Say Hello to German High-Tech Minimal mastermind – Mr. Boris Brejcha.
PEARL: How did your career in music begin? I have read that you played drums from a young age?
BREJCHA: That´s right. My father was already playing drums in a band when I was a little child. It was interesting for me and so I had a few lessons in a music school. Not that long – I think around two years. But enough to learn the basics which helped me a lot to start producing electronic music. Beside that, my brother had keyboard lessons. He was like a model student and he also gave me some
lessons. In that time I was listen to Hardcore, Rave, Trance and Techno music. This music was just pop up every where. In the radio stations and also on the television. This kind of music and the sounds were really something new. I was fascinated and had already in mind to produce this kind of music one day.
PEARL: How old were you when you first started playing and producing electronic music?
BREJCHA: I was around 12 when I bought the Playstation 1 with the music program „Music“. From that day on I used all my free time to produce electronic music. I did not even met my friends anymore in that time. The fascination was to big and I was so overwhelmed about all the things you can do in electronic music. For sure it was much more less then today with all this crazy synths and plugins. But I was young 🙂 and it was just incredible.
PEARL: Is there a story behind the mask that appears throughout some of your sets?
BREJCHA: To be honest – not really. From my age of 12 I was producing a lot of music in all the different genres, but I never send a demo to a label. I just keep all the music for me since I turned 24. That was in 2006 when I send my first demo to a music label named “Autist Records.” They were based in Berlin. After two days they wrote me back and I signed into their label. And then on the 24th of November 2006 my first release came out. Two days before my birthday. It was in that time when Minimal Techno was really popular. This release was getting really popular and I got messages on MySpace from DJ´s from Brazil that they play my music a lot there and that the people love it. That was amazing – I mean, I live in Germany and on the other side of the planet the people are dancing to my music. Thanks internet – otherwise it would not have been possible. Then by the end of 2006 I get my first booking… from Brazil 🙂 It was an offer from the Festival named „Universo Paralello“. I have to say that I was a bit scared because I never traveled that far and I never played as a DJ. I had no practice at all. To be sure everything went well I decided to use Traktor on my laptop. In that time Traktor was really not known and it was the 1.0 version. With a lot bugs but it worked out in the end. So – about the mask: I was thinking about what can I do, to be different to all this DJ´s out there. I was thinking about my upcoming first gig, about Brazil and about their carnival in Rio. And in the end I came up with this Joker Mask. Since my first gig in Brazil I used it almost every time. Nowadays my fans know – Boris Brejcha is the Joker. And they like to see it. And in the end you can create a special
atmosphere with that mask, the music and the light. I like that combination.
PEARL: What would you say are the key elements in tracks you make, I’ve read that you have created your own genre “High tech minimal”?
BREJCHA: That´s simple. There is no genre where you can put my music. I do not produce 100% Techno, House…… My music is different. It is like I am walking between underground and a bit commercial because of my melodies. And because of my first releases in the Minimal genre I use that also in my tracks today. It is like a mix of everything. And because I started with Minimal I was thinking to give this genre a new name. A more modern name. And in the end I came up with „High-Tech Minimal“.
PEARL: How would you describe the kind of journey do you take us on – through your music? Do events in your life inspire your music?
BREJCHA: In general you can say it is a journey about and with Boris Brejcha. Since 2006 I play only my own track as a DJ. Never played any track from any other producers. Listening to me as a DJ is like a emotional trip. I produce music like i feel in that moment. And that´s the feeling I give to my listeners. A mix of everything. Strong beats, melodies, up´s and down´s. Like in real life. For me 2 hours of only strong beats are not working. That makes you tired after a while. My DJ set is also a trip into new worlds for my fans because I play a lot unreleased tracks they never heard before. And I have a lot of them 🙂
PEARL: Did you have any mentor’s who you looked up to in the early days?
BREJCHA: Yes. In the early age I really loved „ATB“ and „Kai Tracid”. After a while I changed into Techno and Minimal music and listened a lot to „Der Dritte Raum“. They were just awesome in that time.
PEARL: Which labels are you signed to at the moment?
