Interview with Oliver Huntemann / Intervju sa Oliver Huntemann-om
SRB: Šta možemo reći o čoveku koji iza sebe ima više od 20 godina karijere koja i dalje traje. Njegovo ime se može koristiti kao sinonim za techno. Imamo veliku čast da vam predstavimo Oliver Huntemann-a…
ENG: What can you say about man who has a more than 20 years long career which is still ongoing. His name can be used as a synonym for techno. We have a great honour to present you Oliver Huntemann…
SRB: Ćao Olivere, pozdrav iz Srbije. Kaži nam, molim te, nešto o tvojoj strasti ka muzici, pogotovo tehnu.
ENG: Hi Oliver, greetings from Serbia. Please tell us something about your passion towards music, especially techno.
SRB: To nije lako reći. Smatram elektronsku muziku inspirativnom i punom energije i još uvek je tako doživljavam. Nikada nisam ostvario tako snažnu vezu sa nijednom drugom vrstom muzike, pogotovo mi underground dance scena pruža užitak.
ENG: Thats easy to say. I found electronic music always inspiring and full of energy and I still do. I never had such a strong connection to any other kind of music and especially the underground dance genre gives me satisfaction.
SRB: Na sceni si prisutan jako dugo. Kako si došao u dodir sa elektronskom muzikom i šta je bio glavni razlog koji te je uvukao u svet elektronske muzike.
ENG: You’ve been present on electro scene for a very long time. How did you get in touch with electro music and what was the main cause that dragged you into electro music world.
SRB: Glavni razlog što sam počeo sa elektrom je bio to što sam nekada bio b-boy, breakdancer još osamdesetih. Igrali smo uz sve te Electro-funk stvari Afrika Bambataa-e, Hashim-a and Newcleus-a. Onda sam pogledao film Wild Style i bio zaražen dj-ingom momentalno.
ENG: The main reason why I started with Electro was because I used to be a b-boy, a breakdancer back in the 80s. We were dancing to all this Electro-Funk stuff from Afrika Bambataa, Hashim and Newcleus. Then I watched the movie Wild Style and was infected by the dj thing immediateley.
SRB: Kakva je muzika bila u to vreme?
ENG: What was the music back then?
SRB: Sirova! Elektronska muzika je još uvek bila relativno mlada, tako da smo svi bili početnici na neki način i imali mnogo da istražujemo. Stvari su bile mnogo manje profesionalne ili nalik biznisu. Bio je to više bezazlen i “hajde da vidimo šta će se desiti” način rada. Bilo je manje taktičkog biznisa, sve se zasnivalo na osećajima koje su ljudi delili. Nije bilo social medija, svet nije bio povezan kao što je danas. Bez pritiska industrije da sajtovi kao što su Facebook, Myspace, Twitter itd. moraju da rade. Promoteri nisu sudili o kvalitetu tvoje muzike ili umetnosti, po broju fanova koje te prate na Facebook-u. Jednostavno smo išli u studio i pravili muziku, ostalo je bio posao labela. Izvodjači su bili mnogo koncentrisaniji i mogli su više da se fokusiraju na svoju kreativnost. Takođe, zbog činjenice, da su izvođači i labeli morali dobro da razmisle gde da investiraju svoj novac. Pre nego što smo kupovali bilo kakvu opremu ili štampali vinil, ulagali smo mnogo ljubavi i kvaliteta u muziku i izdanja,jer smo morali da preispitamo dva puta naša izdanja pre nego što ih izdamo. Imali smo mnogo troškova jer su jedini načini da se nešto odradi bili fizički prenosioci zvuka vinili i kasnije cd-ovi. Nisi izdavao neke trake jer si jednostavno imao direktan ugovor sa beatport-om ili tako nešto, mi smo izdavali muziku u koju smo stvarno verovali.
ENG: Raw! Electronic music was still relatively young, so we were all newbies in a way and had a lot to explore. Things were less professional or business-like. It was a more naiv and let’s see what happens way of working. There was less tactical business, it was all build up on a feeling people shared. There was no social media, the world was not connected as it it nowadays. No pressure from the industry to make sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter etc, work. Promoters did not judged the quality of your music or an artist, by the amounts of followers you have on Facebook. We just went into the studio and created music, the rest was the job of the label. Artists been way less distracted and could focus more on their creativity. Also, due to the fact, that artist and labels had to think carefully where to invest their money in. Before we bought any gear or were pressing vinyl, we put a lot of love and a high quality in the music and releases, as we had to filter our output twice before we released it. We had a lot of expenses because the only way to make it happen was to produce physical sound carriers such as vinyl and later cds. You didn’t released some tunes, because you simply had a direct deal with Beatport or so, we’ve released music where we truly believed in.
SRB: Možeš li uporediti elektronsku scenu danas i u to vreme? Ako i bi imao šansu da biraš, da li bi se vratio u te dane?
ENG: Can you compare the electro scene now and back then? If you’ve been given chance to choose, would you go back to those days?
