Hello Dominik! Welcome to my column page!! We could have a nice time in Tokyo and Kyoto when you came to Japan on May. How was your first travel in Japan? I heard it was first time for you to visit Asian country, is it collect? Was there something excitement thing for you in Japan?

Hello Doctor. Yes this is correct. For me it was a very interesting experience to slip into a very different cluture.I was surprised by the two faces of Japan: one the one hand the very hectic super metropols like Tokyo with the most modern technic things like robots and PSPs and on the other hand the very calm and meditativ tradition, as I've seen at the tempels in Kyoto.

Next please tell me your profile for Japanese people whose reading this page. I can see you are from Bonn from your profile. Please introduce me about your hometown Bonn. Is there something special music scene? What's like Bonn?

I was growing up in a very rural region, called Westerwald, which is situated between Cologne and Frankfurt. Then I migrated to the former german capitol Bonn, where I started to study Geography, Biology and Geology at the university. Bonn is a middle big city with a population of 300.000, lying at the river Rhine. It is very historic and beautiful, because it wasn't much destroyed in the second world war and had the tradition of beeing a curecity for wealthy people. At the moment I'm more often in the Westerwald, because I find there more relaxation from the travelling and more inspirations from the beautiful nature.

What kind of music did you listen in your childhood? What kind of music made you crazy at that time? Who was your hero in your young age?

Till the age of 14 I was not really interested in music at all. The first music-style which really was waking up my interest was electronic music. For me this kind of music was very mystical, I couldn't explain how these sounds were generated. Perhaps it was first of all this style of music, because it was so polar to my normal life of living in and with the nature. First of all I was listening to Rave sound from Frankfurt, like the Eye Q records! My DJ hero was Sven Väth. Later we travelled very often to his legendary club “Omen”.

Then when did you start to listen electronic-music? In your profile, it said you were listening Sven vath's radio show. Were you affected by electronic music which Sven introduced in radio show?

I my homeregion there were no real technoclubs, so we listened at this time very often to Sven Väths radioshow “Clubnight”! I was growing up exactly between the two important Techno-Metropols Cologne and Frankfurt. So I was influenced on the one side by the Trance and Rave oriantated sound from Frankfurt, with labels like Eye Q or Harthouse, and on the other side by the minimalistic sound from Cologne, with labels like Profan or Studio1. I think you can hear these both influence-sources in my music today!

Now your are very famous as music producer. when did you start to make techno-track? Did you start to produce tracks after you start DJ or did you star to DJ faster than producing tracks?

I started to produce Techno in 1993. But firstly it was more making sound-experiences, I wanted to explain the riddle of generating electronic sounds for myself. The first machine I bought was a Korg MS-20. I began to produce whole tracks just a few years later. I was learning Djing nearly at the same time.

Then when you start to DJ in club? Is there any funny episode in the beginning of your DJ career?

In my homeregion there were no real clubs for playing this music. So we were forced to organise own underground-partys at empty factory-halls or in the nature. Also at my school I was playing at partys. Later I strarted to work at a local record-shop, where I was playing at a few events of it. In the year 2000 I was migrating to Bonn for studiing at the university. There I started to play every Thursday at a Café/Pub to earn some money. This was very funny because this Café had no permission for dancing. When somebody started to dance, I had to inform him he should sit down, because dancing is forbiden. Also I was playing one time a month at a Techno/House Club. With the success of my records, I got a lot of bookings. Now I'am playing nearly in the whole wide world.

After you released some of EP from several label, finally you made huge hit EP "Die Rotbauchunken vom Tegernsee". Your track is very special and a lot of humor. Especially you are featuring animal voice sample on your track. I think the idea is very funny because such a animal voice reminds me nature feeling and gives organic atmosphere. However electronic-sound is like representing inorganic world but you are successful to combine them in one song. When did you find the idea? Is it because of you are studying ecologically geography?

There are a few people, who are thinking the nature thing would be a very clever marketing strategy of mine. But everybody who knows me, can tell you that I am a real nature-friend. It began in my childhood. My father is teacher and was working for some nature organisations. So he showed us very early the beautiness and secrets of mother nature. I was growing up in a very nice natural region, directly at the edge of a wood and spent the whole day outdoor to understand the nature. This passion never left me and it was very early sure I wanted to do something in this direction as a job. So I started to study ecologically Geography, Biology and Geology in Bonn, worked a few times as a ranger in german nationalparks and am an passionated ornithologist in my freetime. When I later began to release own records, it was the closesed thing for me to combine these both middlepoints of my life. I want to show the music-consumers who beautiful and protection needed our nature is. I also take a lot of impressions from the nature to create my music and am trying to paint acoustic pictures, like “Oh, when I hear this song it reminds me on a beautiful sunsetting at a nice lake”.

