As techno innovators Ame prepare to release their new LP Ame Live, Defected's Ben Lovett examines the continuing development of live electronic performance, and speaks to the group's Frank Wiedemann about their latest release...
So what does an electronic live act look like today? Several people’s heads bobbing monotonously up and down behind identikit black boxes and a mountain of cables is probably wide of the mark. This sterile set-up might have been the norm a few years ago but since then things have moved radically on. Today’s electronic music makers are just as likely to noodle in the studio as they are strut around on stage; indeed, hitherto faceless DJs and producers have, over time, kindled full on rock-style swagger. It’s all about look and personality enhancing sound and listener experience.
A point Frank Wiedemann and Kristian Beyer, as wildly pioneering Deutsch house duo Ame, fully acknowledge. “I don’t think that live techno sets can be compared to a classic band line-up” the former opens. “The crowd in a club doesn’t see that someone hitting the drums or strumming on a guitar, so as a live laptop act you have to find other ways to make the people believe that you’re actually doing something live. For me, it wasn’t so much about more keyboards or boxes on stage but about questioning how best I perform our tracks. I’m open-minded about collaborations with other musicians for example; I’ve played a few times now with Henrik Schwarz and that really gives you, and the audience, a cool band feeling.”
Wiedemann’s self-referencing is significant because Ame rarely play together these days – as DJs or live performers. When Ame’s live show actually launched in 2010, the boys formally split their duties to better reflect current workflow as well as make things simpler to grasp for fans. “We often got asked ‘who’s playing tonight – Kristian or Frank?’ so we thought a split would make things clearer for our audiences. Now, it’s always Kristian when it comes to DJing and me when Ame live is announced” Wiedemann explains. “The split also reflects a bit more of our workflow in the studio. Kristian is a classical producer who always sees the whole song and I’m the musician, giving specific input to the tracks we create.”
Division or no division, Ame present a gloriously unified front for new live album, Ame Live, out early next month. Their first long-player in eight years, the record is made up of the best recordings of their own classic material played out on the road over the past 12 months. Those recordings have subsequently been re-edited and bled into a continuous compilation mix - vintage remixes of Roy Ayers (Tarzan) and Underworld (Crocodile) alongside classic productions Rej, Enoi and Where We At, and the new, previously unreleased ‘Beatless’ remix of Gui Boratto’s This Is Not The End. The whole thing flows beautifully; it’s hard to believe Ame aren’t actually together on stage all that much.
“The album went quite naturally to be honest” Beyer casually remarks. “We went through all the recordings we’d made and searched for the best performances of each of our tracks to combine them on the record. The whole set represents the possible flow of one show; and, of course, we tried to find a balance between overworked oldies and new tracks or remixes like Gui which finishes the set.”
That’s not to say that Ame Live is simply masterful editing and savvy marketing. Wiedemann and Beyer do still perform together, and when they do it’s a memorable experience for audience and artists. “We both still enjoy touring alot, of course; it’s part of us,” Wiedemann stresses. “And when it comes to those 24 hour marathons at Panorama Bar or a party like when Kristian, Henrik, Dixon and I played the whole night at Robert Johnson [the cult Offenbach am Main club where, last summer, Ame and friends inspired everything from stage dives to sitting ovations] and then I missed my flight the next morning you really know why you’re doing this job!”
This summer, too, Ame will be playing a number of sets and shows at major Ibiza weekly We Love... under the banner of their Innervisions label and booking agency. The informal Space residency follows a one-off guest spot last year which had clubbers, local DJs and even the club’s AV crew citing it as event of the season. Ibiza, as yet, remains something of a enigma to Ame but their multiple bookings here, and the island’s heightened interest in fellow underground music-makers like Luciano (whose Vagabundos night at Pacha is now firmly established), Solomun (also at Pacha in 2012 for Defected In The House) and fellow We Lovers Agoria and Claude VonStroke suggests it might be a place they come to truly love.
