Jannis Siopis AKA Silversurfer grew up in a small city, Gifhorn where he was involved very early in the breakdance and graffiti scene. Getting really strong influences from Zapp, Prince Charles, Mtume and Johnny Guitar Watson, he started at an early age to get himself more and more in touch with music and after playing almost every club around Greek Islands and he decided it was time to move to "The Electronic Music Metropolis“ – Berlin.

Bags of releases later, on labels including Crosstown rebels and Get Physical, he's coming back to London to play for WhoDaFakCares so i thought I'd try and break the language barrier and get to know a little more about the man himself....

Hi Jannis. So, how is 2009 going for you so far?

New Years Eve this year was very special for me. I was playing at the beach in playa del Carmen in Mexico… so a really good start :)

You've been involved with music for some time now and have a classical music background - When and how did you get into the Dance scene initially?

I used to live on the Greek Island Skiathos and started to play in a club there when I was 15. I became their weekly resident and it all went from there really.

Who were your major musical inspirations at that point and who is inspiring you right now?

I think the movie 'Beat Street' was my biggest inspiration those times and for now I’d say traveling.

Now, what’s with all of these different ego names – Siopis, Silversurfer… are you trying to confuse us on purpose and are there anymore we should know about?!

I produce and play as Siopis and Silversurfer. Siopis is my new ego in cooperation with Mr Brean. We are working on a new act with visuals and live performance.

I see you have quite a few gigs set up already this year reaching as far as a tour of Australia. Which country do you prefer to play and do you find you have to adapt your sets much for different places?

I like to play everywhere, but Mexico is one of my favourite countries. I like the countryside, the people and the way they like to party!

Tell us a bit about your current releases and any projects you are working on at the moment?

I have just finished two remixes for Frontroom 26 and Rhythmetic 13 which are both coming out April 09 and have an EP (Roomemates) on Ntrop records due out in May 09. At the moment I’m I working on a ep for get physical.

I love Penny From The Lane feat Mr Brean! How happy were you to be signed to GET PHYSICAL?

Thanks! For me it’s very exciting to be with Get Physical because I really like the label and the people who work there. I think it’s a really good base for any artist.

Is there a certain process you go through when writing/remixing a track and what tools do you use for this? (For the tech geeks out there!)

I use Ableton Live and Logic for production and also some new plug ins as well as my favourite Minimoog....and also different samples.

Has this changed much over the years?

I’m now at a point to say that I can produce and get across the music that I have in my mind, because I have the technical skills right now. It’s taken me about seven years to get here!

Do you find that all your friends are involved in the music industry or have you managed to strike a healthy balance?!

Sure. I have friends that don’t have anything to do with the music industry and its good like this!

Do you have still time for other things, besides your Production and DJ-schedule, what do you do in your spare time or are you consumed by music?

I spend 80% of my time in my studio but in my spare time I really like to go traveling, spending time in nature - Going back to Skiathos, where I came from.

You are coming to London in March to play for WhoDaFakCares. When was the last time you were over here and is there any one thing who want to do on your visit?

The last time I was in London was 2 years ago and I played at Fabric and The Tbar. I want to visit some friends and have some fun - I like the London party crowd a lot!

What kind of set should we expect?

Deep, dark and sexy!

What are your top 5 tracks past or present?

1 . The Martin Brothers- Full moon
2. Lemos feat Tonny lasar- Hello Hello
3 Kiki - Living FFw
4 Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia - Dead Souls (radioslave mix)
5 Riva Starr - Squash

Finally, can you tell us one random fact that we don’t already know about you?
I am daddy now ;)

Thanks Jannis. Take care and thanks for your time