SRB: Ne pokušavam da poredim vremena i to nekako nema smisla, osim ako niste istoričar ili želite da napišete retrospektivu. Život ide dalje. Osvrtanje nazad, žaljenje za nekim stvarima, preispitivanje, šta bi bilo kada bi mogao da se vratim, šta da sam uradio ovo ili ono, je nešto što zaustavlja vaš progres. Jednostavno iskoristite maksimalno iz svakog dana, život je kratak i trenutan. Gurajte napred, uvek!
ENG: I’m not trying to compare times and somehow it doesn’t makes sence, unleast you are a historian or wanna write a retrospective. Life is moving on. Looking back, regretting things, asking yourself, what if I could go back, what if I did this or that, is stopping you from progress. You should simply make the most of every day, life is short and present! Move forward, always!
SRB: Imao si dosta izdanja tokom devedesetih, ali je tvoj prvi album izašao tek 2004. Šta te je zadržalo toliko? 🙂
ENG: You had many releases during the 90’s, but your first album came out in 2004. What took you so long? 🙂
SRB: Dobro pitanje! Nikada nisam razmišljao o tome. Nastupao sam i putovao mnogo, bio umešan u mnoge projekte, uživao u svojoj mladosti, izdavao singlove, jednostavno nisam razmišljao niti osećao potrebu da napravim album. Možda nisam bio spreman do tada. Ne pričate priču, ako priča ne postoji.
ENG: Good question! Never thought about that. I’ve been playing and travelling a lot, was involved in many projects, enjoyed my youth, released singles, Simply did not think or feel the urge of doing an album. Maybe I was not ready before. You don’t tell a story, if there is no story.
SRB: Nemačka je postala “Meka” tehno muzike i glavni izvoznik odličnih dj-eva i producenata. Šta su po tvom mišljenju glavni razlozi za to?
ENG: Germany became a “Mecca” of techno music and the main exporter of great DJs and producers. What are the main reasons for that in your opinion?
SRB: Pa, to se nekako menja sa vremenom i duhom. Naravno, možemo pomenuti Kraftwerk ovde, ali ovo je čudna priča, koju ste već čuli mnogo puta. U to vreme, ili čak još uvek, Nemačka se ugledala na Detroit i Čikago, nakon toga na UK i tako dalje. Države u trendu se menjaju. Važna činjenica verovatno, je da imamo mnogo producenata iz celog sveta koji žive u Nemačkoj, pogotovo Berlinu, što izdvaja Nemački zvuk, čak iako je Nemački zvuk pod uticajem multikutura. Nemački dj-evi putuju mnogo i sakupljaju ideje širom sveta.
ENG: Well, this kind of changes with the time and time spirit. Sure, we could mention Kraftwerk here, but this is an odd story, you’ve heard already many times. Back then, or even still, Germany looked on Detroit and Chicago, then we looked on the UK and so on. The trendsetting countries are changing. An important fact is probably, that we have many producers from all over the world living in Germany or especially Berlin, which underlines the sound of Germany, even if the sound of Germany is multicultural influenced. German DJ’s travel a lot and collect their ideas all over the world.
SRB: Šta nam možeš reći o svojim PLAY! serijama?
ENG: What can you tell us about your PLAY! series?
SRB: To je koncept uživo snimljenih serija. Realizujem ove serije jednom u dve, tri godine, uvek u različitom klubu bilo gde u svetu i to prikazuje moj status kvo šta radim svakog vikenda. Trebalo bi da oslika noć u sirovom i realnom svetlu. Serije su počele 2007 u D-Edge-u (Sao Paulo) i nastavile tokom godina u Rex Club-u (Paris), Cielo-u (New York), Roxanne Parlour-u (Melbourne) i sada u Grelle Forelle-u u Austrijskoj prestonici Beču. Kompilacija serije uvek dolazi sa singl izdanjem, specijalno napravljenim za kompilaciju, nazvanim po gradu u kom je snimljen. PLAY! 05 uživo u Beču će biti izdat u oktobru na mom novom labelu Senso Sounds. Poslušajte!
ENG: It’s a concept of a live recording series. I realize this series once in two or three years, always in a different club anywhere in the world and it shows my current status quo of what I do every weekend. It should capture the night in a raw and real manner. The series began in Brazil in 2007 at D-Edge (Sao Paulo) and moved on with the years to Rex Club (Paris), Cielo (New York), Roxanne Parlour (Melbourne) and now Grelle Forelle in the Austrian capital Vienna. The compilation series always comes along with a single release, especially made for the compilation, named after the city where it’s been recorded. PLAY! 05 live in Vienna will be released in October on my new Label Senso Sounds. Have a listen!
SRB: Traka “Aire” iz tvoje saradnje sa Dubfire-om je postala himna mnogih tehno žurki. Kako ste vas dvojica stupili u kontakt i da li možemo očekivati neke nove zajedničke projekte u bliskoj budućnosti?
