Little White Earbuds Interviews MyMy

Three cool cats: (L-R) Lee Jones, Carsten Klemann and Nick Höppner. Photo by Katja Jaruge

My My approach house and techno with artisians’ flair, crafting aural mosaics from hundreds of little sounds glued atop engaging melodies. You can listen closely and admire all the details slipped into every crevice or step back into the crowd to enjoy their work from the dance floor. The duo of Lee Jones and Nick Höppner (and sometimes Carsten Klemann) brings together a wealth of experience shaping dancers’ experiences (Höppner and Klemann) and years of studio skills (Jones, the driving force behind the downtempo project Hefner), and the results have landed their well rated records on vaunted labels such as Playhouse, Ostgut Ton and Cocoon, as well as Circus Company and Aus Music. And now they’re ready to shift their sound in new, more floor-oriented directions. Jones and Nick Höppner took time out to talk with LWE about this new direction, who does what, and the ups and downs of touring. (interview by Steve Mizek)

How did My My first come together?

Lee Jones: We all met in Berlin through mutual friends and partying and the clubs we were involved in. We were just friends who went out a lot together.

Nick Höppner: Actually, it was Carsten Klemann who brought us altogether; I knew him before I met Lee. And Lee fell in love with Carsten’s best friend and flatmate at the time. She was actually the reason why Lee moved to Berlin in the first place.

A story of love, that’s cute. Where did the name My My come from?

Nick: That’s another really good friend of ours, Cornelius Tittel who was kind of part of the original set up came up with. He’s working full time as a journalist now and he was always very creative with names. He also came up with the name Wahoo, the kind of pop project Dixon is running, it was his idea as well. He was into words that doubled up as a band or project name, like Liquid Liquid or The The.

Lee, what led you to switch styles from what you were making with Hefner to what you’re making solo and with My My?

Lee: I was just really into everything I heard when I moved to Berlin — I was really blown away at first. I’d never been into dance music, really, in England. I didn’t like the whole culture and the music. It just sounded different here and settings, the clubs and the venues here were so cool. And I just got stuck with the other music. I was trying to make this album and I got– I just wanted to do something I could do myself or with friends at home and not have to think about recording studios and working with singers and songwriting and to just make really simple, pure, electronic instrumental music.

Was it difficult to make the change? Was it easy to switch over?

Lee: I think it’s taken quite a while to really learn the production skills and what works in the club. That’s taken a lot of time. I feel like we really only cracked it in the last year or so that we started making records that sounded right, as far as we were concerned. It’s such a different medium — it’s all about sound and not so much about the music itself, the song or whatever. It’s 50/50, much more about production.

Nick, what was your musical experience before My My?

Nick: Before My My I was a DJ already. I dabbled with solo stuff as well, but I only got going when the My My thing got started. I had one solo track out on liebe*detail, the second one. When I was still a teenager I was in a punk rock band trying to sing. You couldn’t really call it singing but I had the mic in my hand.

Tell me a little bit about how My My songs come together. The liner notes of your releases show that Lee does some and Nick does some, but I was curious how that worked exactly.

Nick: For the time being we have made the conscious decision of trying to work on music together as much as possible. Because before My My could be anything; it could be a track I did, something Lee did, something we did together, but mostly it was Lee’s solo production. If you take everything into consideration, Lee really takes the biggest part in it. But after the album came out Lee and me were constantly touring and playing live together and we thought, if we continue with My My everything that’s stamped My My needs to have a proper share of both of us. We’re in the middle of finding out what we want to do and how we work best together. Because the project came into being without us having thought about it at all, it was on autopilot and we just embraced the situation and did whatever we could with it.

When would you say started to compose together exclusively — which track?

Nick: The only original My My tracks from last year which ended up on the Cocoon [G compilation] and the Playhouse compilations [Famous When Dead V] were basically Lee’s productions. But except for the Motorcitysoul remix ["Kazan (Exit Cube)"], we worked on every remix together which came out last year. And I think you kind of notice that already. And the latest Ostgut Ton one ["Southbound"] was an effort we did together.

Lee: You finished it.

Nick: We started it together and I finished the A side while Lee was on holiday in England.

Lee: Or rewrote it, rather *laughs* for the better.

How long does it take you guys to build your tracks? Do you rattle them out quickly or do you take a lot of time to sit with your tunes?

Nick: I tend to sit with it for a long time but this doesn’t necessarily mean I’m doing a lot of stuff to it. I’m rather contemplating it, and that’s how “Southbound” came together. I wanted it to sound like that and I was happy with this very simple arrangement from the beginning. I was working on the sound, doing little bits and pieces. But the B side, then again, was put together quite quickly. On the album, the opening track came together in one night as well. We’ve worked on remixes for three weeks or longer.

Lee: Sometimes they come together really quickly and sometimes they take ages. Generally that’s not the best work. I think the best stuff is conceived very quickly and then takes a while to tighten up. I tend to work pretty fast and actually… I like to get it finished quickly because I get bored of it after a while and I can’t hear what I’m working on. I think the best way is to really nail a track in one session. Sometimes when we’re working efficiently we manage to do that.

Is there a specific construct in mind when you’re building My My tunes or can a Lee Jones or Nick Höppner track turn into a My My track?

Lee: Well not really; it never had any kind of rule to it. I did a lot more work because I was the only one who didn’t have any other job, so I was outputting more tracks. The first EP was mostly me, the second was Nick, the third was both of us — it’s just all over the place. Sometimes I’ve started a track and Nick’s finished it… I don’t think you’ve started a track that I’ve finished yet, but I’m sure we’ll do that at some point. It’s just totally random. There’s no real method to working or structure, it’s whatever works, whatever comes together.

Nick: If you talk about us individually then obviously there’s a big difference. Lee, I would say, is really conceptualizing in advance and with me, I’m always looking for a groove and a loop that works first and then trying to build a track out of it. Whereas Lee is building the track as he goes along.

Does Carsten stop by to offer his opinions? I know he’s more of the DJ arm of the group, but does he have much input into your output?

Nick: To be honest for the whole of 2007 he didn’t have any input. We didn’t see each other very often because he was away quite a lot as a DJ and we were away every weekend, so it was really hard to get together. Just recently we started to hang out more together. Lee and Carsten started a track together. I think he might become more important again. But for the last he wasn’t really.

Lee: He met with us and said he wanted to call it quits and leave and we were like, “Hmm, OK, you’re not really around anyway.” He’s still part of it, really; we still do these monthly parties at Watergate and it’s so great when it’s the three of us all there, and there’s a feeling we’re still a group of three, somehow. I hope he gets more involved in the future.

My My tracks often remind me of a collage of samples and synths and the like. I know you’re both influenced by hip-hop though A Tribe Called Quest, but I was curious how you came to start sampling in tracks?

Lee: Hip hop’s a big key, I guess.

Nick: Yeah. As far as that, Lee brought a massive sample library into it, and there’s so much great stuff to choose from. Generally speaking I’m really into juxtaposing organic, dirty sounding samples with clean digital sounds. I’ve always been a sucker for samples and I still like the concept of looping stuff. Not to make such a big effort to splice it up and revert it and whatever and just find something that works well stuck on top of a kick drum. *laughs*

Under Watergate’s lights: Jones and Höppner strike a pose.

The “Southbound” single is a bit of a departure from both your Songs For the Gentle album and subsequent “Fast Freeze’ and “Southern Comfort” singles. Was there a reason the sound took a left turn this time?

Nick: That was a complete conscious decision. There isn’t a concept behind it at all. We just wanted to do a simple, warm, playable record with a great groove, and I think that’s what we did. There’s not much more to it.

How much are you willing to stretch the boundaries of what My My is sonically?

Nick: We want to keep it as open as possible. I think we’d rather produce something to the occasion. I think a My My record on Playhouse will sound different than one on Ostgut Ton, and the next album will probably have a strong focus on home-listening quality again. These are the categories we’re thinking in; but other than that, we want to be able to do simple, understated DJ records as well as something that’s off the hook.

Following that line of thinking: the environments in which people are listening to techno/house have increased in scope such that fans favor home listening almost as much as in clubs. I was wondering how much emphasis you put on dance floor utility as opposed to straight up musicality.

Nick: It’s become a lot more important over the last 18 months or so since we started touring. That’s definitely had a strong influence on the way we’re thinking about My My songs, because we’ve been getting bookings on the back of our album, which isn’t exactly peak time material. But anyway, we were always for the peak time in the middle of the night, very often as a headliner in smaller clubs, and it was really hard at the beginning to do a live show with the material we had, because it wasn’t functional enough in a way. As we went along we sped up the live set, reprogrammed stuff so we were able to cater for those kinds of situations. Lee has got into DJing a lot more than when we had started out. I think the DJ aspect has become a bit more important to us.

Lee: We want to play our own records a bit more and we found we weren’t really using our own stuff. The Ostgut Ton is one of the most DJ-friendly records we’ve ever done and we’re really enjoying being able to play it and hear it played by other people. It’s just been slagged off on Resident Advisor *laughs* for being too easy or too trendy and deep, but that’s what we wanted to do, really.

Who are some of your musical heroes?

Lee: There’s a lot of really contemporary producers and a lot of old from all over the place. I’m still really influenced by the great songwriters and soul and folk singers and songwriters, especially from the 70s. And all the music we grew up with in the 80s, especially when we were teenagers, is really important to us still. All the producers I discovered when I got into this music, still people like Villalobos and Luciano are very influential — loads of people.

