“Don’t compare yourself to others. Just do how you feel and be guided by your moods and feelings, because your mood with its smallest nuances will always set you apart from others. So will your music.” – Alex Niggemann
[Rewind 2016]
There was a lot of excitement on social media earlier this year when it was announced that Alex Niggemann would be compiling the next Balance presents compilation. The response definitely showed just how popular the German has become, and the choice from Balance must’ve felt like vindication for the DJ/producer who has been toiling away for many years to build up his sterling reputation. The German will be travelling to Australia over the new year’s period to play a slot at the Let Them Eat Cake Festival in Melbourne, and we were lucky enough to catch up with the AEON Records label boss ahead of his performance….
We are so excited to have you back in Australia soon! What are you looking forward to most about visiting again?
First of all to the shows. Australia never disappoints. In my 6 years of going there, I never had a bad show or a ‘so so’ show. And secondly, the restaurants are great there!
Hailing from Berlin, what do you like most about the electronic music scene? How does it compare to Melbourne’s nightlife?
The freedom that the city and the mayors of Berlin give to artists and nightlife is special and in my eyes it is very unique globally. One thing that is definitely different to Melbourne are opening hours. Luckily Melbourne hasn’t had the problem that Sydney had/ still has now. I hope it will change again, as this culture doesn’t need lock out laws. Those laws to try stop violence is the same as closing clubs (like fabric in London) to solve drug problems. It doesn’t make things better and it doesn’t address the problem by its roots.
If someone was about to visit Berlin, what tips would you give them?
Don’t only go for clubbing. Berlin has a lot more to offer than that. And if you only wanna go for clubbing. Don’t book a flight back on a Monday. You will miss it! Berghain closes Monday night… 😉
Do you find different cities around the world have different ‘sounds’? What are some notable cities you’ve played and why?
I’d say yes. That’s also because you have different collectives or artists that built up a scene and stand for certain sounds in cities. London, Amsterdam, Paris, Ibiza, Berlin are defining electronic music in my eyes. But it is not only about the style of music, it is also about the enthusiasm of the crowd. Although these cities I mentioned before create sounds that define electronic music, people in Latin/South America and Africa are more passionate about it – and you can see it when they dance and party.
You have two record labels, Soulfooled and AEON. Soulfooled focuses on the deeper side of things and AEON gets a little heavier. What is it about the versatility of electronic music you enjoy most?
That it can mirror my moods. I can get lost in it, but it can also bring me up when I’m down. Music in my eyes is the most positively influential tool ever created.
We’re super excited to see you play at Let Them Eat Cake, who on the lineup would you like to see most?
Leon Vynehall and Mano Le Tough.
An immense amount of thought and effort was put into your mixtape for Balance and it really shows. What was it that inspired you during song selection and the overall composition?
It is always about my mood. I wanted to show the whole range of how my sets sound at different times of a night. Just in a shorter form. If I play a 5 to 8 hours set, this would be the whole range of music I play. Warm up, peaktime and end. But it is very difficult to summarise such a long set in under 80 min. The selection of tracks and the transitions between them are very important. Tracks need to fit to and also build up on each other without making the listener feeling it or being rushed due to a change of mood or tempo. The art was to make the listener not feel that he is actually taken from electronica or deep house to techno in under 80 min.
Your music and sets are full of passion, feeling and you say your music is for those “celebrating life”. Do you find more enjoyment in playing outdoor festivals or club shows? Why?
To be honest, I don’t have favourites. I really enjoy being able to make people happy with what I love. I love to see their reactions and to get their feedbacks after the shows or via social media. This is what keeps me going. It is a gift to know that you can make someone’s day or night just with playing the right ‘soundtrack’ for it.
You’re a classically trained pianist, has your background in keys shaped the way you produce and select your own music and style?
It has a big influence. Melodies and harmonies have a big influence in most of my songs. It helps a lot to be able to transfer a melody that suddenly pops up in your mind straight via a keyboard into the song. I couldn’t imagine not being able to include an idea to a song straight away. And thats the problem a lot of people have. The reason why I studied audio engineering was to be able to also have the technical background to not only transfer the composition part, but also the technical ideas (effecting, recoding, microphoning etc) I have into a song.
You’ve been revelled for having a unique and individual sound. To an aspiring artist, how do you suggest discovering your own sound?
It is a journey and a long way finding your own sound. Getting inspiration from other artists is important, but the main thing is don’t compare yourself to others. Just do how you feel and be guided by your moods and feelings, because your mood with its smallest nuances will always set you apart from others. So will your music.
Catch Alex Niggemann at Let Them Eat Cake NYD Festival in Melbourne alongside Cut Chemist, Mano Le Tough, Oliver Huntemann and more. Tickets available from here.
