Page 20 - Zone Magazine Issue 012

spotlight interview [germany]
German duo Piemont have proven to be an absolute production power-house over the last half decade. Made up of long-time friends Frederic and Chris, the pair first decided to hook up and make music together back in 2007 and, since then, have gone on to establish themselves as one of the foremost partnerships in techno and have been releasing Music on acclaimed labels like Area Remote, Exploited, Kraftek, Terminal M, and Toolroom.
Piemont’s sound is best describe as organic techno. Their music always comes stuffed with a robo-funk and is built in many rich layers. Their preference for ambient sounds, melodic lushness and abstract electronica makes every track different from the next. Each release tells its own story and often Piemont music is as suited to home listening as it is club dancing. The best proof of this has come in the form of their two excellent and fully formed long players Strange World Beyond and Sand Hills. As DJ's, too, they have travelled far and wide. On top of playing regularly across Europe at places like Berlin‘s Watergate, Hive Club in Zurich and Studio 80 in Amsterdam, this pair has headlined many festivals and has also played across Russia and Japan, always joining the dots between house and techno styles, going deep or raising their heads into more peak-time territory.
Was there a particular moment or event that brought you to electronic music?
In fact, there wasn't a particular moment. In our youth, we weren't much into dance music at all. Rather, we were listening to all kinds of non- electronic alternative music and were playing in bands as guitarists and singers. We both found, however, our way to electronic music in early days via french-house acts as for instance Daft Punk but also artists like Propellerheads and Chemical Brothers. Over the years we got more and more inspired by other electronic genres.
You released your latest album some time ago. Was it a conscious decision to create more EP's as a follow-up instead of another full-length offering?
We have been thinking of starting another full-length album regularly. According to us it's always important to let time pass by before you start another album production as we want to create something that should sound completely different to the previous ones. The great thing about this format is that it enables the artist to try out new things music wise and to present different sides of his musical diversity.
According to our opinion, an album should contain less club tools and more uniqe songs. Right now we have the feeling that we are not yet ready for this challenge.
What went into the creation of your latest release 'Spin Off' on Monaberry?
The guys of Monaberry (Super Flu) got in touch with us this summer and asked if were interested in sending them some unsigned tracks for their label. Two months later we spontaneously fired over some demo tunes and they got back to us and signed these immediately. Music wise, we didn‘t have a particular musical idea in mind before we started to produce these tracks. It just ended up like that.
What sort of gear & plugins were absolute must-haves for the creation of Spin Off?
On this EP we have sampled lots of subtle vintage stuff from the late sixties and we have put more time and efford into the beats. No analogue equipment was used this time. All of the synths were created with 'V Collection' by Arturia.
The EP on Monaberry is just being released, but are you working on any other projects at the moment?
Yes, we started working on some new ideas lately as well as a remix for spanish producer Wally Lopez.
You have been around a lot. Are there any differences you notice between playing to European crowds and Asian crowds for example?
Surprisingly, we havn't noticed many differences between these places. It's always amazing for us to see that people from all
around the globe dance to music we like. Thought, It's been our experience with the the crowd outside of Europe that they have a
broader range of tastes.
What sort of experience are you looking to give fans?
Soundwise, we have always been digging different kind of danceable electronic music. On one hand, we are really into jackin and housy Stuff. On the other hand, we have a preference for emotional techno and old school deep house. Our goal is to present these different
facets of our musical diversity to the crowd.
What are you looking forward to most about playing in clubs?
The things that we love the most are the people we meet, the cities we visit and to experience how music connects people. Also, it is always exciting to hear the audience’s reaction to something you’ve been working on in studio just some days before.
What are two tracks that have been secret set weapons during your gigs recently?
Definitely 'Necessity' by Rampa and the Andhim remix of 'This Emptiness Is Mine' by Eating Snow.
With 2016 just about over, what’s in store for Piemont for 2017?
We have some really exciting releases coming up the next month. First of all we have signed our third EP to our favourite imprint from Italy: 'Lapsus Music'. Moreover, we‘ll release our our first EP on Berlin based 'Keno Records'. We've also a bunch of remixes coming up for the likes of Milk & Sugar Recordings and Wally Lopez.
Connect:
https://www.soundcloud.com/piemont
https://www.facebook.com/Piemontmusic
Words By Jordan Parrish
20 ZONE-MAGAZINE.IE