Nick: We’ve come across this question quite a few times and I really have trouble answering it. I have my all time heroes and they come from every kind of genre. I still think that Dinosaur Jr. is a brilliant indie rock band, but I wouldn’t say it has a direct impact on what I’m doing with My My. Then the obvious thing like A Tribe Called Quest that might have a more direct influence on what we’re doing. I like a lot of stuff along the lines with Lee. I’m into a lot of current producers as well, but this changes all the time.

Any rising stars who have impressed you recently?

Nick: I’m particularly into dOP at the moment, this trio from Paris. They’ve released on Circus Company, Milnor Modern, they have a new one on Orac. And I think they are very, very talented, and they’re kind of bringing the fusion of songwriting and being a band and dance floor oriented stuff to the next level. Also very nice is Dave Aju from San Francisco, he’s releasing on Circus Company as well. I think he’s a sample guy as well and the way he does it is really fresh, I think. I’m really enjoying all the new school Dutch techno at the moment, from a DJ perspective: people or projects like Polder, Anton Pieete, Bart Skils, you know the stuff coming out on Intacto and 100% Pure. Current favorites include the latest Johnny D on Oslo is a great record, Markus Fix is really good, I think. Stuff like that.

Lee: My mind is completely blank. I’m just sitting here trying to think of… I’m really into– although I’m bored of listening to minimal music in clubs, there’s a couple Berlin minimal labels like Supdub, H.O.S.H., what label is he on? [Diynamic Music -nb] They’re making really kind of minimal records but they’re very funky and cute and with nice melodies. I’m constantly blown away by the records… what was that guy?

Nick: Jens Zimmermann.

Lee: Yeah, they just sound incredible. I don’t know how he makes them sound like that.

Is there anyone either of you or together would like to collaborate with at some point?Nick: Yeah. We’re thinking about working with vocals; and since I heard Dave Aju doing his spoken word thing and the guy from dOP singing his falsetto, I’d really like to work with those two guys. There’s another one we have in mind from Berlin, he’s actually a bouncer and not an artist. *laughter in the background* He’s got a nice voice and we might do something with him, at least that’s the plan. Other than that, Lee has done quite a lot of collaborations with people outside of My My with Daniel Drier and Will Saul.

Will there be any more of those, Lee?Lee: Yeah, actually. It’s one of these things over the years, you say you’re going to get together with friends and make a track over and over again and never get around to doing it. I made a new year’s resolution to actually do those meetings and I got a couple of them done so far and yeah, I’d like to do more, it’s just different having different company. No offense, Nick.

With the huge amount of music coming out these days, what do you do to stay interesting to listeners and yourselves?

Nick: We’re still in the process of finding that out. One point, we thought we need to be in the middle of it as much as possible, meaning going out a lot, being on tour a lot, listening to the music a lot. And I think now we’re entering the phase where we think it’s better to stay away from it as much as possible. *laughs*

I suppose that must be hard if you’re DJing as much as you are. What do you do to block these outside forces from impacting you in the studio?

Nick: I think that’s nothing we particularly want to block out. I don’t have a problem with it slipping into our music, being an influence.

With how much music is coming out, though, I’m sure you’re looking to avoid direct comparisons to others’ music. For example, in the comments of RA’s “Southbound” review someone likened it to Martin Buttrich’s “Full Clip” (even though I disagree with that assessment)…

Nick: Let me put it another way: If someone compares this to “Full Clip” I’m down with it completely, because I think it’s a nice record. I love those kinds of sounds. You probably wouldn’t hear a trancey arpeggio used in progressive and really big rave trance music, I wouldn’t want to have that in our own tracks but I’m exposed to it anyway.

Hangin’ out: Klemann, Höppner and Jones.

What’s coming up from My My over the next year? Is there another album coming out at some point?

Nick: Yeah. I don’t know if we’ll manage to release it this year; I guess we’re already running too late with it. We’ve got a lot of good finished tracks lying around, but they still don’t form the album. I think we need a few more attempts at really new stuff. We’re currently working on it, but it’s still in such an early stage.

What about from each of you as solo artists?

Nick: I’m working on a remix at the moment for liebe*detail for an Ed Davenport track. I’m constantly trying to do solo stuff but I don’t have any plans to release a record. There might be a solo one on Ostgut Ton in September or later this year. We’re currently producing an A side for a next Playhouse EP; we’ve got a nice B side but are still trying to come up with something new for the A side. This will take until summer, so I guess it’s too late for a pre-summer release now.

Lee, I’ve heard rumors that you’re going to be releasing a solo album. Any truth to that?

Lee: I think so, actually. I’ll probably do on on Aus, but that might not be until next year now. Cause there’s been a few singles and I’ve got a few other tracks I’ve put aside which Will [Saul] is into. I’ll do that and there’s a few more solo singles coming out, one on liebe*detail that I’ve just agreed to and, I forget what else. Oh, I’m working on my old thing [Hefner] again. I’ve been writing some material for the Hefner album which I still want to finish one of these days. Actually, later this year I might start working on that seriously.

Are there any more Just Recordings coming out?

Nick: No, we put that on ice, because we thought we could run the label on the side, but even selling below 1,000 copies makes a lot of work. WE’re already very busy trying to produce solo and with My My and I’ve got this day job. It’s just too much work. Although we haven’t given up completely, but we’d rather have someone do the dirty work and we do the A&R’ing *laughs*

The last thing I wanted to ask about was money. As a journalist, especially one so far from the action, it’s almost impossible to get a feeling for how artists are doing financially in the wake of decreased sales and mp3 sharing, how labels are paying, touring and stuff like that. Would you mind shedding some light on the subject?

Nick: First of all, we wouldn’t be able to support ourselves just by recording and selling records, that’s way too little to make a living. Secondly, we only started in late 2005 or early 2005, that was first My My single; and so I don’t know how it’s really been in the 90’s or even the early 2000s when it was still possible to support yourself as a studio producer only.

Lee: I survived for years just on remixes and record sales when I was working in London 10 years ago. That’s definitely changed. Playing live is our source of income, that’s how we survive now.

Nick: Yeah, definitely. If we didn’t play four times a month at least then we wouldn’t have enough money.

How does that impact you? Do you guys care that touring is how you make your money, not on your actual output?

Nick: It was a special situation for us, because for me it was the first time ever I had the opportunity to play around the world every weekend. This was very exciting and our tour took us to a lot of really great places and met so many good people. I guess we learned a lot about the industry or the nightlife industry. It was really interesting to see how this works around the world, how globalized it is, where the differences are. It was a really exciting year traveling, but at the same time it was bloody exhausting. Just right now it’s winding down because we haven’t had many releases releases, but it’s quite nice that way because we got a bit more time to think about music and actually record it. But… it’s a difficult thing, because if I think, ‘OK, for the time being we can afford our booking requests slowing down, but if this goes on for a year then we’ll run into financial problems, definitely.’ This is in a way affecting creative decisions and stuff like that.

Kind of a sidebar to that question: My friends and I have started up a night and we’ve been wondering what it costs to bring in decent sized acts. When you get a booking… you guys have made it to the States before, right? I know you had a NYC gig…

Nick: In San Francisco and New York, those were our only U.S. gigs. We played in San Francisco on a Wednesday night in a very small club, I don’t know what it’s called, Velvet Lounge or something, we practically played there for no money.

So how much money does it take to bring someone out after hotel and airfare accommodations?

Nick: It depends. If you try to get Ricardo Villalobos *laughs* you will have to spend a lot of money and probably a business class flight.

Lee: Private jet, probably. Doesn’t want to go through U.S. customs anymore.

Probably not, no.

Lee: ‘Cuz they interrogated him last time.

Nick: It really depends. We gladly did it for no money because it was such a good chance and we were in Montreal for the Mutek Festival anyway.

Would you guys be interested in coming back to the States sometime this year?

Nick: Actually, we might. The guys who booked us for this boat party will probably book us again and our agent is currently trying to put together some dates in the U.S. Because flying over there for one just one gig is ridiculous, we probably wouldn’t do that any more.

Well I hope you guys make it to Chicago if you do. We’d love the opportunity to see you.

Lee: I hope so, I’d love to see Chicago.

Panoramabar star Cassy revealed.

Another

artist from the Berlin school of cool, Miss Fitz, real name Maayan Nidam,  has been a busy lady in the last couple of years, smashing her way into the consciousness of minimal techno with a string of well received releases on labels like Raum and Freak n Chic.

The Israeli’s sound is built on solid grooves and understated parts – in other words, doing it the hard way – and as a result her reputation as a veritable underground producer has flourished. This is evidenced by how remixes of her work, such as Villalobos on ‘Menternal’ and Sascha Dive on ‘Colici’, have become successful on dance floors, beatport shopping carts and Ipods alike.

Miss Fitz also has a penchant for infusing her brand of unremitting beats with vocal samples, demonstrated by her remix of Macido Yayo’s ‘Sleepless Night’ and most notably her own ‘Drifting On’. The latter’s Nina Simone sample may have polarised opinion somewhat, but there can be no doubt it worked on the dance floor and it also distinguishes the soul of house music that has been evident over the past year. A stripping back of the weird computer minimal to something simpler, add in a vocal ¡, and we talking something a whole lot more rhythmic too. Time we got confidential…..

Instantly recognisable for her shock of curly hair and her vinyl juggling skills (which, let’s face it, put most of the boys’ to shame) Cassy – born Catherine Britton – is nevertheless something of an unknown quantity…

Apart from basic biographical information (she was born in England to an Austrian mother and Caribbean father she moved to Austria as a child, back to England as a young adult and – via stints as a singer and actress – developed a career in DJing and production and moved to Berlin) Cassy remains largely defined by her impressive musical output.