Balance Presents Alex Niggemann – Buy Here on Balance Music
Balance Selections 08 – Interview +
Soulfoold Record Label Website
AEON Record Label – Website
Alex Niggemann – Website
Interview by Stefanos Mak
Balance Presents Alex Niggeman
Balance Music continues on its quest to champion the world’s most talented underground house and techno heroes with its latest offering from Germany’s Alex Niggemann. Following on from efforts by Patrice Bäumel and Darius Syrossian this year, he steps up to the plate with an emotive, murky, and deep selection of grooves.
While the stylistic context of his musical vision may have evolved over the course of his career, Alex Niggemann’s work has always been focused around deep atmospherics and mysterious melodies. Through releases on Poker Flat Recordings (including debut album Paranoid Funk), Watergate Records and Sasha’s Last Night On Earth, he has built up an enviable body of work that never falters. His AEON imprint has also seen him play tastemaker in another sense, bringing through names like Speaking Minds and Denis Horvat, ensuring that he is constantly plugged into the most exciting new and established talents alike.
Putting together this heady mix for Balance proved to be a challenge he relished. His shortlist of track choices was whittled down by a process of elimination: a certain track isn’t available, so an alternative selection comes into play, which has a knock-on effect on the rest of the programming. “It is a bit like being a soccer manager” he says, “making sure every position is covered double, being flexible and able to react to certain changes, still making the whole team work together best.” So seamless and congruent is his selection, however, that you’d never know this to listen to it.
“For me it was important to create new ‘songs’ between each track during the transitions between them. For me, a “mixtape” was always about that; trying to avoid obvious changes and create a fusion between songs, keeping the same mood, so the listener doesn’t hear a new song coming in, but realises after a few minutes that there was a change.” His brooding take on deep, melodic and often dramatic techno indeed fits together incredibly harmoniously, subtle changes modulating the mix in granular fashion.
We begin with the near-beatless ambience of TVA’s Radio “Camaldoli Stereo” setting the mood perfectly, pared back melodies and FX harkening back to the vintage days of progressive house before Andrea Oliva’s “Empty Lips” imparts sorrowful melody and militant snare rolls to start picking things up. Trevino’s take on Dark Sky’s “Rainkist” brings the first tense vocal into play over dark swathes of synths, into the shimmering melodies of Dave DK and Gui Boratto and the expert hypnosis of Daniel Avery. A new exclusive from Niggemann, “Hurricane”, yields a stunning, graceful vocal into play over squelchy kicks, with Trikk and Dubspeeka providing throbbing tracks topped with delicate melodics.
Baikal’s minimalist approach provides a moment of deep introspection before the warm acid of Philipp Stoya’s “Rula” adds a touch of machine funk to the proceedings and TVA and Denis Horvat take us into even more tripped-out waters. We go deep again with MUUI’s “Rsrsrs”, Aril Brikha & Sebastian Mulleart laying on rampant riffs aplenty on “Illuminate” and Valet’s “Crisis Of Faith” opening up the atmospheric space further. Just as you sense the mix may swell to more intense moods, Niggemann pulls the reins back once again, Etapp Kyle and his own “Divergent” plunging us deeper still. It’s left to Antigone and Phase to draw the mix to a close via some floaty ambient techno that keeps the psychedelic feel very much intact.
It’s a mix that rewards repeated, concentrated listening, with many clever flourishes woven deep into its fabric. “I think this mix is easy to listen to while doing something else, but it’s also something to trip out on; bringing you on a journey when listening to it very precisely with closed eyes. In this moment you’ll also find out about the little details that you maybe don’t hear on the first listen, but which I hope make this mix special.”
Balance Presents Alex Niggeman – Buy Now
Tracklist:
1. TVA – Radio Camaldoli Stereo
2. Andrea Oliva – Empty Lips
3. Dark Sky – Rainkist (Trevino’s Heartbeat Remix)
4. Gui Boratto – Joker (Dave DK Mix)
5. Ricardo Tobar – Garden (Daniel Avery Remix)
6. Alex Niggemann feat. The Shadow Self – Hurricane (Club Mix)
7. Trikk – Volta
8. Dubspeeka – SK4
9. Baikal – Pelican’s flight
10. Philipp Stoya – Rula
11. TVA – Stolen Jacket
12. Speaking Minds – Monongahela (Denis Horvat Remix)
13. MUUI – Rsrsrs
14. Aril Brikha & Sebastian Mullaert – Illuminate
15. Valent – Crisis of Faith
16. Etapp Kyle – Opto
17. Alex Niggemann – Divergent
18. Antigone – Blue Note
19. Ø [Phase] – Astryx