We chat to Matthias Tanzman about his new mix for Fabric and his new album project.
Starting his DJ and production career in the mid nineties, Matthias Tanzmann was one of the early resident DJs at the infamous Distillery, releasing on distinguished imprints such as Dessous, Freude Am Tanzen, Lo-Fi Stereo and FM Musik. But it was in 2000 with the founding of Moon Harbour Recording that he truly announced his arrival; the label rapidly becoming synonymous with quality deep-house and tech-house, releasing many of Matthias Tanzmann’s own records as well as those from the likes of Luna City Express, Marlow, Martinez and Dan Drastic.
Imminently joining the esteemed list of artists to curate a mix for Fabric’s acclaimed series, Defected’s Ben Lovett caught up with Tanzmann the new project and distant plans for a new artist album.
Leipzig DJ and producer Matthias Tanzmann truly arrived on the world electronic music stage when he joined Circo Loco’s infamous cabal of resident players. Selection for that ‘gig’, one of clubland’s biggest, was comparable to the audition process for lead role in a multimillion dollar-financed Hollywood blockbuster –tense, protracted, unbelievably competitive. But Tanzmann simply laughs at the memory.
“I’d never even been to DC-10 [Circo Loco’s Ibizan HQ] when they first contacted me. Andrea Pelino [Circo Loco co-founder] spoke to my agent and asked if I’d be interested in playing for them” he recalls. “I couldn’t believe it; I knew the guys already had a fantastic reputation. It was an incredible moment, almost ridiculous.”
The year was 2005 and Andrea was auditioning two new DJ recruits together. “It was Davide Squillace and I. We had to play a couple of test sets before anything progressed. That was intense because we knew what was at stake. I’d heard, too, that lots of well-known DJs were actually offering money to Circo Loco and its associated promoters to play for them; it was such a big, big thing. We both made the cut, of course. For me, it still felt surreal because I’d never been to DC-10 but Andrea had done lots of research. He checked out the internet and asked people like Ricardo [Villalobos] what they thought of me. Thankfully, it was enough.”
That was seven years ago and thousands of beats have thundered out of the Circo Loco camp (which also includes Dyed Soundorom, Tania Vulcano and Dan Ghenacia) since then. What does Tanzmann think is the party’s unique appeal? “You have to look back at when it first started. There was nothing else like it in Ibiza for music, for presentation. The guys had Jamie Jones and Seth Troxler playing before they were big; they’d created this magical atmosphere... Circo Loco felt like an outsider. Today, there are a few other parties with similar ideas but Circo Loco has become a powerful brand. It’s not corporate, but the underground music it plays has become really popular. Underground music can be popular. Circo Loco is one of the best parties in the world to play; I still get goose bumps before going on.”
London institution Fabric is another of Tanzmann’s “top five” destinations; appropriate, being that the club has invited him to helm the latest instalment of its exalted compilation series – Fabric 65. Tanzmann’s stout 13-cut house mix, out next month, is framed by deep, driving 4-4 but allows for melody (Monkey Maffia’s Sources From The Past), subtlety (Alexis Cabrera’s Everything) and cool, percussive exuberance (Shenoda’s The Question, Just Be’s Rain Come Down). His own classic remix of Silicone Soul’s Right On, Right On and recent mischievous tech-house jam Kanoa are also on board.
“I decided that this mix shouldn’t be a biography, trying to summarise my career to date” he explains. “75 minutes isn’t long enough for that, so it’s very much a showcase of my current DJ sound. Like Circo Loco, Fabric is another major name I feel deeply honoured to be associated with. The Fabric soundystem is an incredible thing to play on, and the club is continuing to innovate.”
Does Tanzmann feel that, even allied to Fabric, a compilation of current material is enough to achieve standout in the crowded electronic mix market? He is not just competing against other physical releases, some pushing quirkier, often retrospective agendas in order to engage listeners, but also a weekly onslaught of podcasts, downloads and live, video-backed streams.
“I do think the Fabric name says a lot, and hopefully my own!” he comments. “But also there is so much digital music nowadays and, as such, digital mixes are often put together by computer very quickly... in the moment, and they tend to stay in the memory for a similar length of time. By contrast, my Fabric mix was recorded in the studio and that prompted me to think harder about my tracks, their ordering and how they’d work together. Mix compilations like this give a greater sense of your personality; they’re not just about one amazing moment in a club. You have to treat them almost like artist albums.”