And rightfully so, given her back catalogue of releases and remixes for labels such as Perlon, Dessous, Mental Groove, M_nus, Playhouse, Get Physical and her eponymous imprint, among others.

Yet, there must be more to her than grade A productions, the musical acumen that comes with working at Berlin’s revered Hard Wax record store and a nice line in warm, intelligent electronic music which has seen her entrenched as resident at Panoramabar and guesting at the finest clubs around the world.

Who is Cassy and what makes her tick…?  We put through a long distance call to the Berlin home Cassy shares with her husband Tobias Fruend – aka Pink Elln – and some very special curtains. The Voice is charmed to find Cassy smart, opinionated and  quite at ease discussing ideas and life outside of the cloistered world of dance music… Read on to find out about her inspirations, why she hates hit records and what’s wrong with acting…

How did you discover electronic music?

„There was a great electronic music scene in Austria when I was growing up, and I was listening to everything. It was very diverse. There were trance DJs first, then artists like Kruder & Dorfmeister and a strong techno scene too.“

Did you always want to be involved in music?

„Growing up I wanted to do something in the dramatic arts – dancing or performing or singing. It’s hard to do – not because it’s hard to be famous or any crap like that – more that the traditional development you had to take to succeed [in performing] was too depressing. The more time you spent with people you don’t want to spend time with, the more it takes away your passion and love.“

„The more time you spent with people you don’t want to spend time with, the more it takes away your passion and love.“

One of your online bios says you „couldn’t stand“ the theatre profession – why?

„There’s a certain stuck-up-ness I couldn’t handle. Actors believe in this system, that there’s one god – the director – and he’s allowed to talk to me however he wants. And that [actors] can behave however they want, and they don’t have to update themselves. They are quite archaic. They aren’t interested in what’s happening now. They don’t know anything about techno [laughs]…“

Does DJing fill a need you have to perform or do you miss singing/theatre?

„I don’t miss being on a stage at all. DJing is a perfect fulfilment for me.“

You only play vinyl. Why?

„Nostalgic reasons, partly. I like watching DJs play vinyl. But the sound is better too. It’s more pleasant, more luxurious. I always buy the real thing, not the fake, even if it’s more expensive or more hassle.“

What’s your record of the year?

„A good recent record is a 4x 12″ on Underground Quality [Unity Kolabo EP by DJ Jus Ed]. It’s mellow, trippy house, but if you can filter the trippness out it can be a dancefloor bomb. It’s not the obvious hit record choice, which makes it a great record. If I know at the beginning a record is going to be a „hit“ I don’t like it as much. A lot of records do what the DJs are supposed to be doing in terms of the break, etc. I’m a DJ, I can do the break myself… records that follow a formula are boring.“

Is DJing becoming a lost art? Are the likes of Serato and Ableton making it too easy?

„DJs can use these tools to do their own thing but a lot of people don’t make it their own. Why would you do something if it wasn’t you? DJs are there to entertain, not to do their own thing. I can’t let myself get carried away and make everyone disappear from the dancefloor. I want to do my own thing but not be too arty or full of myself.“"I want to do my own thing but not be too arty or full of myself.“

Who is a person whose life or style inspires you?

„There are certain ways of living I find inspiring. I admire people who have to leave their countries for political reasons, leave everything behind, and start all over again. People who are courageous, who are brave enough to be positive even if a lot of shit has happened to them.“

Have you experienced this?

„I’ve had a „soft“ experience of it – I was born one place, lived someplace else and my parents were from somewhere else… so [you do wonder] „Where am I from? „ “ 

What’s your favourite club in your chosen home of Berlin and why?

„Panormabar/Berghain, where I’m resident. I love the long opening hours – on Fridays it’s open from midnight till 12PM or 2PM the next day, maybe a little longer. On Saturdays it opens from midnight till 6PM or 8PM Sunday evening.“

„I love the diversity of the people. You have the tourists who come at midnight, then you have the Berliners who come around 6-8AM morning and it’s completely different then. A lot of people get up, have breakfast and come to the club. It’s nice.“

What’s your favourite piece of technology?

„The [Roland] 808 and 909 drum machines. What makes them so interesting is that most of techno and house has been made with these two machines, so it’s a sound we’re familiar with. Even if you don’t know the machine, you recognise it immediately and it feels like home. Plus, they have a soul, they don’t always do what you want [them] to do, they have personality.“

„I like things in my life that last and last and last. It’s all about endurance.“

You are also a singer – who’s your favourite vocalist?

„I will always admire Sade because she’s done what she wanted to do. She was very strong, despite the musical industry bullshit. She’s beautiful and sexy but it’s an attitude, she’s not just a superficially pretty woman.“

What’s your most prized possession?

„Curtains. It sounds stupid but we have these beautiful curtains in our living room we went specifically to Stockholm to get. They’re by this Austrian designer, a Jew who immigrated to Sweden before the war. The design is from the ’20s but it’s colourful and the pattern is so amazing it never goes out of date. My home is right in the centre of Berlin, surrounded by old buildings, by history. Tobias and I have been living here for a year now and we promised ourselves not to spend our money at Ikea, to be more imaginative. We’ve been putting more thought into what we surround ourselves with. It’s worth getting things that last. It’s why I like records – I like things in my life that last and last and last. It’s all about endurance.“

—-

Like we said, Cassy is about quality – through and through. From her taste in records to her taste in home furnishings, she is a triumph of both style and substance. Her recent releases include Nil Desperandum on Perlon and she contributes vocals to Swayzak’s new album Some Other Country on Studio !K7.

1. Where do you call home?

Berlin has been my home for the past 5 years and every time I come back from a different city I’m happy to see it’s familiar streets.

2. Were you happy as a child?

Not really. I was a pretty easy going kid but I never felt like I fitted in, I always felt kinda awkward, even with my close friends.

3. How much did your childhood help you in becoming an artist?

Art was always there, in my school and in the city. I was playing instruments till adulthood and music was always an integral part of my parents place, but since I never got any personal guidance, I didn’t consider myself as an artist until very recently.

4. Were you good at school?

Not really, if I bothered to show up, it was never on time. However, I always got good grades so the teachers never gave me any problems.

5. What or who is the biggest inspiration in your life?

Life itself. Every day I try to figure out something new about the relations between humans, thoughts, needs etc.

6. Children, yes or no?

No. I feel like people in the western urban world keep losing their freedom each and every day with more and more rules and regulations and i don’t want to bring a kid to a world like that.

7. Who is your idol and why?

I don’t know if I have one. Maybe Bill Hicks or the Dalai Lama.

8. Do you believe in fate or God?

I believe in love.

9. Which artist or track did you think was no good but became successful?

The remix Carl Craig made for Theo Parrish’s ‘Falling Up’ always gets under my skin and makes me feel uncomfortable, but I don’t know if it’s a bad thing, maybe that was the point.

10. One thing you hate about dance music culture…?

Hate them haters.

11. Last club you went to party at, rather than to play?

Club der visionaere on the river in Berlin.

12. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done to get a gig?

I went from bar to bar and asked if they need a DJ.

13.  If you were interviewing yourself, what question would you ask and what would the answer be…

Q: If you could choose a super power, what would it be?

A: I want to know EVERYTHING! Either that or be able to fly.

14. What do you want to plug/promote?

I’d like to promote a different kind of partying, with varied music styles and family atmosphere like Deeper Still nights in Berlin from Barbara Preisinger & Dan Bell. We need more fun!

Miss Jools and the deeper sound of London.

It’s a very disposable age we live in and time doesn’t always reward those that deserve it. I’m including myself in that bracket too by the way as an old stalwart of the club scene who has seen many trends, genres and ‘big names’ fall by the wayside over the years, so it’s very refreshing to see a familiar character finally getting recognition for all those long hours and late nights put in over the years.

Miss Jools is a moniker and personality who has bracketed various scenes along the way, from the pirate London station of Girls FM, to the rammed full dance floors of Milk N 2 Sugars, before settling into her own successful and 5 year running monthly Sunday night institution at The End, Clandestino.

I hesitate to mention the whole ‘female DJ’ thing, but it’s easy to forget nowadays that at one stage, they were few and far between, and it was the breaking through of Jools and her compadres in the early 90’s that set new precedence in terms of women being credible behind the decks and more than just decoration in a low cut top. That and the fact that Miss Jools has been the familiar face behind the counter of Black Market Records for countless of DJs and vinyl fans for as long as we (or she – as it turns out!)  can remember, lending her a background in musical knowledge more extensive than most mixers, male or female.

Well of course in 2007, it’s all about the music and the production, and this is certainly the right time for Miss Jools to come into her own. As Sleep Thief, holed up in a studio with fellow Londoners and men of the moment, Audiofly, the 3 have enjoyed early success and European-wide recognition for a succession of hard to define, easy to dance to releases on a variety of uber-connected Berlin labels, such as Souvenir and Mobilee. We thought it was time we had a chat and found out just where it all started, and why London is still where it’s at for Miss Jools.  First of all lets go right back. You have a long and wide reaching pedigree compared to all these young pups appearing on the scene currently…. sum it up for us…where did it all begin?

