Pretty sure it will disappear again and come back and so on…so, reflect yourself, stay true, focus on your emotions. I like the fact melodies and deepness came back to techno over the last 3 years. I’m doing music from the bottom of my heart and find it kind of difficult to recognise a direction these days as everything turns around 180 degrees a day later. SB: I don’t give a sh*t on any directions any genre takes at any time. How does that statement resonate with you today in regards to the direction house and techno has taken?
You once said “Without it, everything would appear to be nothing more than a hollow shell”. S: You have an emphasis on authenticity and an ear for sonic perfection. S: What is the strangest piece of analog gear that you have and what makes it so quirky? SB: My baby, the original 72 minimoog, played by German rock-legend Udo Lindenberg formerly. S: A hypothetical scenario: You’re given the order to evacuate your studio for some reason but you can only take one piece of equipment with you from your range of gear. SB: Ah yes, I answered that already i guess 😉 What have you taken from those early experiences of being around music gear and how has it sculpted your productions? S: You’ve been around music machines since you where very young. This is what makes it a piece of lasting music. SB: The composition, harmonics, the melody. S: If you had to single out a core element or philosophy that you put a strong emphasis on when producing a track, what would it be? Most of the basslines on the album weren’t even equalised much or edited dynamics-wise. The sub37 just did a great job, it’s one of the best moogs ever built. It’s totally different from any other synth, it´s just more alive, it´s more powerful, it’s breathing, it has soul. The favourite thing about a moog is the very unique warmth and pressure of its sound engines. The warm sound of a moog just touched me so much, I can´t help it, I grew up with that. When I was a little boy of 4 years I started playing on those machines as my father owned a unbelievable collection of analogue gear those days. SB: Bob Moog was the inventor of some the most exciting and powerful synth engines ever built – the minimoog and the moog modular – and has always been one of my heroes. What does Moog mean to you, in relation to the album and how important has his products been to you and your musical journey? If you had to sum up your favourite thing about a Moog synth, what would it be? S: Powers of Ten is your homage to Bob Moog. Just finished some remixes for Pan-Pot, Romboy, Rodriguez Jr., and working on new solo stuff already. I´m playing less shows these days (means 2 instead of 3 each weekend LOL) to have more energy over the week. Actually no one has been more touched by realising I’m kind of back than me. There were moments over the last years when I already accepted the fact that I probably won´t do any music anymore… when I look back now I must say that the birth of my daughter Lila in 2013 was such an emotional impact for me I guess it was kind the kick-off to go back to the studio and create something, to put all these overwhelming feelings in a musical shape. SB: It means a lot to me to return to productivity, to creating music after all those years of just travelling and playing shows. What does this LP mean to you as a whole in the context that its only your second album over such a successful career? What was the thought which initialised the production for you second LP? S: Your new album “Powers of Ten” has just been released to the world which is your second album, your first being released in 2007. Stephan is also the head honcho behind the Herzblut label which has been around since 2006, being his outlet for melodic thumpers, and also his way to curate artists to achieve a simple philosophy “…artistic focus on contemporary techno music, refusing any barriers”. You just have to listen to one baseline from the album to feel the richness that he aspires too with his music. His latest album ‘Powers of Ten’ is the collective emotional outlet of Stephans passion for his family, his love of music and his love of analog gear. Having been brought up on a sonic diet, its small wonder that Stephan is so adept at converting his passion and emotions into techno stompers that have the power to move dance floors for a decade. His father was an experimental musician, and hence Stephan was born into a world of instruments, crazy sounds and gear. This powerful driving force has seen him become an influential contributor to the techno landscape through an illustrious career stretching seemingly from his childhood to this present day. One thing that I’ve learnt from having being able to talk to Stephan Bodzin is that he is a man of passion. Interview by Melbourne producer Sweetland.
0 kommentar(er)
