DJ Tossit, better known as Toby:) for his friends and visitors to his excellent record shop Sirius Smart Sounds that over the past few years has gained a loyal customer base which, considering the fact that it stock vinyl, is a no mean these days. Apart from running the store, Toby also, obviously, spins records at numerous Prague parties playing a blend of minimal, techno, breaks and dubstep. And as we found out, he has lots to tell, too:)

When and why did you come to Prague?
As my older brother used to live here, I came occasionally over to visit him. Finally, at the end of 2006, I moved to Prague not because of the pretty girls and the good beer, but because I had the feeling that I could contribute something to the scene. Everybody moves to Berlin or Barcelona or Amsterdam, so why not swim against the stream and build something up in a place that is not so obvious? I like a challenge and so it happened that I opened Sirius > Smart Sounds, a record shop and smart shop in the early summer of 2007.

Where do you originally come from?
I am somewhat of a cosmopolitan. I was born and raised in Germany, but I also lived for 13 years in Belgium after my Abitur. My studies and work however was across the border, in the Dutch town of Maastricht. My home is where I put my hat, I have friends all over Europe and that is why I don't feel particularly German, nor Dutch, nor Belgian. Prague has a somewhat international flair, which makes it perfect for me. Right now, I am feeling like a true "Pragueanese", with a nice mixture of friends from CR, Slovakia and expats from all kinds of backgrounds. Multi-Kulti, so to speak. :)

Could you tell us more about your shop Sirius?
When I lived in the BeNeLux, I used to work for several years at Sirius > Smart Sounds in the Netherlands, where we operate 3 more shops in and around Maastricht since the mid 90's. Sirius is more like a group of people who share the same vision and ideas about nightlife. In the south of the Netherlands, Sirius and it's booking agency "Hectic" built up the local techno-scene in the end of the 90's by throwing parties with big names like DJ Sneak, Mark Broom, Dave Clark, Johannes Heil, etc.., running two labels and providing a platform for exchange about ideas, all next to the record shops and smart shops.

The smart shop is actually just as essential as the record shop in that global picture. Our aim is to provide people with a credible natural alternative to all kinds of chemical uppers and downers, to educate and inform. The "Smart"  in Sirius > Smart Sounds does not only give a clue about the herbal stimulants, but also about our philosophy. "Smart" stands for: inform yourself before you try something new.
 
That whole idea is transferred almost 1:1 to Prague. I believe in the personal approach, in the classical record shop attitude where people can listen for hours and discover new sounds or get tips from the staff, or get information about herbal stimulants. Another part of Sirius > Smart Sounds is the "Sounds". It took a while, but now we are throwing several different parties in Prague to push certain sounds of which we think that they should be heard. We have found now a network of "good" people who share similar visions and ideas and who are not into the common ego-trip that unfortunately some young and sometimes really talented Djs have. After all, it's about music, people and a good party. :-)
 
You also DJ, what is your history? What kind of sound do you play?
Hmmm... To sum it up: I started playing because I like good parties with good people:-)

No, really... around 92 I started Dj-ing at school-parties, playing all kinds of popular music and just blending the different tunes together. After my first Rave Experience in 1991 I was sold to electronic music, but everytime I played something electronic, I practically cleared the dancefloor - keep in mind it's still around 93-94 and in the countryside. Some friends encouraged me though to buy two proper decks to provide them with mixtapes for their way to the clubs and so one thing led to another. Somehow, one of these tapes reached a DJ-scouting competition where I ended up 1st place in 1999.

That same club gave me the chance to put on my first series of clubnights, which were a mediocre success, but prepared me for the next level when a club ask me to become their resident and help them putting on a clubnight called "Technotix". And so it happened that we booked people like Laidback Luke, CJ Bolland, Michel De Hey, Marco Bailey, Dirt Crew, Shinedoe and were frequently sold out. Our idea was to provide people with a good name, very good decorations, excellent sound and all in all create an atmosphere where the crowd feels comfortable and entertain themselves. In the meantime, I played other places as well, be it for the local art school, or illegal parties in a warehouse, or in a variety of clubs and festivals in and around the BeNeLux. One of the highlights would be the time that our club closed the doors and I played a ping pong set with CJ Bolland until late in the morning.
 
My roots are actually in Acid, Techno, Detroit and the typical early sound of Frankfurt of 95, a bit acid trancy. Maybe it has to do with my philosophy about party, but I enjoy going out to D&B just as much as I enjoy going out to Dubstep or Minimal and that is represented in the sounds I play. I think that certain sounds fit certain locations better than others and thats what I play then. I am not a sound fetish and I am not just focused on one style, but as my budget is not unlimited and I only play vinyl, I currently play things like Minimal(-Techno), all kinds of House, Breakbeat, the occasional D&B set and sometimes old-skool Electro. I am not so much into categories, so a minimal set for instance always contains elements of other genres. In the end, it's all about making a good party, there is way too much music out there to be narrowminded.
 
What do you think of the scene in Prague?
Difficult question. First of all, there is not "the" scene in Prague and second of all, I am not the best judge in that matter as I am not the typical "scenester" who has lived here for ages. But my impression so far is, that Prague lacks good places and that many promoters just do their own thing without collaborating. D&B and dubstep seem to work great in Prague for several reasons: A whole lot of parties in different clubs and several bars where people can meet and exchange. Last but not least, they work a lot more together and take care of the new generation of clubbers. In general, those scenes combine a lively underground with the more mainstream parti
Now, and there is the problem with other electronic genres: No meeting points, hardly any crowd willing to push things further, very little exchange, hardly supporting each other and only a minimal amount of people trying to organise things. Prague needs more space for medium-sized clubs with about 400 people with excellent sound, good service, nice decorations and big enough to book new acts from abroad, but small enough to get a decent crowd.
 
I am a bit naive, but in my opinion, a good record shop should be an addition to the whole scene and that's what I am trying to do with Sirius > Smart Sounds: connecting the right people, organising parties, supporting where necessary and providing ideas. In short, we try to be a meeting point and be one of the pillars which connects underground and mainstream.
 
Tell us more about your new party:)
Well, it's not really a party in the traditional sense, its more something like a warming up for the weekend, where people can have a cocktail or a glass of wine in a relaxed environment. We are very happy to do it in Jet Set in the City Centre (V Jame 6, P1), a place that has the right setting for our purpose. It's full of comfortable seats and sofas, has a certain creative flair to it and attracts a somewhat mixed crowd between 20 and 50. When I came there last year for the first time, I was immediately impressed by the whole atmosphere and after some talks with the staff, my first impression was confirmed: It's a place that understands the whole concept of a good night out.
 
One thing led to another and since January we have now our regular evenings. Every Thursday, we present "Couch Surfing" and frequently on Fridays "Couch Surfing Special" with a more international line-up. With our nights in JetSet, we try to implement all the things that Sirius stands for: Connecting promoters and DJs by offering them and their followers a meeting point, setting a welcoming atmosphere to a very mixed crowd and presenting music which fits to the place. In order to achieve that, we have booked people who play for instance Deep House, Minimal, Clicks 'n Cuts, Broken Beats, Latin or that type of sounds, or use live instruments during their sets. Two highlights of the next weeks will be Keen Mimic on the 23rd, who plays the more typical "Vienna" style of lounge in and around the Czech Republic and Baaz from Germany on the 30.01. who represents the more jazzy side of Deephouse. So far, the feedback we received from the audience and DJs was excellent. It seems that we've hit a spot here and I am very much looking forward to discover some new sounds there as well. :-)
 

www.myspace.com/siriuspraha  http://www.siriussmartsounds.cz/