Hey…. well thanks that’s nice of you to put it like that, yeah I have been around for quite a few years now, so I guess I would be more like an ‘old English sheepdog’ of the music industry? ha ha. As a kid I was completely absorbed into music as far back as I can remember. Sneaking into my older sisters bedroom whenever she was out to play her vinyl collection to death was one of my highlight of growing up. I think I nearly wore the grooves out of a lot of her collection, particularly ‘White Lines’ by Grand Master Flash, and it resulted in regular beatings from my sister, but was worth it! At 16 I left school and went to college at the end of the 1980’s to study Photography, and it was from here that my life was about to change when I was to discovered House Music, and the mind changing scene that came with it.  At the beginning of the 90’s I started organising small underground parties with my college friends and it was not long before I got bit by the DJ-ing bug, and played my first gig in 94′ at one of our parties. I was then addicted to the decks and so heavily hooked into the music scene, that on finishing my Photography Degree successfully, even though it was something I had a huge passion for, the passion and desire to continue and pursue a career in Music was greater, so in 1994, I decided to move to London to start my journey…

„I guess Clandestino has been like my baby, and I have been watching it grow and evolve over the years, and its something I’m really proud of… „

And this latest reincarnation has come about through Clandestino principally, which has been running for 5 years now? That’s a mighty long time in London club land years. What’s the secret?

Yeah it’s crazy, sometimes I cant even believe that we are 5 years old this November. When I decided to create Clandestino with my partners back then, I don’t thing we ever envisaged that we would still be going strong in 2007. I guess Clandestino has been like my big baby, and I have been watching it grow and evolve over the years, and its something I’m really proud of, and still am. It has been an amazing personal journey for me as Promoter and Resident DJ, and I have invited and worked with some amazing Guest DJs over the years, International, and homegrown talent.

Clandestino has definitely stood through the test of time, and I think one of the reasons for this, is that the quality of music and clubbers has always remained constant and underground over the years. I also think keeping the party just once a month has played an important part, because its not been over saturated by being weekly and people really anticipate the next party. We have such an amazing loyal crowd that have been supporting us right from the start. I walk around the club each month, and see old skool faces that have never missed a party, but also many new, which helps to keep it evolving. As the promoter, I still have, as much energy for my party as I did 5 years ago, and I think this too is really important. So here’s to another 5 years!

How is the London party scene right now? What are your favourite nights and clubs to play at and go to?

Personally I think it’s the healthiest it’s been in a long time. We got a lot of good shit going on and a lot of very cool underground parties happening in town right now. In fact there is always so much going on, most of the time you need to be in three places at once. I’m lucky to be playing every month at Clandestino in a great club like The End, but when I do have the occasional weekend off, I try to get down to clubs like Fabric, T bar or the Kubicle parties and check out what’s going on.

And who do you rate as DJs on the London scene currently? Who should we be looking out for music wise?

There are so many very talented DJ’s on the London circuit these days, but Jamie Jones is definitely one name on the scene that has been making waves recently with his DJ-ing and Productions skills. Not only is Jamie, one of the nicest, most genuine guys I know in the scene, but he is producing right now, some of the most innovative, fresh music to come out of London, and his ability to adapt and nurture his own style, when a lot of artist may be afraid to step out and break musically boundaries, is definitely refreshing.

You’ve been a regular face at Black Markets Records for a long time, are you still there and how does that fit in around your DJ-ing and promoting?

Yeah I have actually lost count now how many years exactly I have been working at BM-Soho. It’s a long time, but its a big family unit and still is… Its absolutely perfect for me, because I only work a couple of days in the week, so it never really interferes with my DJ-ing or Production schedule. I’m working closely with a lot of the international distributors, selecting and buying in the Electronic music for the shop, so it great that I can keep on top of all the new music released each week, and I still love selling vinyl’s and pushing new music. The shop has been around since the early nineties and is one of the longest standing vinyl record stores in London, and we are still going strong, despite the recent digital technology takeover. Basically I’m still a complete vinyl junkie!… So I will continue to support the cause.

What are the worst things about working in a record shop?

Probably that you do get the occasional ‘one’ you have to deal with, who comes in and thinks they know more than you could ever know, but I don’t let it faze me too much, because I enjoy the challenge! and because most of the time they end up walking out of the shop with a big bag of music and a smile on their face.

What’s the most embarrassing record in your collection?

Ah ah… there’s quite a few but probably ‘Stand and Deliver’ by Adam and the Ants, but in my defense, I was about 12 years old when I bought it. So have I embarrassed myself enough?

And the most treasured?

This is more difficult because so many, but my 7inch vinyl of ‘Love Come Down’, by Evelyn King, is one of my most treasured for sure.

„Nothing can take away the feeling you get inside, when you can see a positive reaction from the dance floor when playing one of your own productions.“

Suddenly your name is being bandied around a lot because of your recent production spurt with Audiofly under the guise of SleeperThief, why so long before you started producing?

I started Sleeper Thief with the guys nearly a year and a half ago, and it was at a time that I felt personally ready to get into the studio and start doing my own productions. I don’t think its something that you can force yourself into, even though there is now definitely a greater pressure for DJs to start producing their own tracks. For me, it was simply the right time and the best move, and I’m really happy, and humble really, at how well Sleeper Thief has been received and supported by DJs and Clubbers. Nothing can take away the feeling you get inside, when you can see a positive reaction from the dance floor when you are playing one of your own productions.

Audiofly seem hysterically busy right now, are you planning on continuing productions with them, or are there other people that you plan to work with too?

At the moment, Sleeper Thief is my main production priority, and even though it’s true that the boys do have very busy schedules, there is always a high importance to make time for me and our Sleeper Thief productions. We’ve just finished our second Mobilee EP, which is going to be released in the summer, which I’m really excited about again and a remix for the Meerestief Label along side Ripperton, who I have a lot of respect for as a producer.  I definitely have plans in the pipeline to collaborate and work with other artist and producers in the future that inspire me, so really this is just the beginning…

It seems as if all the good new music, your own productions included, is coming out of Germany still, do you think there’s enough people pushing the industry in the UK? Why the lack of labels and continued migration to Germany by musicians?

Actually we are based in London, so the Sleeper Thief sound is born here, but we have had a lot of our work signed to German labels. I think its fair to say that the London music scene has been hugely influenced by Germany over recent years, and Germany is no doubt, home to some of the best Electronic labels and artists, but I do believe the music scene at the moment, in London, is extremely positive and creative and there is definitely a huge movement of very talented, inspiring, artists breaking through and creating an exciting fresh scene.

„There are no strict musical boundaries anymore and many DJs like myself, have been exploring the freedom to mix up the old with the new“

For sure, the whole digital movement over the past few years, has had a great effect on the Vinyl labels, especially independent, and with the slow decrease of vinyl sales, label owners are definitely more cautious now to press up a lot of vinyl’s like in years before and hence why less new labels are being created. I think one major reason that a lot of UK artist have moved to Germany over the past few years is that many have been influenced greatly by the Electronic music coming out of Germany, so of course there is the appeal to live there and submerge themselves totally into the scene and no doubt the cost of living, is so much cheaper than in London, making it much more easier and assessable for an artist to base themselves there and continue their work.

Do you think London has still got its own ’sound’ in the way that Paris and Berlin have? What is it? Who are the people pushing it forward?

London is a great city, where it is possible to hear so many genres of music; it’s a very diverse scene. I’m not sure if I can say London has its own  ’sound’ or not, but with the heavy influences of the Techno scene in the past years, I think many artists, especially those coming from a House background, have strongly embraced it with open arms and have adapted it together with their own strong roots of House, to create a fresh, innovative music scene in London.

Many artists, like myself, were not born into the Techno scene but House, and I’m proud of my musically roots, but I have been hugely influenced and greatly inspired by particularly the Techno scene over recent years. For example when people try to describe our Sleeper Thief sound, normally they can’t put it in a box and label it a certain ‘genre’. Its difficult to pinpoint its particular ’sound’, and I like this, because we are not generally trying to follow a particular style, but for me, its definitely a fusion of our Deep, Tech, US House backgrounds with our current strong influences of the ever growing Techno scene. There are no strict musical boundaries anymore and there has always been a huge deep house movement in London and many DJs like myself, have been exploring the freedom to mix up the old with the new, and I’ve never been happier that deep house is definitely coming back in a big way.  To be honest there are so many DJs, artists that I could mention for definitely being part of pushing the scene forward in London like, Giles Smith, Geddes, Matthew Styles, Rekleiner, Hector, Peace Division, Damian Lazarus, Craig Richards, Mr C, Jamie Jones, but this really is naming just a few of them and I could continue… but then we would have to do another interview! You’re travelling a lot currently with gigs, what are some of the recent highlights in terms of DJ-ing? Any new places that turned out to be good destinations?

Over the years, I’ve always traveled a great deal with my DJ-ing, and I am privileged to have experience and enjoyed so many different music scenes and cultures over the years. This Year I’m working with a new agency ‘Artist Alife’ and I am playing along side Loco dice and Martin Buttrich in clubs like Panorama Bar in Berlin and Tribehouse in Düsseldorf. Which has been an amazing musical experience for me recently. My last session last month in Panorama, I played for 3 hours in the morning and it was untouchable. I’m playing at Cocoon in Frankfurt on the 29th June with the guys, which happens to be my birthday, so I think this will be one new destination and celebration, that I’m not going to forget in a hurry.

And how do you like to spend your time when you’re not travelling or working?

When I do have myself some free time, and I’m not traveling, I really just appreciate the simple things in life, like hanging out with my amazing friends, going to restaurants, or simple kicking back at home and chilling with a good bottle of wine and book to unwind. When I need to de-stress I try to make the effort to get down the gym and take it out on the running machine, (although its getting harder these days as I’m no spring chicken anymore;-))

You’ve popped up at a few underground gigs in Ibiza recently, any plans for the island this summer?