Then you are elected the best of new comer in 2004 at Groove magazine. Has your life changed after your elected the award?

Well everything developed in 2004 very quick. So I haven't got much time to care about my studies at university, because I got a lot of Djing or remix requests. Its very nice to see the whole world now, to meet so much friendly people and to share this passion with people in every country. But sometimes I am really stressed, because everybody suddenly wants something from me. I am trying to conserve a healthy distance to the whole turbulences. I am not really planing what I want to reach with my music, I let it flow and look what happens, thats the best way I think.

Please tell me your technical things. First, please tell me your music production environment. What kind of system do you use for your music production? Do you use a lot of analog synthesizer? or your system based on computer?

When I started to produce music, I had a lot of analog equipment, like a Roland 303, 606 and other analog synthesizers. But at the moment I am generating nearly my whole music with a PC, because I can work very quick and efficient with it.

Amateur musician whose reading this interview always interesting how the musician could learn to use such a complicate system like computer,sound-synthesize, mixing technique... How about you? Did you take long time to able to use them?

I really like the development of production equipment. In the past you needed a big studio, with a lot of expensive machines to produce qualitative electronic music. Today, the only thing you need to fulfill your visions and talent is a PC and a few programms. I think this leaded to a flood of very talented and fresh producers, like James Holden, Nathan Fake, Robag Wruhme or Luciano. But the thing is, you need a lot of time to get familliar with the programms. It's only a medium to fullfill your visions, then more you know to handle it, the better you can fullfill them. I learned now over 12 years how to produce techno and will never complete training, because there are always new programms and new Plug-Ins!

When you came to Japan, mainly you were spinning analog records. Are you interesting in digital DJ system like final scratch, traktor DJ...? Some of DJ says digital DJ system is still not reach to same quality to analog records sound...please tell me your opinion.

I absolutly prefer the good old vinyl. This has a lot of reasons. One reason is that you can see in the rills on a vinyl, when a break is coming and who the devolution of the track is. An other reason is, that I get a lot of new records on vinyl and it would take a lot of time to record them with a computer. Also, when you've got thousand of tracks in your laptop you can sometimes loose the overview for the essence, with an individual cover you will find them more quickly. I think analog records have simply more sex than digital files...

We could have fun in zoo in Kyoto, do you remember? I was really impressed you taught me animals name,animal's behavior... Especially you are specialist of birds. Why you are interesting in ecologically geography? Are you still studying about geography in university? And I heard you are teaching math in university...? is it right? It seems your are very busy to produce music,DJ and geographist...??

Of course I remember the zoo action with this incredible loud screaming lion! Of course I am still interested in nature, this passion never leaves you, because nature is not like a trend, its constant. I am still studying, but very slowly, I take time. Yes, I was teaching math in university, but at the moment I got no time for this, although it made a lot of fun. When somebody was making nonsense or talking during the lesson, he had to go to the blackboard to calculate tasks in front of the class. I think I was a funny but stringently teacher!

What is your dream in future? I still remember you told me your dream is hold your label, then make foundation for protecting animal and nature... Is it will be true??

I think you can't tavel around the world and making this kind of music for your whole life. I know the music business is a short life business, and sometimes it's very rude and cold. I enjoy it now, but I plan to finish my studies, and my perfect idea of a fulfilled life will be that I'm working in a National Park showing people the beauty and value of nature, and living in a house with a chimney, and sitting in the evening with a laptop making some pushing minimal techno tracks and sometimes traveling around the world.

Please tell me your future release plan for your Japanese fun.

Out now is my first Mix-CD “Kreucht & Fleucht” on our new Mixing-Label “Mischwald”! Then I just did a remix for DJ Hell on Gigolo Records. This year there will also be a new Platzhirsch and new EP on Traumschallplatten. At the moment I am also doing a record together with my good friend Gabriel Ananda. Which will be released next year and I've go the honour to do a remix for my all-time favorite track Cold – “Strobelight network” from 1994. End of 2006 I will also release a new album on Sven Väths Cocoon records.

Well, thank you very much for answering my long questions!! Do you have a message for Japanese people??

Concerning toilets, you are very far forward !!! :-)

(text: Dr. Shingo)