“We see that underground element coming into Ibiza more and more” Beyer concedes. “There’s a better relationship between mainstream and underground; hopefully not too much mainstream but, no, we’re really looking forward to We Love... this season because we know it will be fun. I’m no expert on the Ibizan scene but maybe after this summer?”
2012 is, it should be noted, Ame’s 10th year in operation; an operation that continues, what with its brave new forays onto Balearic terraces and bold experimentation with live recording, to push boundaries and alter perceptions. Ame Live, in fact, does a pretty good job summing up where the duo has come from, presently resides and aims to travel next. Were there any autobiographical urges behind the placing of those early Sonar Kollectiv releases next to Ame’s core Innervisions output and then the new soundscapin’ stuff? Has Ame Live in any way forced its creators to properly reflect on their hugely significant work to date?
“I can’t give you an answer on whether or not the new record is an autobiography” Wiedemann smiles, “but, yes, I have been looking back on our career and can only say we’re really happy and thankful for how things worked out for us. We made some mistakes here and there and I think that, on the business side, Ame could have run things better, but we’re both happy with what we’ve done so far and still do. The major thing is that we’re still really good friends, and we’ve always done, music-wise, what we’ve felt and wanted to do. We’re not ashamed of one track we’ve made which I think is very important to be able to say.”
Wiedemann and Beyer first met through the latter’s record shop in their German hometown Karlsruhe, just north of Strasbourg on the French border. A mutual appreciation of ‘soul’ music – Ame, pronounced ‘ahm’, is French for soul) – be that by Detroit royalty Underground Resistance and Moodymann, by New Jersey kings Blaze, eclectic compatriots Jazzanova or Austrian tech pioneer John Tejada, soon led them to innovative DJ and studio work. As recording artists, their early output on Sonar Kollectiv such as Safari (their first release, in 2003), Mifune and Ojomo would lead to the stirring orchestral pulses of watershed single Rej.
Rej, out in 2005, was one of the earliest releases from Innervisions, a Sonar Kollectiv sub-label created by Ame and Dixon; and as it garnered international acclaim (and an even wider re-release via Defected) so Innervisions went independent and Wiedemann and Beyer fully found their creative feet and loyal audience. Their discography today has swollen vastly and variedly to include powerful remixes for the likes of Ayers, Underworld, Osunlade and Deetron, as well as genuinely original productions touching upon broken beat, South African folk, and Seventies jazz-funk via the central electronic influences of Detroit, Chicago, New York, Paris and Berlin.
So where does Ame go next? “The expectations on us after we released Rej were the highest we’ve ever had, and maybe ever will have” Beyer says. “Today, it’s not that stressful for us anymore. I think we made the right decision not to produce anymore Rejs after the original just to stay in line. We decided to do something else because we felt that was right. Rej was done and we needed to explore other things. I think that’s the reason we’re still here....”
There’s no word, yet, on a new studio album – it has been eight years, ignoring Ame Live, since 2004’s eponymous debut – but people can look forward to remixes soon of Mario & Vidis and Radioslave. Ame are also keen to evolve the set-up behind Innervisions. “Everything works quite well but we’re not having a break here” Wiedemann explains. “We want to integrate more ‘cultural’ productions into our [online] shop and operation. This means the art, fashion, and books we love... why shouldn’t we share this with people who love our music? Innervisions can be much more.”
And clearly Wiedemann and Beyer feel there is a lot of good, interesting music still to discover and make. “There are cynics in every scene and I don’t listen to them anymore” the former confides. “They always talk about scenes dying but as the last few years have shown us there is always something new out there – a new instrument, a new musical technique. The possibilities are endless and though I used to be afraid of that I’m not anymore.”
Wiedemann continues: “How can you get bored of music? There is so much still to be explored. Music from the most diverse countries and cultures; there are so many major inspirations....We can feel down sometimes when we’ve been stuck in the studio for ages but then that’s exactly the right time to go off and pay some bills or clean the house or something!”
Tidy thinking from a tidy act....
Ame releases Ame Live on Innervisions (Ger) on May 7.