I’m coming back to Ibiza for a week in August this year as I will be playing at DC10 on the 1st for Superfreak, and for Nude’s After hour on the 3rd, so I’m really looking forward to this.  I’m staying for a week, which as we know is never really enough, but I will for sure be coming back in September. Its just hard to keep away from the Island!…

Carl Craig: I’m Not A Fortune Teller!

Carl Craig had the amiability to answer Beat Factor’s questions during a phone interview taken on January 29. Read about his musical roots, influences, his latest compilation on !K7, Sessions, and plenty of other interesting stuff.

Carl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music, and is considered to be one of the most important names[1] in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs. Carl Craig has approached techno using inspiration from a wide range of musical genres, including jazz and soul.

He began recording at the turn of the ’90s, using a number of aliases to release innovative ambient, techno, breakbeat and future jazz sounds. One such alias, Innerzone Orchestra, issued „Bug in a Bassbin“ in 1992, the track largely responsible for moving drum ‘n’ bass away from the sounds of hardcore and ragga. Craig heads Planet E Communications, a peerless dance label employing the same eclectic and futuristic ethos that informs his own music. He reconvened Innerzone Orchestra as a jazz/techno combo, recruiting jazz composer/keyboardist Craig Taborn, former Arkestra member Francisco Mora and Planet E signed Matt Chicoine to help him record 1999’s Programmed.

With releases under BFC, Psyche, Paper Clip People, 69, Designer Music and Innerzone Orchestra, Carl Craig has more personalities than Sybil. As much as his different guises can confuse though, his music is always easily recognized because whatever he does, it retains that certain Craig-ness. A deep commitment to soul and jazz has always been the watermark of his music. Even when Craig is destroying dance floors with such songs as the classic “Throw,” there is always a subtleness and attention to detail that separates his music from that of the typical Johnny-come-lately dance music producer.

Beat Factor: Hello Carl, how things are going at the moment? What you’ve been up to lately?

Carl Craig: Well, traveling, playing music, hanging out…

Beat Factor: Your voice sounds like you’re tired…

Carl Craig: I’m always tired man. I always got a lot of stuff going on.

Beat Factor: You’ve recently compiled a double mix CD called Sessions, it’s out on K7. Since the compilation features only your productions, what’s the main idea behind it?

Carl Craig: That is a collection of my work, of remixes and original productions. It’s basically a collection of things; is not meant to be anything like an anthology or best of…whatever. I was really nervous about the idea of doing a Best Of CD, because I still haven’t got my best work. So it’s just a collection.

Beat Factor: Then why did you decide to release it now?

Carl Craig: Like I said, I was nervous about doing something that would be considered a “best of”. This project came along at a time which I think it’s best for what I’ve been doing. Actually to sum up my career in the sense of CDs it would probably take 10 or 12 to put together. So, this is a good starting point of what I will do next.

Beat Factor: Do you have any expectations from this mix CD?

Carl Craig: Yeah, I will sell like 200 billions of copies, or maybe more.

Beat Factor: Ok, that’s a silly question. You own a record label called Planet E Communications which features a large area of musicians. What’s new cooking on the label’s headquarters?

Carl Craig: We have a new Kenny Larkin album, there’s a new album from Tribe which are Phil Ranelin, Wendell Harrison, Doug Hammond, Marcus Belgrave, they are jazz legends from 70’s, we have a new Ican release, DJ S ², he DJs with Underground Resistance; we also have a new Martin Buttrich coming up, something from Jona, and some other good shit to come.

Beat Factor: So, how hard is for you to maintain the record label, with your schedule?

Carl Craig: I have family that works at the label with me, my dad and my cousin, so they usually handle the day to day operations. I just pick tracks and put up things that I will enjoy, and stuff like this; so that makes it easier.

Beat Factor: Do you happen to remember how did you found the record label?

Carl Craig: I founded Planet E as a state of freedom. I was pretty tired of people making decisions of my music, and I wanted to make my own decisions so I started the label.

Beat Factor: I’ve heard you were working on a project involving jazz music. Can you share to the readers any news about it?

Carl Craig: Yes, it’s not done yet, it’s close to be done. I want to make sure that this will be the best record representing those guys as possible (Tribe). I’ve been working on this with Marcus Belgrave, Wendell Harrison, Phil Ranelin and Doug Hammond.

Beat Factor: Your multiple personalities in music are reflecting your personality as a human?

Carl Craig: I think so, yes. I’m a Gemini and Gemini’s have supposedly double sides, dual personalities. So it comes personally from that, I believe, but also it comes from the history of Americans, escaping the identities that would give to them. There’s a whole thing about that in “Space Is the Place”, a book written by Sun Ra, and it really makes sense.

Beat Factor: What’s the future of techno music in your opinion?

Carl Craig: (Laughing) I’m not a fortune teller man! I can’t predict the future of any type of music for a long time. I don’t want to start predicting things, because I think old men predict. I think it’s a vision to have an idea of what the future is going to be, but is really the guys making the future what is gonna be that makes a difference. I’m not really interested in trying to predict the future.

I know about the musical directions, but I still can’t tell you what the future is really going to bring. There’s somebody in a basement making some cool shit that I wouldn’t know anything about.

Things on the internet are happening so fast, you could put your tracks out there. Who would ever believe that Mark Ernestus with his Basic Channel would be such a wise spread phenomena within making music? What they were doing (Mark Ernestus and Moritz Von Oswald) was Basic Channel and they were breaking things down to a simplest way as possible. And it’s bound of the creation of minimal music.

When I did Bug In a Bassbin, I would never expect that people to listen to at 45 years old, or get inspired by it to put together drum and bass, so I can’t predict it man. All I can do is make music and people can be influenced or not influenced by it, and make their own music.

“I can’t change people’s perception; I can put the music out there, but I think it’s a matter of taste. It’s like a great wine, you can either like it or you don’t…”

Beat Factor: Speaking about internet, do you thing that it helped at the developing of electronic music?

Carl Craig: I think the internet is a great platform of getting information, a great catalyst for some ideas that people have. The problem I have is when a major artist like Radiohead puts their records on the internet. I have a problem with that, because people say “oh, shit, I have the Radiohead album for 50 cents, so why should I pay 10 bucks for yours?” I also think the internet gives at least the possibility for people to become famous that might want to be famous.

The internet makes it possible for people to get their product directly to whoever is interested, without a middle man. The other way, they have to go to a middle man, they have to go to a store, and they have to do whatever, but people were still putting out music, whether is good or bad.

Beat Factor: What inspires you when producing music?

Carl Craig: Well, off course, my experiences, whether is living in Detroit or doing day the day operations at home, or my family, my kids…The traveling is a inspiration, I get inspired by television, by music; it’s just the experience, the day to day experience. Is not anything in particular, like going into a park and looking at a tree;

Beat Factor: How do you split time between an artist and a father?

Carl Craig: I just got to do it. I work for myself, I have my own companies, I can either focus on the companies or not. I can go traveling or not traveling; so when I can, I spend the time with my kids. I try to do this as much as I can.

Beat Factor: There are a lot of people who discovered the C2 sound recently, through the Luciano and Villalobos hyped DJs. Being a musician for so many years, do you feel comfortable with this?

Carl Craig: Yes, off course. When everybody does something in the creative field, is always good when your product gets recognized. With the younger generation I think is always a pleasure, because there’s so much music that comes out, by people who are younger or older than I am; so you have the choice to pick up music.

The way I’ve always seen on music industry, and people, and relations, is that most people are not interested to learn. Most people want to be entertained, but there will be a percentage of people interested in find out more information. So, let’s say Luciano is playing something like the remix from Faze Action – In the Trees, and he gets ten people who come up and ask him “who did this?”, and he say that Carl Craig did that, they’ll probably go online and go to discogs and look up for Carl Craig. And it’s like “ok, I wonder what this is going to be like, I wonder what else do you do, etc”. You can’t expect everybody to appreciate something. Not everybody appreciated the most commercial music is out there, not everybody appreciates Madonna or Britney Spears or whatever. It’s better to have a few that are interested, and be happy with that. I can’t change people’s perception; I can put the music out there, but I think it’s a matter of taste. It’s like a great wine, you can either like it or you don’t, or peanut butter, vodka and orange juice, you can like it or you don’t. So it’s just taste.

Beat Factor: What Moodymann means for you, as a musician and as a record label owner?

Carl Craig: Moodymann is great, yes. He is another person who I really respect because of his independence, something what I also did, basically. He started his own label and put out music that he really like. Moodymann is like an artist in the true form, doing what he feels.

Beat Factor: After the last summer’s gig in Romania, do you plan any dates here soon? Because it was “not so crowded”..

Carl Craig: Not so crowded? It was just a few people. I’m happy that the people who did come, came, and I knew from the promoter that it will be potentially some difficulties, because the best place to be at that time was the sea side. I liked the venue, was a nice one. Maybe next time will be done in a cool, rock & roll space, so that the people can be very close to the DJ, the stage not to be so high, and everybody have a bound.

Beat Factor: Do you know any Romanian artist?

Carl Craig: No, I’m afraid not, sorry.

Beat Factor: That would be all, thank you for your time, and hopefully see you this year in Romania.

Carl Craig: Yes, thank you, that would be cool.

Audio: Steve Bug – ‘I Don’t Make Music for Bugs!’

