For over three decades, Tom Wax has been a driving force in electronic music — from the euphoria of the early 90s rave scene to the ever-evolving sounds of today. As he prepares to release his ambitious 21-track album The Future Is Now, we caught up with the German pioneer to reflect on the encounters that shaped his journey, the passion that still fuels his creativity, and why, in a world obsessed with algorithms and quick hits, he remains dedicated to crafting music with heart, vision, and timeless energy.
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You’ve shared the stage with legendary artists during your career. Is there a particular encounter or experience that has significantly shaped your career?
Playing on Mayday 2 in Cologne Germany back in 1992 together with the Overdrive Allstars was a blast, because I first met me heroes CJ Bolland, Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin and Renaat from R&S Records there backstage and then I had one of my first tracks licensed to this legendary Belgian label shortly after this event, which was Microbots – Cosmic Evolution.
How do you stay vulnerable in your creative process after so many years in the scene? Or is it about something else entirely at this point?
During the last 3-4 years, I started to accept myself as a real artists and not just a DJ, who produces tracks for his DJ sets. I tried to realise my own visions in music with breaking barriers of my typical sound and creating all kinds of electronic music that I love, and build my reputation as a real artist.
Your new album is titled The Future Is Now — yet so much of your journey has shaped the history of electronic music. How do you personally navigate this tension between legacy and forward motion?
I don´t care about legacy, because fame is fleeting and the whole electronic music scene always evolves so fast with new sounds, new genres and new producers or DJS. I still wanna get better every day and develop my way of DJing and producing to stay on top of the game and still reach some people who enjoy my music.
As someone who’s lived through several waves of techno’s evolution, what still surprises or moves you about the genre today?
I´m driven by passion for electronic music. I grew up with all the 80s synths-sounds, got into the club music scene in the late 80s and started DJing in the beginning of the early 90s, where the energetic Techno-House movement was the new thing, which still motivates and inspires me to produce music and go on with DJing. I have memories for eternity and I´m still thankful for my life in the last 35 years.
You’ve built a vast body of work under different names and projects. When you’re in the studio now, do you create as Tom Wax — the artist — or as Thomas, the individual?
It depends on the project I wanna realise. When I work out a new album, I start as Thomas with the music background of Tom Wax. When it comes to collaborations with other DJS/ producers or single releases, I create them as Tom Wax, and sometimes I just do ghost productions where I can put in all my knowledge about music & production.
In an age where algorithms and playlists often dominate discovery, what does an album mean to you in 2025 — and why release a 21-track statement now?
Because it´s a statement to come out with 21 tracks!! The focus should be on the whole album and the different tracks, not on just one club track that works in a DJ set. I will release single tracks with remixes after the album release, for example, The Sound Of The Future incl. a Simina Grigoriu Remix or Dance Like Nobody´s Watching with a DSTRTD SGNL Remix. I don´t care about algorithms anymore, because it´s not about music anymore.
Do you think there’s a spiritual or meditative quality in techno that we don’t talk about enough?
Yeah, for sure. There is so much great Techno music out there that has so much spirituality and depth, but it´s not the sound of the current generation. And you have to dig deep to find this music, because it´s not featured at the important places. I always try to please and teach the crowd with my DJ sets, but it gets harder time after time. And often just the functional and simple tunes work nowadays.
If your new album were a message in a bottle to a future generation of producers, what would you hope they take from it — sound-wise or even soul-wise?
Realise your own vision of music, try to be unique and create tracks and sounds with a serious feeling & message.
Tom Wax: “The Future Is Now – and It Always Has Been”
