Tiefschwarz siblings Alexander ‘Ali’ and Sebastian ‘Basti’ Schwarz love Watergate. Situated at Falckensteinstrasse 49 in Berlin, the gorgeously-designed split-level club offers stunning floor-to-ceiling window views of the River Spree, a futuristic LED lighting system running the length of the venue and tip-top musical programming – a blend of fresh and seasoned tech-edged talent.
It might be an obvious question, then, but why exactly do they love Watergate so much? They have, of course, lent their immaculate skills to Watergate 09 – the ninth instalment of the club’s pedigree mix compilation series.
“It’s a beautiful location” Ali opens. “The views are amazing, particularly when you’re playing through to sunrise. At the same time, the club, through its size and the people running it, offers a very personal touch. It encourages great feelings and great music; it gets that balance between commercial and underground spot on. Its artist bookings are always interesting and relevant.”
Watergate 09 sees Tiefschwarz attempting something different to their series predecessors, the likes of Lee Curtiss, Ellen Allien and Sascha Funke. “The last Watergate with Lee [Curtiss] was fantastic” Ali offers, “but it was all about state-of-the-art, contemporary dance music, and a lot of it tied into the Visionquest label. We didn’t think we could follow the same pattern; we wanted to try something different, in terms of mixing some of our earlier influences.”
Watergate 09 shows, in the very best sense, Tiefschwarz’s age – their experience, and deep knowledge of house music. Retro house classics by Gemini, Afro Celt Soundsystem (MAW’s seminal remix) and Romanthony (1997 gem Rumpshaker, the Schwarz brothers’ very first release on one of their very first labels, Caus-N-FF-Ct) mix with recent licks by Julio Bashmore and Jay Haze (his skankin’ take on MK anthem Burning). It is not merely a souvenir of Souvenir.
It is, instead, a reflection of Tiefschwarz’s real dancefloor maturity and a reminder of how long they’ve been (successfully) in the game. Just four years ago, Ali and Basti released an album retrospective saluting 10 years at the studio helm (with guest remixes by Shonky and Radio Slave among others.) One could argue that more and more emphasis – direct and indirect – is gradually being placed on the brothers’ status as scene veterans. Do they agree?
“We’re relaxed in our skin; we’ve been doing this [music] for a while now but we don’t class ourselves as veterans or feel threatened by the younger guys coming through,” Ali remarks. “I think it’s interesting not just to play the newest shit all the time, but to take people on a journey with music from your history; music you can share because of your experience. That’s what the Watergate mix is all about.
“We are getting older, and we’ve had those vague chats about not wanting to be playing 10 times a month when we’re over 50; but we’re still re-defining and re-developing our sound. We’re using our knowledge and today’s influences and making our own, relevant sound. It works. At the end of the day age doesn’t matter in our world; you could be an 18-year-old Siberian kid or a 50-year-old American… if you make a killer tune, you make a killer tune. You just need to know how to filter the influences around you, understand them and channel them into your craft.”
Tiefschwarz translates in German as ‘deep black’ – a combination of the brothers’ surnames and their passion for deep house music. The alias was first coined in 1996 when Ali and Basti, alongside Stuggart producer Peter Hoff, started properly channelling that passion into the studio. The boys had been building a steady DJ reputation since 1990, off the back of Ali’s ownership of cult Stuggart club ON-U (1990-1993) and, in turn, Red Dog (1993-1997). A handful of promising remixes led smoothly into 1998’s phenomenally successful debut single Music, soul-house par excellence, and then, in 2000, debut album Ral 9005.
A serious amount of BPMs have shot by since then. Luke Solomon and Derrick Carter snapped up Ral 9005 for a higher-profile ‘Classic’ re-release in 2002, catalysing more extensive international DJ commitments, waves of major new remixes (Madonna, Depeche Mode, DJ Hell and Osunlade all ‘tweaked’) and worthy follow-up albums, Eat Books (2005) and, last year, Chocolate and More Chocolate. The boys’ own label Souvenir Music has been running for five commendable years.
All of which begs the question, how do they maintain appetite and ambition when so much has already been achieved? “It’s always been about balance for us. We DJ a lot more these days and spend a lot more time in the studio but make sure we take the time off too - I’ve been hiking recently; Basti is heading on holiday next week” Ali says. “When we are working, we make sure Sunday-Monday is our weekly period of rest. You have to look after yourself and keep the mind and body fresh.”
And blood ties aside, what exactly is the secret to the brothers’ long-standing artistic chemistry? Over the years, Ali and Basti have generated an impressive musical bond; a deep understanding and flawlessly orchestrated execution of their trade.
“Quite simply, we share the same big love for electronic music, and that is enough” he offers. “There are artistic sparks between us but in a positive way. We work really well together.”
So what’s coming up? With peers and public fully gorged on Chocolate (in the best possible sense) there’s a palpable feeling of excitement as to what they will next have the chance to devour. “We’ve just remixed a new single by [electro-disco] Souvenir artist Ruede Hagelstein, who will then release a wonderful new album for us. We’ve also just finished a brand new Tiefschwarz single and are now starting to layout our new artist album.”
It’s early, early days for the latter but the record, due next year, will, Ali confirms, offer more vocal content and, very generally speaking, a blend of house and techno. “It’s too early to talk styles and genres really” he stresses, “but we like the way house and techno are going right now. This whole, interesting focus on quirky vocals… soul… melodies and the way they can shift surprisingly within a track. The kind of stuff Crosstown Rebels are doing. I can’t say for sure, but I’d like to think an element of that sound will rub off on our next work. It’s so refreshing.”
What sort of kit will they be using; what technology is currently floating their boat?
“It might surprise you but we’re not really technology nerds,” he laughs. “Whether I’m in the studio or playing out I don’t really give a shit what’s making the music, just as long as it is good! Yes, technology is evolving quickly, and a lot of it is really exciting. But people are often too fixated on new versions of this and that, and what really matters is a fundamental understanding of making music. We’re use Ableton a lot in the studio and Logic, too, but we also like analogue production. It’s the same with DJing, we’ll use vinyl, Traktor, whatever… let’s just make sure the floor works.”
When the time does come for Ali and Basti to call it quits on DJing, what will they do with the spare time? “It won’t be that spare” Ali chuckles again. “We want to be making music as long as we can. We’re realistic about slowing the DJing down as we age but, come that point, we’ll simply concentrate more on the studio and, hopefully, on building our brand.
“We’ve had a couple of conversation on brand building. Longer-term there is no reason why we couldn’t channel our music… our ideology into a restaurant, or a shop or something. Brands live far longer than people. Look at Sven Vath; when the time comes for Sven to step down – sad as that may be – he’ll have the Cocoon name living long into the future. He’s done an excellent job there; but for us, all that stuff feels a long way off. We’re revelling in the present.”
Words: Ben Lovett
Watergate 09 – Tiefschwarz is released by Watergate Records (Ger) on October 31. A launch party takes place at Watergate on Saturday, October 8 www.water-gate.de
A Night With… Tiefschwarz (Ali) takes place at a secret London location on October 15, 10pm to 6am - check www.facebook.com/anightwith for more details