Steve first caught the bug when, after being stuck in the commercial-minded clubland of Bremen for his formative years, a road trip over to Hamburg brought on his first exploration into Chicago house. Soon, trips to Hamburg became more and more frequent, and trips to record shops became his life.

Eventually, his obsessive curiosity about US house and disco music saw him hop the pond to be directly immersed in it all – he ended up in New York, for a life-changing trip that introduced him to a variety of friends that he still holds dear to this day.

Upon returning home three months later, with a whole new back catalogue of influences, a full address book and a fresh perspective, Bug and his friends began throwing a weekly party at Bremen’s largest club, Maxx. These themed parties (“Heaven And Hell,” “Rome Is Burning,” “Party Til The Doctor Comes,” to name a few) led to Bug securing a residency at Maxx and, not long after, residencies the globe over. These days, as a DJ, producer and label owner, Bug is credited as being a fundamental instigator in the movement of house, techno and that ever-present word, minimal, in Europe.

Beat Factor: What have you done lately?

Steve Bug: Well, I’m traveling a lot, DJ-ing and also being back in the studio, because it’s finally set up after nine months of working, I’m working on some new tracks, and that’s what I’m doing right now.

Beat Factor: At the moment you own three record labels: Poker Flat, Dessous and Audiomatique. How do you still have time and energy to maintain each of them?

Steve Bug: Luckily I have a partner and we have many people working at the office. So my partner is doing the administration side, taking control of everything that’s happening at the office, and usually I just get a few questions every day, that I have to answer quickly or something like this. I spend most of the time on the labels doing things like the A & R side, new ideas for the artworks, or new future ideas for compilations; things like this. So I’m more on the creative side, and I take care of lot of these things when I’m on the flight or have more time.

So I’m out of the daily business; I mean I have to listen to the demos too, but I also have the time to go to the studio and spend some hours working on tracks.

Beat Factor: So how much time and energy involves owning three labels?

Steve Bug: The only label I was running on my own for some time was Dessous, which I did for nine releases, without my partner. In between we started Poker Flat already, so after nine releases I thought it’s impossible to do the label on my own, besides DJ-ing and producing music. At the beginning it’s quite easy, but after one year we start to see there’s so much work and you definitely need one person who works just on statements, if you’re running a label for a longer period. It’s a lot of works, but at the end I always find time to do it.

Off course this also takes some of my social time, but I’m passionate of what I’m doing and I’m really happy to do this job. And I have no regrets at all.

Beat Factor: After the acclaimed Bugnology 2 and Fuse mix compilations, you have just mixed the latest installment from Fabric. This mix is simply a snapshot of how you play at the club, or you wanted to build something bigger?

Steve Bug: I try to see it as a snapshot of what I’m playing in the club; not by choosing the tracks that I am going to play, is more like trying to create the vibe that I would create in Fabric, and then trying to convert it down in 70 minutes.

Beat Factor: So how big a deal was for you to mix Fabric 37?

Steve Bug: I’ve done a lot of compilations in my life, and I enjoy making a mix CD. My first mix CD were made back in the days, in ’96, we called it Minimal Funk and was released on Raw Elements. I always liked to put a CD together, because you don’t have the crowd in front, and you can choose the tracks you want to choose, without being interfered by the public. Because I usually interact with the crowd when I’m playing, but when I’m doing a mix CD at home, there’s no interference; it’s simply me and what I’m feeling at that point.

I always thought it’s interesting to do a mix CD, and recently I’m doing the compilations like Bugnology, Fuse or even Fabric with the software Ableton Live. This gives me the opportunity to mix tracks together in a totally new way that I would never be able to put together in a club, because I’m editing a lot of the tracks.

Beat Factor: So you totally embrace the new technologies.

Steve Bug: I’m not a nerd of new technologies; I like it and I try to use things that I feel that I can take something out of them. I’m not a slave of technology; I don’t have to buy every single new software or hardware. I check a lot of things, some of them I don’t like and I don’t buy, and some I do. Sometimes you can’t make a decision without even knowing.

I decided to play with Tracktor Scratch these days, because I still can control everything with vinyls, and I like this and this is how I want to do it. I don’t need so much different things in addition to create a good set, but for the moment I think I have the perfect setup. That’s more important than always use new technologies.

Since a few years, I started to play from the computer, because it was just easier to carry around the tracks, and I always have them with me and never get lost on flights; I also have the opportunity to carry around with me even 2000 tracks if I want.

Beat Factor: Yes, but have you ever thought of a crash on the computer? Then every single data will be definitely gone.

Steve Bug: Off course I’ve been thinking about this. I spent many years on the computer, and I only had one crush, or maybe two, but no big crush. There were some problems with the early software, if there was dust on the computer, or vibrations from the turntables, but compare to traveling five years the way I travel to the world, I would have lost my records every year five or ten times. And I think this is definitely a better choice for me.

“I’m not a nerd of new technologies; I like it and I try to use things that I feel that I can take something out of them. I’m not a slave of technology;”

Beat Factor: Poker Flat is probably the biggest project which keeps you awake all the time. How do you keep in touch with the crew, since you travel so much as a DJ?

Steve Bug: A lot of the guys are friends of mine, they live in Berlin, so we see each other for dinner once a month or something like this. Off course we speak on the phone, write emails to each other, there’s a lot of ways to communicate with the people. Outside Berlin we use emails, with some of them I chat all the time, with some I just speak to them on myspace.

Sometimes people complain a little bit if I don’t answer fast enough to the new tracks, but I always say, please give me some time. Maybe sometimes I’m off three weeks on tour and I don’t have time to check all the tracks.

Beat Factor: What’s the story of your artist name? I know you’re real name is Stefan Brügesch.

Steve Bug: I started DJ-ing under my real name, back in ’91. And then I started to produce records, and the first record I put out was made together with a friend of mine from Hamburg, called Phax. So we were thinking Phax + Stefan Brugesch sound a little stupid. So we had once a nice evening, drink some wine, sitting around and having laughs about names, and suddenly we came to Steve Bug. And everything just made sense, so we decided that it’s ok Phax featuring Steve Bug. And in little time, people wanted to book Steve Bug, even we were still thinking like that as a joke. So it would be stupid to put on the line up Steve Bug aka Stefan Brugesch. So I decided to play as Steve Bug, and now all my friends call me Steve. Sometimes people in the club who think there are really knowledge and they know everything about me, and they say “hei Stefan”, and I’m like “Please, say Steve, I’m comfortable with this these days”.

Beat Factor: So you’re not really into music for bugs

Steve Bug: No! (laughing), I’m not. And I hope I’m not getting bugged by any bugs on my computer in the future too.

Beat Factor: How would you define the Bugnology sound?

Steve Bug: I think the idea of Bugnology was that I was using a lot of technology instead of turntables, and that’s why we came to the name “bugnology”. I thought it was a good game, playing with the words. So it’s still a mix CD, but it’s done with different technology.

Beat Factor: You started off as a DJ back in 91 in Ibiza. Do you happen to remember how was it back then?

Steve Bug: Yes, I totally remember; there were a lot of big clubs, like Privilege back in the days, which was playing more commercial stuff, like Snap – I’ve got the power and stuff like this, or some big club tunes, whatever. I think Space was one of the places were you could hear some more underground music. It was a lot of Belgium techno back in the days, Chicago, old Detroit techno, classics; and also influences from Italian techno too. And the terrace was very small, the same terrace which now has a big roof; it wasn’t really crowded all the time, sometimes I remember there were very few people outside and also the music was made up by more sunny tracks.

Today the music definitely attracts more people than it did back in the days. Back then it was definitely a bigger percentage of gay people than it is right now and this kind of took something from the positive energy it had back then. It’s a summer island, it’s a party island, there’s a good energy but it’s different to what it was.

Beat Factor: What else keeps you busy when you’re not into music?

Steve Bug: I like to do sports, I do some yoga, sometimes if I have the time I go and play something with friends; just normal things which take me away from the club life.

Beat Factor: At the end, what’s your opinion about the Romanian clubbing scene, electronic music from here?

Steve Bug: Romania it’s still a fresh scene, it’s still developing and it’s always good to play there because the people have an appetite for music.

Interviu exclusiv cu Luciano

DJ-ul si producatorul Luciano vorbeste intr-un interviu exclusiv pentru Beat Factor luat in Ibiza despre cum de a ajuns atat de faimos, care este secretul unei petreceri de succes, ce este Narod Niki si multe altele. Nu, n-am fost noi in Ibiza, interviul a fost luat prin telefon; noi stam in continuare in Pantelimon.

Eforturile de producator ale lui Luciano s-au concretizat intr-o casa de discuri proprie, faimoasa astazi pentru release-urile de success. Cadenza Records este locul de unde au iesit la iveala productii de la Serafin, Luciano, Pier Bucci, Ricardo Villalobos, Thomas Melchior, Pikaya, Loco Dice si altii. Luciano este un artist imprevizibil – mereu te poti astepta de la orice atunci cand este la pupitru. Fie ca pune minimal, techno, groovy tech-house combinatii inedite cu sample-uri din piese vechi, traditionale, accapella, Luciano stie sa faca un public sa danseze. Tot el este protagonistul volumului al doilea din seria Sci Fi Hi Fi, compilatie lansata la Soma Quality Recordings, label din Glasgow. Recent, Luciano a mixat compilatia Fabric 41 la Fabric Records.

Beat Factor: Cum e viata in Ibiza?

