We speak to Dutch producer Ion Ludwig as he presents perhaps his deepest, most introspective work to date with his new EP for Tenth Circle.
With close to a decade’s studio experience behind him, Ion Ludwig is one of the industry’s most highly regarded house and techno producers. With releases on well respected imprints such as Alphahouse, Underline, Stock5, Phonocult and Resopal to name a few, Ludwig’s tracks regularly appear in the upper-echelons of the vinyl charts of Juno, Phonica and the like.
Already well known for creating beguiling and highly textured house and techno, with his ‘Believe Born Again EP’ he has slowed down the tempo to a crawl and gone deeper than ever before. We caught up with him to discuss production methods, inspirations and the pontential pitfalls of entering DJing for the wrong reasons...
Unlike many producers you don’t DJ very often… what made you make this decision?
Well, I have to say that in the last few months I have been doing a bit of DJing, rocking the smaller clubs and parties in Holland on the wheels of steel and the disks of plastic. When I started producing a friend of mine started DJing which was the first thing that got me into it. In Berlin I play quite a few sets at Club der Visionaere, but the gigs that got attention where always my live performances. Besides, I see myself growing as an artist every day. DJing stays a form of re-cycling, using what others made. I care more about creating something new.
Do you think too many producers simply end up DJing as a source of income, even though they may not be any good at it?
I hope not. The development of the DJ in general is already too glamorous, with shiny screens and a lot of midi-lights. If the new wave of DJs are getting into it for the money, then (underground) club scene will soon disappear.
Tell us a bit about the Believe Born Again EP – is fair to say that it’s considerably deeper than some of your previous output?
It’s definitely slower and more densely produced. Also, more than a lot of my previous tracks these are a hybrid of electronic and acoustic production methods. I used the microphone a lot on acoustic percussion, guitars and vocals. This, together with deeper electronic notes give the mixes a good depth with a pretty wide frequency spectrum.
Ion Ludwig - Believe Born Again EP by Tenth Circle
You manage to get an extraordinary amount of depth into your productions…how do you achieve this?
A bit like I said, the combinations of sound sources give the mix a fairly wide view and depth. This in music is very important I think. Sounds can be placed like images on a canvas. The question is where you put an image; high or low, upfront or in the background, left or right, clean and dry or wet and distorted, etc. After that it’s a matter of what tools you have to use, and how good you are in controlling them.
Some of your track names are pretty interesting “As The Reaction Followed I Knew My Feelings Were Right” springs to mind – is that naming of your tracks an important part of the creative process?
Track titles come and go in phases when I produce. There is always something in my head going on which I can relate to my productions and give these thoughts expression by using them on the titles. Often I have tracks that I produce in matter of days that have similar titles and a general idea or identity.
Who are your major influences when it comes to making music?
Jazz music is definitely the most important influence to my music nowadays. I never (or hardly ever) listen to house or techno when I am not producing. Records from cats like Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Thelonius Monk, Yousef Latif, Miles Davis, Pee Wee Russels, Zoot Sims, Tony Scott or Duke Pearson is what I like to listen and what brings me inspiration. When I started out producing in 2003 however, the major spark was lit by Ricardo [Villalobos].
You have also made some really interesting music outside of the ‘dance’ sphere…tell us about your other projects…
When I’m in the studio the step to fully acoustic, microphone recorded music is sometimes not so small. As I play guitar and percussion I like to make songs which are only a few minutes long. Vocals I do myself to, although these mostly stay in the background.
Anything else you’d like to tell us about…?
That I’m working hard on at least one new album for 2012!
Believe Born Again EP is out now on vinyl and available digitally from 16th November
