You will find in this category each week, an interview or a biograhpy of a Dj or artist which is breaking the news. All styles are on the “menu” of this category: minimal, house, electro, techno or even trance in some cases.
The topic will be supplemented by other Djs following the latest electronic music news.
After contacting the German label Boxer Recordings, one of the best and most productive labels of Germany, we got an exclusive interview with Extrawelt, a German duo composed of Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Raabe, mainly known to be of the pillars of the German electronic music scene. They have already release tracks on famous imprints like Cocoon Recordings, Border Community, Traum Schallplatten, !K7, Darkroom Dubs and many more... So first of all, we would like to thank the band and the recordings for this unique interview. Have a good reading!
“Hi Extrawelt
I’ve just seen on your Facebook account that you’ve released your new EP “My Stupid EP" on Break New Soil Recordings. The digital release at Beatport is coming in two parts, the first chapter includes "My Stupid (Main Mix)" and "My Stupid (Gregor Tresher Remix)". Could you please give us more information about this project?
> It was already long planned to make an EP on Gregor‘s label as we are good friends. The track was made in an extensive jam session when we plugged in our very first synthesizer the Korg MS20 after years. Like so often we did a couple of versions and we are happy that we had the opportunity to release them all plus Gregor‘s cool remix.
Concerning your music, what can we expect from you for 2011, notably with Boxer Recordings. Are there any upcoming releases you already know about? An album? A compilation?
> We are planning a 3 track 12“ on Boxer Recordings for early 2011.. Although one track is still missing. We are pretty slow on doing new stuff due to the touring but we took some time off already for February 2011 and really look forward to spend some more time in the studio (after cleaning up!). We scheduled our new album on Cocoon Recordings for fall 2011.. but it‘s most likely that we release a few 12“s before that.
After this little music update, let’s get back to your history. You both are coming from the Hamburg rural area. How did you met together at first? For instance M.A.N.D.Y. told us they first met in a tennis court!
> We both started to deejay when we were 15 or so, met on parties, for DAT-recordings sessions and in record stores. The friendship actually really grew when we started to make tracks together in 1998/99.
I’ve discovered that before Extrawelt you had together other projects together such as "Midimiliz", "Spirallianz" and “Downhill”. Can you tell us a bit more about these pseudos?
> “Midimiliz“ and “Spirallianz“ are our first two monikers which we actually started shortly after each other. “Spirallianz“ was exclusively attached to Spirit Zone Records the label that released our very first track, “Midimiliz“ was the project to release on other labels. “Downhill“ is a leftfield project which we made with Marcus C. Maichel of X-Dream fame, with him we also worked together on his „The Delta“ project for some time. We never really decided that any of the projects is dead but currently our focus is on “Extrawelt“ and we feel pretty free to release all our music as we never wanted it to be devoted to any particular style.
Then in 2005 Extrawelt was born and your success became with the highly successful single "Soopertrack" and "Zu Fuß" on James Holden's label Border Community, in May 2005. Why this new project with a new nickname?
> We slowed down the tempo a bit and got also more confident in melodies in compare to our previous projects. It was actually a spontaneous decision to release it under a new moniker, mainly to free this release from any expectations or prejudice, now in retrospection we feel pretty lucky that we did it ;)
The first tracks you’ve done together under Extrawelt, if I’m right are “Zu Fuß” and “Soopertrack” that I bought in 2005 and that I preciously keep safe in my vinyl box. Is there a specific history behind these two tracks? How was they born?
> Those two tracks were the first two tracks we made after our last Midimiliz album „Non Standards“, they just happened to be a bit different from our harder stuff we did before. When i bought the first two Border Community releases i had the quick idea to send them over to James without any expectation. When he contacted us some time later asking if the tracks were still available we were almost shocked.
James Holden is one of the guys who helped you to release “Zu Fuß” and “Soopertrack” under his own imprint. One of my favorite songs of all time is “The sky was pink” that I’m sure you know well. What can you say about this track in particular?
> We still like that track a lot but i love the “Break In The Clouds“ even more. The MFA‘s “The Difference It Makes“, Petter‘s “Six Songs“ and Nathan‘s “Outhouse“ are equally burned inside my heart.
Concerning your career as a duo of producers, have you a pre-determinate role in the production of the track? How do you composed together?
> No not really, we both do everything together. From track to track it‘s different though, sometimes there‘s an idea we follow, sometimes it‘s just jamming. On some tracks the one does more and the way around but we never finish a track without the confirmation of the other
Knowing that you both come from Germany and more especially from the area of Hamburg, could you please tell us a bit more about the German electronic scene, mainly knows for its underground and eclectic tracks played in the dark nightclubs?
> Germany‘s underground music community is pretty versatile in terms of music styles and clubs/events. Actually you can find everything that you can think of. Alternative Festivals, big, small, dirty, posh clubs.. Although Germany is actually doing a very poor job in supporting and giving sponsorships to young musicians in comparison to other european countries the infrastructure is pretty good, even every mid-size city has a proper club. Label-, music-distribution- and media-wise we have plenty. Maybe it‘s about the history in electronic music starting with the Krautrock and famous bands like Can, Tangerine Dream, Amon Düül, Popol Vuh, later on Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk and Neu! etc. which were all very early into electronic music and already back then quite famous and successful. Maybe they prepared kind of a basic understanding and interest for electronic, monotonic and mostly instrumental music. In Hamburg in particular the scene is very healthy and diverse too maybe not as much as in boom-town Berlin but it has a lot to offer for any electronic music lover.
I’m asking myself if DJs like you can go to a party to see a friend and dance like a normal clubber on the dancefloor. Is it something possible or not?
> Sure! When it happens we feel free to behave or dance as stupidly as we like no matter if there might be somebody who recognizes us. The problem here is just that when our friends are going on the weekend we are always away. We really miss that sometimes. Going out just to hang out and to enjoy some good music. We are every weekend in some club but it‘s a different thing when you are there to play. Not that it can‘t be enjoyable too but to go out with friends or to enjoy a nice concert at ease is something that we almost don‘t have anymore. And in general i guess that famous techno tracks are usually better known than the faces behind them. ;)
Would you like to add something before we conclude this interview?
> Thanks to all who supported us in 2010‘s parties. We wish you all a merry x-mas and a happy and healthy 2011! May the force be with you..
To conclude this interview, we have a few more questions to better know you. One word is enough for certain questions.
The song you advices us to listen in your discography?
> No advice on this really but maybe just start in alphabetical order..
An artist you would like to work with one day?
> Beth Gibbons
MF Doom
Eric Sermon
Busta Rhymes
Jack White
TBC
Are you using vinyl or mp3 for your mix?
> Everything except mp-shit.. Although we are no official deejays anymore we like to keep our mk2‘s spinning them vinyls..
The software you use to produce?
> La-La-Logic and partially all the others..
Your best souvenir of this summer: a place where you played for instance or an anecdote?
> The view on Hamburg‘s crowd with the most cheesy sunset ever on the Gruenanlagen Open Air on a hot day in july..
The best clubs in Germany (name and city)?
> Hafenklang, Hamburg
Rocker33, Stuttgart
Cocoon Club, Frankfurt
Watergate, Berlin
TBC
One word about France?
> Magnifique!
Your favorite track these days?
> Daniel Johnston - Some Things Last A Long Time
Some words about our website Actualités Electroniques?
> Keep it really real!
Extrawelt, thank you for the time you have devoted to Actualités Electroniques and particularly for this interview. We will wait for sure for your next productions. We hope to see you soon in a club in France or abroad. See ya! »
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