Luciano: Totul e super aici. Imi place mult, de aceea vin aici in fiecare vara. Este o insula magica. O iubesc!

Beat Factor: Cum a fost la petrecerea de deschidere DC 10, pentru cei ce au pierdut party-ul?

Luciano: A fost mare, exploziv, sincer! Toata lumea a fost super fericita; iar atmosfera a fost foarte buna, deci a fost foarte foarte bine.

Beat Factor: Aceasta noua compilatie oficiala este gata – Fabric 41. Credeam ca nu-ti place sa faci mix-CD-uri, esti multumit de rezultat?

Luciano: Sunt chiar foarte multumit de rezultat. A avut un foarte bun feedback pana acum si asta a fost foarte important pentru mine. De asemenea cei de la Fabric au fost foarte incantati. Au spus ca este un rezultat bun, intre ce am incercat eu sa fac si ce au cerut ei; au fost multumiti pentru intregul CD. In acest moment totul este OK.

Cum am spus intr-un interviu recent, este destul de dificil pentru mine sa fac o compilatie. Este o mare diferenta intre un mix CD si o interpretare live, in fata oamenilor. Este un compromis, dar nu este sfarsitul lumii, stii? M-am decis sa fac cate un mix CD pe an, nu mai mult.

Beat Factor: Sa ne intoarcem la viata din Ibiza, ce se va intampla in aceasta vara cu after-party-urile de pe insula?

Luciano: Cred ca in fiecare an cate un club are de suferit din diferite cauze. Dar in acest an este prima data cand toata insula are de suferit. In acest an au spus ca ‘nu sustinem inchiderea cluburilor, suntem doar impotriva after-party-urilor’. Deci asta este schimbarea in acest an pe insula; toata cultura si istoria after-party-urilor este interzisa.

Beat Factor: Dar acesta este intregul concept al petrecerilor DC 10.

Luciano: Da, exact. De aceea spun ca au afectat intreaga insula, deoarece acesta era unul dintre conceptele de baza ale Ibizei. In special petrecerile care se desfasurau in DC 10, care deschideau portile la 8 dimineata, acum se deschid la 4 dupa amiaza si e dificil.

Beat Factor: In Romania ai fost considerat ca un rege in ultimii doi ani. De ce? Ce crezi ca te-a facut atat de faimos in Romania>

Luciano: Haha, chiar nu stiu. Pentru mine Romania este speciala, pentru spiritul de acolo. Imi place lumea din Romania, felul in care traiesc si zambesc oamenii. Totul ma face sa am o reactie foarte pozitiva. Si asta cred ca se vede. Intotdeauna cand merg in Romania am emotii foarte mari.

Beat Factor: Este chiar o problema cu acest hype; Am fost anul trecut la un party Carl Craig si au fost doar 200 de oameni; Locul era aproape gol.

Luciano: Ohh…pacat, nu stiam. Dar cred ca nu e ceva ce vine numai de la mine, se face o munca foarte grea si in spate, de exemplu oamenii de la Sunrise. Ei chiar au crezut in noi de la inceput; mi-au spus “uita de alta muzica, asta e fenomenul care o sa prinde cel mai bine!”. Si ne-au dat sansa sa aducem aceasta cultura in Romania. Ne-au dat spatiul necesar sa facem ceea ce stim sa facem cel mai bine, iar combinatia intre aceste doua lucruri (munca grea depusa de promoterii locali si muzica aceasta) au dus la explozia si crearea unui magnetism.

Beat Factor: Deci un party bun nu tine doar de DJ.

Luciano: Nu, un party bun tine si de promoteri, de club, sunt multi factori implicati. DJ-ul este important, el va pune muzica, dar pentru a exista acest moment este nevoie de multa munca si de o colaborare promoter-club-oameni-DJ.

Beat Factor: Relatia de prietenie cu Dandy Jack si fratele sau mai mic, te-au facut sa mixezi. Esti cunoscut pentru colaborarea cu el si alti DJ-I la proiectul Narod Niki.

“Nu stiu de ce dintr-o data a explodat totul. E ceva ce nu pot controla. Eu doar incerc sa fiu sincer in ceea ce fac si sa fiu sincer cu oamenii pentru care mixez. Sunt acelasi om ca si inainte. ”

Luciano: Dar Martin, Adrian, Ricardo si cu mine am fost mereu foarte apropiati si am crezut in ceea ce facem si mai mult am fost foarte entuziasmati ca putem mixa ambele culturi – cea chileana si cea europeana. Suntem inca foarte apropiati si ne asemanam foarte mult in ceea ce facem.

Am facut ceva oficial, poate nu asa recent, dar Martin si cu mine avem un proiect numit Carabina33, care a fost un act live; Imi amintesc cand eu si Martin am interpretat live la un supermarket si a iesit o petrecere extraordinara. Promoterii au venit jos la mine si mi-au spus ca trebuie sa ma apuc serios de treaba asta, dar eu am spus ca “nu, nu vreau sa fac asta”. M-am dus totusi si am inregistrat ceva insa m-am oprit iar, pentru a mai da petreceri live cu Martin. A fost un moment extraordinar.

Beat Factor: Ce reprezinta proiectul Narod Niki, pe scena muzicii electronice?

Luciano: Este mai mult un proiect ascuns. Am incercat sa facem un sound si sa nu fie un singur DJ care mixeaza. Ideea era sa cream un sunet comun, cu ajutorul a opt persoane.

Este destul de greu sa aduni mai multi DJ-I intr-o singura locatie, asa ca Narod Niki se petrece doar o data sau de doua ori pe an. Asta trebuie sa fie ceva special, pentru ocazii si momente speciale.

Beat Factor: Pui muzica de peste 20 de ani, dar ai simtit adevaratul gust al succesului in ultimii patru, cand toata lumea a inceput sa auda de tine, de Ricardo Villalobos. Cum s-a intamplat asta?

Luciano: Imi este foarte greu sa rapsund la aceasta intrebare; greu de explicat. Nu pot spune de ce; intotdeauna am fost sincer cu mine. Nu stiu de ce dintr-o data a explodat totul. E ceva ce nu pot controla. Eu doar incerc sa fiu sincer in ceea ce fac si sa fiu sincer cu oamenii pentru care mixez. Sunt acelasi om ca inainte. Sunt fericit cand fac oamenii fericiti. De aceea sunt atat de pasionat deoarece am nevoie de asta sa ma completez.

Beat Factor: Cadenza s-a stabilit ca un label electro-minimal-house in toata regula. Cum un artist/producator nou poate sa faca parte din aceasta echipa?

Luciano: Pentru toata familia Cadenza, muzica este cel mai important lucru; intotdeauna a fost asa. Primesc foarte multe demo-uri si unele dintre ele le testez la evenimente. Noul nostru membru, Alex Picone, se potriveste perfect. Sunt multi artisti noi care se ridica, deci noi incercam sa pastram identitatea muzicala pe care o avem.

Beat Factor: De unde imprumuti toate aceste influente latino, gipsy, braziliene pentru seturile si productiile tale?

Luciano: Cred ca sunt multe influente sunt preluate din locurile unde am fost. Cateva influente gipsy vin din tari asemanatoare Romaniei. Cand sunt la studio sau acasa, mereu ascult muzica jazz, afro, gipsy sau sud-americana. Sunt inconjurat de muzica peste tot si incerc sa iau elemente din orice (nu din muzica electronica).

‘Watergate 02′ mixed by Sascha Funke: Interview

Yesterday was released the second mixed Cd of the Watergate Sessions. After having Onur Oezer in their first session it was time to invite Mr. Sascha Funke to develop a genuine DJ mix. It was recorded at the Watergate Club on a warm August night using records of various ages. Any and all cracklings and sounds from the needle touching down come from the use of vinyl records, are deliberate and desired, and are an integral part of the sound of this authentic DJ mix. Sascha Funke is an honest-to-goodness Berliner and he played a significant role in molding and forming the techno scene in this city. After releasing his long-awaited second album ‘Mango’ on his own label Bpitch Records early in 2008, his DJ Mix for the Watergate Club in Berlin is now his second achievement for the year. In addition to current tracks and remixes from his own album, the mix is interlaced with carefully chosen jewels and rarities from years past. One of the best mixed cd’s of the year!

It was with great satisfaction that we interviewed Sascha Funke directly to the minimaland.com readers:

Minimaland.com: First up the traditional question: How did you get interested in making electronic music?

Sascha: At the beginning of the 90´s Berlin was already a big spot in the techno scene. So it was quite easy to get in touch with the music. I was listening every week to Marushas radio show, and she explained where are the good clubs and where you get the records. So she was teaching me in a way:)

Minimaland.com: You are easily one of the top artists in the Berlin scene, you have been producing music since the 90… How does a guy maintains such a high-level of production for almost a decade now!? What’s the secret? Devotion? Passion?

Sascha: Thanks for the compliment. I don´t know, maybe i released never something i don´t feel safe with it. less quantity more quality. and over the years i always tried to do something new. try to reinvent myself, in the studio i´m quite often bored, if i work with the same sounds all the time, and devotion passion, i think everyone has to make it with this.

Minimaland.com: You had quite a year. You released your second album, you had a couple of excellent Ep’s and now you’re releasing this mixed Cd on Watergate. What’s left?

Sascha: Maybe a vacation? no, to be honest i had an excellent year and i´ll continue playing until new years eve. i´m still fit for the next parties. and slowly i´m starting again to produce some new tracks for a single on Bpitch.

Minimaland.com: Your album “Mango” has received good critics around the globe! Do you consider this your biggest project so far related to production?

