teshno

before you start reading this, why not compliment nekes’ words with some of his sounds, and download yourself the podcast he’s just done for louche (after all, it’s the man’s music, not words, which i imagine you’re most interested in). if you like what you hear in that mix, (which takes in myriad house styles from tumbling, deep 4/4 to funkier fare littered with warm analogue rushes and thudding, looped bass) then check him out live at louche on october 9th, alongside ray okpara, for an oslo records showcase.

incidentally, louche are worth checking out any month of the year: their house and tech bookings are always on the pulse, their attitude is spot on, and their home – mint club – has the best funktion one i’ve heard, plus a cool watergate style disco panel above the dancefloor. plugging the gap left at the club after the halycon days of asylum & technique, the 5 strong louche cartel started the night because they loved mint and nothing decent ever happened there. which i think is pretty cool. fast forward to now and the club’s re-invigorated in this, its 12th year, and is once again leeds’ nocturnal doyen. anyway, i digress…

as for oslo, well, lots of ink has been spilt on them, not least in part because of johnny d’s ubiquitous ‘orbitalife’ smash last year, but also because of their place amongst the deep house resurgence. 18 months or so on, though, and they are still fairing well having diversified with techier artists like christian burkhardt who keep feathering away at the divisive line between house and techno and, for that reason, they interest me enough to have done this interview…

[some of these answers may seem a little court, but could you answer questions like these in a foreign tongue? (don't answer that - i don't care, but you get the point)]

how are you?

thanks, i´m fine.

tell us a little about the podcast – what were you aiming for?

the podcast reflected back the music i like to listen to and to play. it has a little touch of summer – like a warm breeze in the evening.

where and how did you record it?

i maded it at home in my studio, in mannheim.

what’s been the highlight of your year so far?

there was a lot of highlights for me in this year. it was the first time i played at the winter conference in miami, and i was impressed by the perfect feeling we had at our oslo vs cecille showcase party at the victor hotel. also one of my favourite parties was the oslo vs. remote area showcase in barcelona at sonar festival.

in just two years you’ve become a top label with consistently good output. what’s the secret?!

there is no secret. we only release what we can stand behind and what we like!

how important is the family ethos at the label? you all know each other well, right?

i think sometimes it can help. most of us have known each other since many years – we used to share an apartment, and we made parties together – like the zoo club. there are many many more memories of friends which go round my head at the moment, too…. but this doesn´t mean that we don´t want to have new artists on board. i think you have to be open to new people: if the personal relationship is harmonious, then it ´s perfect. but also you shouldn´t forget your family and friends.

was oslo a purposeful backlash to minimal?

no. we started with oslo only because we wanted to release our understanding of sound.

how is it doing in the current climate? are you mainly vinyl or digital?

of course, i stand behind vinyl. i think the last few years there have always been up and downs on the market, so we aren’t too worried.

how do you feel about having spearheaded the rise of the mannheim sound, and now being synonymous with it?

i´m very proud that people talk about „mannheim sound”, and we are really glad to send something special from this city, with a special sound, around the world.

did you know johnny d’s ‘orbitalife’ would be such a hit and such a turning point at that time? did you expect it to cause the stir it did?

no, none of us thought it would be as big as it was.

how do you go about getting people on the label, who does a&r?

federico [molinari, oslo co-founder]

anyone you’d really like to sign?

uuh, there are a lot. that´s a hard question – if i think about my personal development since i was fifteen there are a lot of artists who inspired me and who i respect, so i couldn’t name one single person i’d like to sign.

what lengths do you go to to stop piracy?

that´s really difficult to say. always there will be people who share tracks… on one side i understand that because young people without money in their pockets wouldn’t hear the same music as the others, so if there is an option to download then everyone gets to hear the same stuff. but for the industry, and the people who have to live from that, is it really hard without a payment barrier…. so perhaps we should appeal to people to think about this because nobody wants to work for nothing…

please leave me with a question for the next person i interview…

how do you feel about the electronic scene and about its evolution in the last years?