Tanzmann has only released one such long-player to date, 2008’s Restless. Boasting synth and bass-inspired highlights such as Procon, Bulldozer and Nip Slip, his muscular, streamlined debut was considered a success. But there were critics, who cited Tanzmann’s over-reliance on the same tech-house formula and a resultant boredom. Similar criticism was being levelled at the minimalist and tech-house scenes of the mid-Noughties in general.
“I’ve never seen what I’m doing as particularly minimal” he remarks. “I see it as house. And I don’t worry about being labelled boring. Everything makes sense to me when I record the first beats of a track or remix; there is an audience that likes what I do, and what my labels do [Moon Harbour and Cargo Edition] otherwise I wouldn’t be here.
“Restless was produced as DJ material, as a series of effective grooves for dancing. It wasn’t so much stuff for deep listening; I never intended that. But the wider point is that there are different waves of music at different times. At one time, the really minimal dance was in favour, then it was acts like Chicken Lips and Metro Area; now it’s Hot Creations. I don’t follow trends; I play and make the music that I like.”
To be fair, Tanzmann hasn’t been doing much making for the last three years. His last original single release was Chano, in 2009; a track surprising listeners for it zesty latin jazz kick ‘n’ flourish. Since then he has dabbled with remixes and fed one new production, the aforementioned Kanoa, into this spring’s release of a new Moon Harbour mix compilation – Moon Harbour InHouse Vol 4.
Why the lack of output? “I’ve just been so busy” he reflects. “I just have so many DJ commitments now, which I love but they leave little or no time for the studio. I do need to work harder on managing my time, including making room for holidays; it’s going to be a major objective for me next year.”
Born, bred and based in Leipzig, Germany, Matthias Tanzmann began his electronic music career in the mid-Nineties, progressing from sets at local club Distillery to his first solid records on labels like Dessous and FM Musik. In 2000 he founded Moon Harbour Recordings, a dependable tech-house hub for his own subsequent releases, as well as those of artists Luna City Express, Marlow, Martinez and Dan Drastic. In 2005 came Circo Loco and then, soon after, a second label Cargo Edition, with greater focus on minimal and experimental techno through producers including Ekkohaus, Michael Melchner and Sven Tasnadi. The success of both imprints and Tanzmann’s Circo Loco residency has ensured his place on the global DJ stage; the demand for his performances around the world is, as one would expect, relentless.
“I try not to get frustrated,” Tanzmann confides. “I’m lucky to be living this life and the clubs and events I play are fantastic but it’s always at the back of your mind that you want to be working on your own ideas.”
Tanzmann doesn’t expect to release his second album until “2014 or something” but he is, intriguingly, working on an studio album with friends Martin Buttrich and Davide Squillace for early 2013. The trio, working under the alias Better Lost Than Stupid, first performed together at New York’s Electric Zoo festival a couple of years back; that performance evolved from Tanzmann’s regular back-to-back DJ sets with Squillace.
“There’s been a couple of live shows, Martin brought that whole live angle to what we were doing” Tanzmann says. “But after we first got together we were thinking about how we could develop the collaboration and our own material. We’ve been working on an album, very on and off, for a long time now, grabbing time where our schedules allow.”
And what can we expect from the end product next year? “We’re still discovering our sound really” he explains. “It will absorb each of our individual styles, naturally, but we want this to be totally unexpected for people. And there will be a live focus. It’s a great creative platform for all of us... really exciting.”
Tanzmann is also preparing new releases for both Moon Harbour and Cargo Edition; notably, a new album from Luna City Express on the former, and new album from Ekkohaus via the latter: “I want to keep selling vinyl as long as I can because it has a real feeling and quality, but these days it is something of an expensive business card and I need to consider digital and other activities that can run alongside the labels. Longer-term I want be in the situation where we are promoting artists and events as well as releases. This will provide greater stability as well as bigger platform for what we do.”
Stability is vital, for the dance music industry continues to creak and strain amidst global economic turbulence. “I see the problems clearly when I DJ” Tanzmann claims, “especially in countries such as Spain where there is huge unemployment. There are less parties because people have less money; it is worse in Greece, where I don’t really play now. At the same time, those people are even keener to escape their realities so the parties that do happen tend to be even crazier. These are interesting times really; the electronic scene is like a non-stop, fever-pitch circus, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m addicted.”
Words: Ben Lovett
Matthias Tanzmann – Fabric 65 is released by Fabric Records (UK) on August 20.