ENG: Track “Aire” from your collaboration with Dubfire became the anthem of many techno parties. How did you two get in touch and can we expect some new mutual projects in the near future?
SRB: Ali mi je nkada pisao na Myspace-u, rekavši da mu se sviđa moja muzika i upitao me da započnemo saradnju. I meni se svidela njegova muzika takođe tako da sam pristao. Nismo se čak ni sreli prvi put, slali smo fajlove jedan drugom. Sada smo na neki način postali prijatelji. Krajem avgusta imamo finalno usaglašavanje u vezi Dubfire-ove i moje serije pod nazivom “Aqua”. Serija dolazi sa remixom Carl Craig-a i vokalima Xenia Beliayeva-e. Već imamo planove za sledeću godinu ali smo se trenutno fokusirali na Aqua-u.
ENG: Ali wrote me back then on Myspace, said that he likes my music and asked, if we should do a collaboration. I liked his music too and agreed. We did not even met in the first time, been sending files back and fourth. Now we became kind of friends. Late August we have the final coupling out of Dubfire’s and mine “Elements” series called “Aqua”. It comes along with a remix by Carl Craig and vocals by Xenia Beliayeva. We have already plans for next year but we set the focus on Aqua.
SRB: Kakva je priča u vezi tvog novog labela “Senso”?
ENG: What’s the story about your new label “Senso”?
SRB: Senso Sounds je već počeo sa radom u julu sa mojim novim singlom “Blitz & Donner”. Ponovo je došlovreme za promene. Odlučio sam da vratim sve kući u Hamburg. To je takođe razlog zašto sam napustio Cocoon Artist Booking. Sada imam novi ofis sa sjajnim timom ovde u Hamburgu, radimo na labelu i omogućujemo menadžment i buking servise za mali broj izvođača. Što se tiče Senso Sounds-a, imamo fantastična izdanja spremna za izdavanje od izvođača kao što su dubspeeka, Andr’ Winter & Hatzler, Matt Sassari, Florian Gasperini, Mark deutsche & Musoé – da imenujem samo neke.
ENG: Senso Sounds has been already launched in July with my new single “Blitz & Donner”. It was again time for some changes. I decided to bring every thing back home to Hamburg. That’s also the reason why I left Cocoon Artist Booking. I have now a new office with a great team here in Hamburg, working on the label and providing managament and booking services for a small bunch of artists. Regarding Senso Sounds there are fantastic releases in pipeline from artists such as dubspeeka, Andr’ Winter & Hatzler, Matt Sassari, Florian Gasperini, Mark deutsche & Musoé – just to name few.
SRB: Nikada nisi nastupao u Srbiji, da li nije bilo dobrih ponuda ili je u pitanju nešto drugo? Postoji veliki broj tvojih fanova ovde koji bi stvarno želeli da te čuju i vide uživo.
ENG: You’ve never had a performance in Serbia, was there no good offers or was it something else? There is a huge number of your fans here that would really like to see you live.
SRB: Pa, stvarno ne znam. To se nije desilo namerno. Koliko ja znam nažalost nije bilo nekog ozbiljnijeg angažovanja iz Srbije do sada. Takođe tu može biti mnogo drugih razloga. Ponekad dobijete poziv da puštate na nekom festivalu, specijalnom događaju koji je privremen a vi ste već bukirani. Sledeći put ne dođe do dogovora. Ponekad već imate angažman za subotu a zahtev stigne u petak, ali onda se avio veza ne poklopi itd. Ali ja se stvarno radujem dolasku u Srbiju jednog dana!
ENG: Well, I don’t really know. That happened not on purpose. As long as I know unfortunately there was no serious enquiry from Serbia so far. Also there could be many other reasons. Sometimes you get a request to play on a festival, special venue, that is temporary and you are already booked. Next time the negotiation doesn’t work out. Sometimes you have already a gig on Saturday and the request comes in for a Friday, but then the flight connection doesn’t match etc. But I’m really looking forward to come to Serbia one day!
SRB: Za kraj, kao producent, da li možeš imenovati neke novajlije, dj-eve na koje bi trebalo da obratimo pažnju?
ENG: For the end, as a producer, could you name some “rookies”, DJs that we should keep eye on?
SRB: Upravo sam otkrio ovog mladog momka iz Hamburga koji se zove BE//LA. Poslao mi je jednu ekskluzivnu traku za PLAY!05 kompilaciju i krajem godine će izdati bombu singl na Sensu. Drugačija, luda stvar!
ENG: I just discovered this young guy from Hamburg called BE//LA. He just delivered one exclusive track for the PLAY!05 compilation and later this year he will release a bomb single on Senso. Different, crazy stuff!
SRB: Hvala još jednom Oliveru, nadamo se da ćemo uskoro imati prilike da ga vidimo i čujemo i kod nas u Srbiji!
ENG: Thanks again to Oliver, we hope to get a chance to see him soon live here in Serbia!