Sascha: Definitely, yes. i never worked so hard for something before in my life. and i moved to a quiet place in the south of France to produce with more concentration then in the crazy city of Berlin. for my next album i´ll do it again.

Minimaland.com: It cannot be easy to do such good productions for so long as you’ve been. Where do you usually find inspiration to create music?

Sascha: In many ways. especially for mango i was inspired by the wonderful nature of the province and the way to life there. Everything was more relaxed. but as a DJ of course the main inspiration comes from the music. in clubs where i play, in records i´m listening to. And at least from the history of pop music, i am lucky to grow up in a time when pop music had so many interesting styles and sounds.

Minimaland.com: The electronic scene has been in a huge development  over the last few years, therefore more demanding in terms of music know-how and software/hardware! How do you stand yourself in this process? How have you been adapting?

Sascha: I try to follow:) i´m not that big nerd who is always hiding for the newest plug in. i have my set up and i know how to use it, the rest comes from the feeling. for mango i ask my fellow fritz Zander (one part of Zander Vt of Bpitch) to make a final mix. he did a great job. i think i´ll continuing these kind of way. the “sound” of a record is getting more and more important with all that technological options.

Minimaland.com: Mango is definitely one of the most talked tracks of the year, it’s an unique original production but it was also already remixed by some great producers! What did you liked the most in Superpitcher, Tobia Thomas and Dj Koze’s re-works?

Sascha: It depends. Both are very different and as a DJ i can play it considering the moment of the night. That´s why i am so happy with both results. Beside that, they had to do it. Cause, last summer, we all together, created the word “mango” in our new boys language. So it was the final chapter of our private mango story. Mango means something is very beautifunl and unique and that´s it.

Minimaland.com: Now let’s talk a bit about this DJ Mix for the Watergate club. What were your thoughts when recording this cd!?

Sascha: Let´s do a mix which is not full of the newest and hippest minimal tracks. Try to do something timeless, which shows the people your own character not only as a DJ. Some tracks can definitely telling a story. moments in clubs i had and i took these moments home, now to recreate them again on Cd. I think this is for me the sence of a mix cd.

Minimaland.com: Watergate has a great name in the electronic nowadays scene. Do you consider this album a great achievement in your career?

Sascha: Oh ja. I was proud that they asked me. I play there now for a long long time. Had perfect parties. The whole staff was always very gentle to me. It´s a nice way to say “thank you” to this club.

Minimaland.com: Choosing 14 tracks to put in a mix for one of the best clubs in Berlin cannot be easy! How was the process of selection?

Sascha: Some old and new pearls who were following me in my dj case for a long time. I had 6 or 7 more, but there are just 74 minutes on a cd. So i had to kick some out of the selection, but i prefer only 14 tracks then let´s say 22. With the respect to track i pick, I don´t want destroy them. Some of them need more than 3 minutes to express themselves. I hate these “22 tracks mix cd´s”

Minimaland.com: Are you happy with how it’s turned out?

Sascha: Of course. And we do a special release party. I could win Dj koze to play with me all night long, it´s not so easy to get him. He´s playing in Berlin every year just for one time. I also like the packaging a lot. the cover is genius. The cock is great. They asked me for some other animals, but when i saw the cock i fall in love with him:) i hope they press some t-shirts as well.

Minimaland.com: So can we expect this to be something played by Sascha Funke around club gigs, or is it something to be appreciated with some kind of different mood?

Sascha: Some tracks I still play almost every night. But this is something I wanted to show and explain with the Cd. Every night is different and so the cd has many different moods in it.

Minimaland.com: I read that you’ve used only vinyl in this record. Do you prefer it over digital or you don’t make any exclusions?

Sascha: As a DJ in Berlin it’s still so easy to get the best vinyl. As long as i can get it, i´ll not leaving it. I play a few cd´s from unreleased tracks but if as soon as they are available on vinyl i buy it. That´s why on the mix is one track played from Cd. The Sten track was not out on vinyl in that moment.

Minimaland.com: What artists, producers & labels are inspiring you at the moment?

Sascha: I like some names they always doing quality, like Matthias Kaden or Koze or the whole Dial label. and of course i also like these labels around Oslo, but in my mix they are just apart. I try to connect them with older records or outstanding tracks like “Township funk” by Dj Mojuba. This is the spice for me. Surprise!

Minimaland.com: Name your top 3 albums of all time that suddenly pop in your head!

Sasha: Roxy Music – Avalon

Love inc. – Life´s a gas

Pet Shop Boys – Introspective

Minimaland.com: Who are you outside the music? What do you like to do? How do you spend your free time?

Sascha: I spend a lot of time with watching football. That’s my main passion beside the music. And i spend a lot of time just with friends, having dinner drinking wine. yes i´d say i´m a quite communicative person. I need the team around me.

Cheers

Watergate 02

Artist: Sascha Funke

Release Date: 13/10/2008

Label: Watergate

01 – Nathan Fake – You Are Here (Four Tet Remix) (Border Community)

02 – Ellen Allien – Alles Sehen (Miss Kittin Remix) (Bpitch Control)

03 – Maus & Stolle – Taxi (Klang Elektronik)

04 – Zander VT – Get Down (Bpitch Control)

05 – Minilogue & KAB – That’s A Nice Way To Give Me Feedback

(Wighnomy Brothers Quintenzirkel Remikks) (Audiobahn)

06 – Dave Aju – Crazy Place (Circus Company)

07 – Sten – More Stash (Dial)

08 – Modal – Boy – Girl Boy Girl (Sounds)

09 – The Mole – Smiling And Running (Wagon Repair)

10 – Sascha Funke – Mango (Tobias Thomas & Superpitcher Como Mango Remix) (Bpitch Control)

11 – DJ Koze – I Want To Sleep (IRR)

12 – Closer Musik – Giganten (Kompakt)

13 – Patrice Scott – Visions Of Mantada (Aesthetic Audio)

14 – Milch – Housefrau (Acid Jesus« Purer Sex Remix) (Ladomat 2000)

tadeo Exclusive  Interview

Posted on 22 Julho 2008 by hugo

Tadeo  is one of the techno kings in Madrid. His career has been influenced by various branches of electronic music, especially by Detroit techno and Christian Vogel, Neil Landstrum, Plastikman and Jeff Mills productions. In his first stage, he created together with Dj Slick the collective Domestic Techno, carrying out parties in several basements of their city. Throughout time he has tested almost every single style inside electronic and dance music. After a large period of techno investigation and development, Tadeo runs his actual art collective Javha (www.javha.com) oriented to all kinds of art expressions, and Cyclical Tracks, a conceptual techno-dub label. In this second stage, he purifies his technique and studies with care the connection with the audience, trying to make this connection the principal resource of his sets.

Currently he is working with labels like Apnea Records, Cmyk Music and his  own Cyclical Tracks. He has also collaborated with great reworks in Bpitch Control, Boxer Recordings and Mikrowave, between others. His tracks are normally played by the best Djs in the world and, at this point, Tadeo is a sure value as a  producer in the scene. He is highly supported here by us and our readers and for that reason we wanted to know more about this producer and he kindly gave us this an interview where he talks a bit about everything concerning to his life:

Hi Tadeo,

How long did you begin your career?

I started eleven or twelve years ago.

Did you listened to electronic music before you started producing it?

Yes, of course, but not the techno music, first was Vangelis and others like that.

Tell me a few electronic records which conviced you to try it for yourself.

Spastik by Plastikman

Humana by Jeff Mills

Albino by Dj Hell

Where do you usually find inspiration to create music?

I’m a very big fan of cosmology and I have a lot of pictures and books of galaxies, nebulas, stars… that is my inspiration.

Who are/where your main musical influences?

Ur, Axis, M-Plant, Dancemania, Trax, Basic Channel and M.

What software do you use to produce? Any hardware?

Logic Pro, Native instruments and Arturia Synths. Rolands Sh-101, Tb-303, Tr-808 & 909, Evolver and Machinedrum.

Name your five all time non-electronic releases.

Public Enemy – Fear of a Black Planet

Herbie Hancock – Headhunter

Puccini – Tosca

Massive Attack – Blue Lines

Brad Mehidau – Elegiac Cycle

Whare are you working on right now and what will the future bring from you?

I’m working hard in a new singles series, techno for the body and the mind… and for the year’s end I have save and finished my debut album named “Contacto”.

What do you think of the minimal scene this days?

Hard question, because I don’t like that scene. Is true that i play a lot of minimal tracks, but i don’t follow that fashion minimal style. Sincerely I prefer to take a little of all scenes. About the future minimal… don’t have a clue.

What are your tips for this year? Artist? Label?

Artist – Mara Trax

Label – Scion Versions

Favorite music at the moment?

Nsi – Non Standard Institute. A duo formed by Tobias Freund & Max Loberbauer.

Who would you invite to your perfect party?

Mam, Dad, Bro…. hahaha. With good friends i’ll be satisfied.

Where did you like to play the most?

In Tokyo at Womb! club. Greatest place

Who are you outside the music? What do you like to do? How do you spend your free time?

It’s difficult to disconnect from music, and i don’t have a lot of free-time, bit i like to read books, study a little and also practice mountain-bike.

What can we expect from you over the next year’s time?

A lot of techno music, and funny dj sets. I hope!! Thank you very much.

Thank you Tadeo for accepting our invitation and kindly answer our questions!

Also thanks to Jose from Apnea Recordings for putting us up with Tadeo.

Cheers.