5 Fun Facts About Emanuel Satie

While we all obviously love the music of our favorite producers, we rarely get the opportunity to know the person behind the decks. Understanding an artist’s story allows us to connect with their music more deeply. At Gray Area, we try to bridge that gap between artists and fans. As we prepare for our April 23 event with Emanuel Satie at Superior Ingredients in Brooklyn, NY, we thought we’d share five lesser-known facts about the German-born, Portugal-based award-winning producer.

1. Emanuel Satie was once a teenage rapper

Every artist’s passion for music starts somewhere, and for Emanuel Satie, it started behind the mic. His fascination with hip-hop began in his early teens. Inspired by the rise of German rappers like Kool Savas, Satie recruited friends to start a band while he wrote rhymes. Unfortunately, no evidence of that inaugural venture has surfaced...yet.

2. Emanuel is a former boxer

While long removed from the ring, Emanuel Satie was once a State Champion boxer with twenty recorded wins. A lifelong fan, Satie recognizes fighters like Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather, and Conner McGregor as artists in their own right—artists of physical expression. Athletics and physical health continue to play an important role in his life, using the physical to balance the cerebral pursuit of music.

3. He’s secretly good at chess

We had a chance to sit down with Emanuel for an Artist Spotlight, and he revealed a secret talent for the game of chess. The crossover? According to Satie, chess is like producing music, especially remixes. Both require creative problem-solving.

4. His favorite track he’s written is “Come As You Are”

When your library is as diverse as Emanuel’s, it can be hard to pick a favorite track, yet one reigns supreme in the mind of the 2016 DJ Awards’ Best Producer. Speaking on “Come As You Are,” Satie once shared,

“I remember how the track was just flowing out of me effortlessly, I didn’t write it, it felt like I was just a vessel for the idea. It still works wonders in any situation every time I play it. Creating timeless music is what is important to me, to have achieved that with that track makes me very proud.”

5. He was an intern at Cocoon Records and later released music there

“Planet XXX”—one of Emanuel’s most sought-after tracks—was his first track released on Sven Väth’s Cocoon Records in 2019. But their relationship started long before that. Few people know that Satie was first an intern at Cocoon in 2013. He stayed in touch with the team as his professional career continued to grow, and in 2018 Emanuel’s anthemic “Don’t Forget To Go Home,” caught Väth’s attention and support. Sven later officially welcomed Satie to the Cacoon family by signing him to the Cocoon Artists agency.