David Mayer interview for THUMP Colombia

David Mayer interview for THUMP Colombia

Bildschirmfoto 2015-10-26 um 18.43.19

[lang_de]

Die THUMP Redaktion in Kolumbien hat sich neulich mal David Mayer geschnappt und ihn mal so richtig ausgequetscht: Warum ist ein Hit ein Hit?!

Das Original auf THUMP gab es in ES: Spanisch. “Read more” für Englisch:

[/lang_de]

[lang_en]

The THUMP crew of Colombia recently asked David Mayer: Why is a hit a hit?!

The original on THUMP was written in ES: Spanish. “Read more” for English:

[/lang_en]

How has the process of making music changed for you over the years?

After continuously attempting to learn how to play several instruments in a row and never getting too far with that I began making electronic music. I was14 years old, using a Workstation by Korg to program beats by pushing buttons, without being able to sample, exploring the possibilities I had to get the sounds I wanted. When I got a computer, samples changed everything. I have always worked with Cubase, but also Ableton from time to time. The first years were in the box. Although Software Synths and emulations are exremely good nowadays, I now have had more and more tracks coming out which involve recordings of real hardware instruments and analogue machines.

Tell us about your “Burn EP” on Gruuv. What does the release mean to you?

The “Burn EP” means a lot to me for several reasons. I rarely release on labels outside of Keinemusik, so I was happy to get the opportunity to finally do so on Gruuv. I made a remix for Audiojack earlier in 2015. Shortly after I sent them these original tracks for consideration, and they responded within only one hour to take them onboard. Also, the title track “Burn” features a good old homie of mine, NGHT DRPS, who I have been working with a lot over the last years, and who is the owner of the modular system that spit out the basic bassline of the track. It became our first official appearance as a team.

Is there a message behind the name or the songs?

Actually, “Burn” was so obviously fire in my ears, I like to think that everyone can literally hear the heat of the modular system in those sounds. So that name was easily found. But I think “Helios” has a good background story, too! In fact, the working title of the track was “Sunhole”. When I wrapped up the so to be named EP on Keinemusik in 2014, the A side had the random working title “Lifewest”, which did not sound right at all. But I had a good name in my current drafts: “Sunhole”. When I finished that other scetch too I had to find a new name, so I came up with “Helios”, the sungod of greek mythology… like this the idea of the sun’s power and warmth was still preserved in the new name.

Tell us, how did you decide for Eduardo De La Calle to do a remix?

When the guys of Gruuv asked me for remixer suggestions, I had been playing the El_Txef_A’s “Claim of Planet Earth – Eduardo De La Calle Internal Shuffle Mix” for some time, listened to his work and I liked his sound, which I think is pretty unique. Then this guy delivered the remix in no more than six hours! Apparently he has a special workflow, uses a spesific old sampler to “deconstruct” everything and create something totally new.

Any plans to work with him in the future?

While I am at it and if there are more remixes required, I guess I would always ask someone who I think fits into he picture of that specific release and who is on my mind at that time. Maybe it happens to be him again at some point, but I am also very keen to try out someone else with a different sound next time.

Recently Adam Port and & ME they visited Colombia. Any anecdotes told of their visit in our country?

We usually meet at least once a week to discuss all sorts of things, and of course we also exchange experiences. But in this case, we would have to ask them directly! However, you can look up some impressions from that tour in their “Weekend Snapshots AP + &ME Overseas Special”. Sorry I can’t provide with good second hand Experiemces… but I will be glad to come over to make some experiences for my own and tell you afterwards!

In your opinion, why do you think that “After Dark” by &ME became one of the hits of 2014?

That is a very good question. Why is a hit a hit? If I could give you the correct answer, there would be nothing but hits in this world from now on, haha. &ME has a perfect groove and a very unique trademark sound he takes a lot of time to refine. In this track, all kinds of generally good features are united. It stands out soundwise, it has a minimalistic, clear groove, almost anyone can play it at almost any time in the night and most importantly, the melodies make the girls happy, too.

I would like our readers to learn more about how everything works within Keinemusik. How do you decide which music will be signed?

Keinemusik as a collective has existed since 2009 and has not really changed very much to this day. Monja has been responsible for the artwork and any layout from day one. Reznik, always DJ’ing and responsible for the press appearance is now also the manager of the label. Rampa, &ME, Adam Port and me are making music and split any remaining tasks, like taking care of this Blog, interviews, social media etc. Basically, everything is decided within the group. For smaller decisions there is no need to ask each one of us for an opinion, but when it comes to music, the decision is definitely made by the group.

How many filters must be passed for the demos you receive?

Since the label releases only the music of the inhouse artists named before, demos do not have to pass many filters at all. If there is something everyone likes, it may be passed on to other labels, but there is no routine.

And if any of you produced an EP to be released on Kienemusik, who makes the decision to say yes or no?

When one of the Keinemusik artists chips in something, everyone in the crue gets to have a listen and if everyone agrees after listening and/or playing it out, it will be released. Otherwise there will be an exchange of tips and tricks for improval and then again, there it goes.

For you it has been a while since the last release on Keinemusik. Why so silent?

Although each of us roughly has one release on Keinemusik per year, sometimes the schedule gets changed around, like this year, where my slot moved from the beginning to the end. In 2014 I released in February, this year my “Jaded EP” is out in November.

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Can we expect an album of yours on Keinemusik?

Everyone is constantly working on music, and basically, anything can happen. Maybe there could also be individiual albums coming out if everything is right. Regarding the group, since Rampa made the absolutely right decision to take a little time-out this year, all such kinds of plans which obviously should also involve him are now developing with an accordingly slower pace. We’ll keep you informed.

And finally, something for our readers, which albums do you remember from the time you got started in electronic music?

My interest in electronic music started way before I realized what kind of potential it would develop in my life. To be exact, electronic sounds like those by Herbie Hancock came to me first and introduced me to a very funky side of electronics. Then I started to listen to minimal- and dub-techno on some underground radio station at night when I was a kid, recording long sessions on casette. I also began making music and adopted some of the sound. But it blew my mind wehn I finally found out that people would actually rave in concrete clubs and go crazy dancing to that kind of music! When techno caught my attention, I listened to a selection of singles. But speaking of albums, Trentemoller’s “Last Resort” was there and soon “Liebe Ist..” by Sefan Bodzin came and I found to hear very familiar sounds in a fascinatingly different context. That was around the time when I really clicked. Although I have moved on quite a bit, I kept discovering connections everywhere, transferring them into my own music.