Family Groove presents: London Techno City

1. How did you get the idea for the "Connected" project?

Felix:
Well, I've known Eric for a while now. I first saw him a few years ago, performing at the Palazzo in Bingen. It was a long time after that before we actually met – somewhere at a party we were both booked to do. In terms of our music, I'd say we have the same interests, although each of us has his own separate approach and goes his own way. The idea gradually formed of doing something together, but then we really got down to work on a concept and – as you can see – put it into action!

Eric:
The idea of producing something together matured gradually and then took shape.
It's come, I believe, at just the right time because both of us are moving in a direction in which the joint project is what we need. We' ve been able to fuse our own visions of techno. For me personally, this collaboration has been a great boost, because I was feeling like a lone warrior doing my groovy but straight techno. That's why I shifted most of my activities abroad in the last few years. This album is bringing our style back to "good old Germany" again!

2. How does "Connected" differ from each of your solo projects?

Felix:
As I was saying, each of us has been following his own individual path. We've both been partying and having lots of fun while developing our music on our tours. We've reached a certain stage where it makes sense to feed our musical ideas into "Connected". That's the best way I can explain the difference between "our" project and a "solo" project. There's always more to learn, so I'm really glad I didn't miss out on this collaboration!

Eric:
Yes, that's what makes this thing so interesting. And an album gives you the scope to grow, and we can show different facets of our electronic music.

3. How would you describe the selection of tracks ? Is it down to a particular style?

Felix:
For my part, it gives me bellyache when people try to label us with styles. I don't know how Eric feels but, for me, what we want to present on our album is simply "techno". Not hard, soft, "klick & klacker" or minimal – just plain TECHNO. Of course we draw on lots of different elements, but what we go for above all is extreme danceability. We've created a bundle of energy for having fun with! OK, everyone has their own preferences and looks for some kind of well-being from their favorite style. But I can't understand why some people put this down to fewer BPMs! Techno should live and must live. It comes alive by combining emotions with the right level of energy (without turning self-destructive!) and, of course, by what happens in each of our heads.

Eric:
What we wanted above all was to produce an interesting album that has plenty of variety but hangs together around a common thread. The energy that we try to transport is present in all the tracks, with no exceptions. And as Felix has already pointed out, the tracks obviously reflect our experience as DJs – apart from their artistic merits, they're made to rock the crowds in the clubs!

4. Where do you get your inspiration for new productions?

Felix:
That's something you just can't give an easy answer to! The biggest inspiration obviously comes from DJing at the clubs. When you're spinning the feedback is immediate. On the other hand, the music away from the club plays a big role, too, and I put a lot of thought into it. It's really not easy to tell you exactly where it comes from, but I'd say my inspiration draws on every part of life. If you can work most of your emotions into a track, the music starts to come alive!

Eric:
Before getting going on the production, we met up several times to put some thought into the direction the tracks should take and listened to quite a lot of music in the studio.
For me, too, the inspiration mainly comes when I'm on tour, because that's where techno is lived. It's a matter of taking those vibrations into the studio and translating them into the production process. That works even better when, between tracks, you keep driving over to the shop at the gas station – right Felix ( ha ha ... )?

5. What was it like working in the studio? How long did you work on the album?

Felix:
That's right. it wasn't always easy to fit in our studio work with all the other stuff we do through the week. Looking back, I'm really very proud of what we've achieved together! Even though we sometimes sat in the studio still pretty battered from a hard weekend, not for one second did we lose our desire to make this collaborative project work.
The chemistry is simply right between Eric and me, and we've had a lot of laughs whenever we've met up! With all the tweaking, I guess we've worked on it for four months, all in all.

Eric:
It's not always easy to find dates when we can both get together. So we made good use of the valuable time we did have in the studio and tried not to get lost in details. Our focus was on developing the idea and setting the direction of the tracks along with the beats and sounds. All this had to be worked out and completed to our satisfaction before I started on the purely technical sound design side of things. It's generally worth listening to the tracks very carefully and taking in the details. On "Am I Evil?", for instance, there are lots of different sounds swirling around and combining form a special atmosphere. (If you want to check this out, listen on earphones! )

6. What projects are coming up for each of you after the tour?

Felix:
The tour takes us right up to June, and that's when the summer festival season really takes off. I'll then be involved for weeks with events like the Love Parade, Nature One, and Sonne Mond & Sterne. I'm really looking forward to doing these dates again. Every party has its own special buzz. There are lots of moments you'll remember for years to come! Of course, various new projects are in the pipeline, but I want to concentrate for the time being on my current project, the Palazzo-Mix compilation with the We Love Music Team, which is due out this year.

Eric:
To start with, I'm looking forward to the tour, which gives me the chance to play more in Germany again! A highlight will certainly be the event at the former Palazzo in Bingen. I was the resident there for many years; it's where I was able to learn my craft! So I hope to see as many "old" friends again as possible. After the tour I'll be chilling out for two weeks on holiday, recharging the batteries and getting back to work with fresh energy.
There are plans for a project with Gayle San, work will continue on the "Let's go Techno" mix CD series, and I want to take care of my own label again. So there's still plenty to do!