stop now. I need to see this through or I will regret it until the end of my days. And with that said, a big massive thank you, to all of you out there that have supported my music through all the years. I have so much more to share with you, and I hope that I am able to do that. Because we all benefit from more Thomas Datt music. I love it just as much as you do. And sometimes, we meet face to face on a dancefloor and we can share that experience together. That pure joy and love for the music that was made with joy and love.

For those of you that didn’t know, during the time of my deepest transformation, I created an album designed for deep cosmic exploration of the self. It’s beautiful music. Some of us call it frequency music. Some call it meditation music. Some call it ambient music. Some call it healing music. It’s all of those things. It can very well be a healing and spiritual experience for most people if they are open to it.