BREJCHA: Actual I am signed into no label 🙂 I just finished my work with the label “Harthouse” doing there my last Album „Feuerfalter“ (Part01 and Part02). I was working with these guys now for 6 years. And now I think it is time to start my own label. So we are working hard these days to get it started in the beginning of 2015. The label will be called „Fucking Serious“. I think that´s a proper name for
my music. Beside that we are working on a big label night for FS. With a special light show and some other extras. The first show is planed in Brazil where it all starts with my career. After that we like to expand it to all other countries. And of course we are still searching for new artists for our label. You can reach us on Soundcloud to send us a demo. But you need to be quick because we really like
to keep it small. We don´t like to be a label with hundreds of artists. Actual I think a maximum of 6 artists is good. We like to support every artist in the same way on our label. Like a family. And that´s not possible if you have lot´s of artists.
PEARL: Are you excited to be playing at Earthcore this year? Do you enjoy playing at outdoor festivals?
BREJCHA: Yes! That´s no question 🙂 Earthcore last year was amazing. The only bad thing was that it was crazy cold in the night and we had no good jacket 🙂 This time we will be prepared. But anything else last year went well. Nice stage design, super nice crowd and the promoter did a fantastic job. I am really happy to be there again.
PEARL: The music scene you are in – what is it like back home? Do you have a massive fan base there?
BREJCHA: Massive is the wrong word. Let´s say a solid fan base. Germany actual is spilt in north and south. I mean in the north like Berlin you can find a lot house music (starting at 120bpm) and in the south more techno music. My fan base in the south is really big and play there a lot of times in the year. And in the north for example….. maybe 1 gig a year 🙂 haha
PEARL: How do gigs here in Australia compare to others overseas?
BREJCHA: It is a loooooong travel 🙂 I would love to come more often. I remember very well the gigs last year. Earthcore and the Bottom End. It was amazing. The people are so friendly and party hard. There are not much countries where it is like this. For me it is every year a special thing coming back to Australia. Every gig is well planed and dancing with the crowd is much fun.
PEARL: What’s on for the rest of the year and 2015 can fans expect any new releases?
BREJCHA: As I said that we are actual focused on starting the label and I do not have a label yet, there will be no release anymore this year. But I will do one more remix for the artist Patrick Kunkel and of course I will record my third christmas mix in december 🙂 I think a lot people are waiting for this. I am really happy about that. There will be a lot unreleased track in it. You can be surprised. I think that is a
good thing. Because I do not record any sets. The christmas set is the only thing I do every year. That makes it more interesting I think. There are so many DJ sets out there… I just like to be different 🙂
PEARL: What’s your favourite track at the moment?
BREJCHA: “The Sky Is The Limit“. It is a track from me. But still unreleased. If you could choose one track that represents your sound, which would you choose? Actual it would be the track I gave out for free. „Hashtag“. In that track you can find the usual strong beat line from me and of course a melody part and weird sound effects.
PEARL: What is your most memorable gig and why?
BREJCHA: It is still my first gig I had in my life in Brazil. Because for me it was like a complete other world. To see such a big country, different peoples and structures was really impressive. Also the trouble which happened with my laptop and Traktor – the laptop was shutting down all the time because of the hot weather and sometimes my controller to control Traktor did not work. I was praying a lot before my gig that all will went good. In the end all was good but I was sweating all the time before my gig. It was my first and last time using Traktor. After that gig i changed to play with CD´s.
Along with the already killer lineup… the local fellas from 100% and Bring The Noize Entertainment will be taking over the Future Perfect Renegade Floor from 3pm Friday to 3am Saturday Morning. Pop by and say Hello to artists such as: Steve Ward, Johnny Canik, Zac Depetro, Less Is Moar, Jiay Mills, Ben Mac, Robyn Gold, Rimmy, Nickelodeon, Clipping, Code Luke, Budha and Cheap Thrills. Providing you with everything from top-notch Deep House, Techno, Minimal & Psy-Trance.
“Earthcore last year was amazing.” Brejcha returns this year: dotting i’s, crossing t’s and ticking all boxes from the main floor on the Saturday morning, November 28 from 1:30-3:00am, www.earthcore.com.au for tickets or more information..
JESSICA TAYLOR / JIAY MILLS
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