Mathias Schaffhäuser Interview

Your bio states that you spent some collection of years playing traditional instruments and singing in a variety of bands. Why did you switch from that path to a techno producer and how do you feel about how your choice is progressing?

In the early 90ies the band thing became more + more boring to me. in 1993 my last band split, we had a good deal and made some tours, but the all day discussing and the typical ego problems combined with totally unsuspecting label guys killed all our energy. after this split i was so happy to work on my own, and because we were already into dance music + working with sequencers the step to techno wasn't big (actually i was into house + techno as a fan since 1988). but i'm longing to play with some huys again for years, but ..... TIME!!!!

Ware Recordings is a big part of your life and your release schedule. How did the label come to be and how do you feel about releasing most of your material here?

Like many musicians i became tired of sending around demos one day + WARE was the logical consequence. it's my home, my baby, and i still feel pretty well releasing there. the success of my current album evidences this.

What are the day-to-days of running a label like Ware and how has the digital age impacted your business model? What else has changed about running the label over time?

Oh, wow, this is such a complex question. There are massive problems for sure, but to say it as short as possible: i still like to make music, i'm still a fan, and as long as these facts motivate me i will go on producing and releasing - as long as i don't loose money with the label. Talking about the market and marketing and the rules of capitalism is impossible here. Captalism killed itself, kills art, kills humanity, but it still rules. It's a shame, but we have to go on working against it with our small abilities and whatever... hard to say for me in english!

Your production is very deep and layered yet would still often be considered “minimal”. Tell us about your production concepts and why you have chosen the sound you have.

There is no big concept or plan behind it. As i said, i'm driven by being a fan, i love this music, and when i start working it very often ends in a minimal track. But not always, if you listen to my COINCIDANCE album you will find a lot of ‘maximum‘ tracks, and also in my artistic past. Maybe again in the future, but who knows. The minimalistic aspect has always been something i loved, also in other genres like blues, cool jazz, steve reich, brian eno and so many more...

What software, hardware and sample packs do you use and recommend?

Oh, i'm no nerd, no technical freak. i use logic + ableton live and a handful of softsynths and plugs. i'm maybe one of the most amateurish producers concerning technic around, but i am as i am and i like this attitude in a way (if one can call it attitude). i also was into free punk jazz in the early 80ies + played concerts with people which never touched an instrument before, and i still like to know not THAT much about technic. it takes tooooo much time to learn all that shit, i prefer to be creative. but i know that i should learn some more things about software + stuff, but i'm also very lazy!!!

“Music is and will always be political” Many of the artists I’ve interviewed seem to disagree… what does that quote mean to you and how does it impact your musical decisions?

Every statement you give as an artist, every record you relase, every gig you play is an act of politics in my view (like in the historical greek meaning of ‘polis‘). you talk to so many people, you reach so many minds, you influence them in a way, you manipulate (without wanting it maybe), you transport information. so you have to be aware of this responsibility. responsibility is the main aspect, i think. so you have to think about what you say (or not say). I think it is important that people like me try to communicate/transport important and essential knowledges/insights like humanity, peace, freedom, liberty, justice. I don't say we ‘have to‘, but to me it is a question of this responsibility according to so many things which go wrong in this world that i use my little piece of power to spread some of these words (again, it is really hard to say all this in english without any misunderstanding). In the 90ies hans nieswandt and some other guys in cologne called it ‘conscious clubbing‘. I still like this expression very much. dancing, being wild + out of your mind, but at the same time with a state of mind, with a political position.

Following off the last question: what specific causes/concepts do you focus on in your work and what would you like people to be more aware of? How could we create a scene that was more “aware”?

For starters I would love it if journalists would ask questions like this more often. I'm happy that you do it, but this happens very rarely. Even when i released the EP "god is dead" and some more years ago a statement on an album not to vote for the conservative party in germany, just some 2 or 3 magazines asked me about this. In all techno magazines there is a big lack of articles about politics, and i'm not talking about the well known topics and the daily bordom we read every day in the papers + the commercial online platforms. Like i said, our scene has also a certain kind of power, artists, mags, partys, and we should use it to communicate alternative ways of thinking beyond the mainstream, beyond the govermental view.

Do you have any pieces of advice (production wise, running a label, getting started as a DJ etc) that you would give to yourself when you first started based on what you know now? How about someone else who is just entering the scene now?

Oh, i don't have any wise advice on anything, there are too many ways to find your own way. To me, it was always important to find something unique, individual and special in the music i like. In demos, in releases and in my own music too for sure. which sometimes is a very hard thing to find for sure. But i'm not into the followers of fashion and the retro stuff which is around every season. ‘risk more, be courageous‘, that's what i say to young artsists sending me demos + asking me for some help.

What does the rest of 2009 hold in store for you?

There will be 2 new WARE EPs out soon in june, one by ZIGGY KINDER, one by LUCY, two great artists and friends of mine. then in september another "unequal equality ep" i did with PAWAS & BEUME and again with MIDINOVELA. Currently i'm working on my next W.I.R. release and on 2 tracks for ADJUNCT records together with JORGE SAVORETTI and FROM KARAOKE TO STARDOM. There will also be another cooperation with XHIN too this year, so you see, my schedule is packed. and who knows what will come...

Do you have any comments about your exclusive mix for FWD entertainment?

I think it is the most jazzy mix i've ever done, and this is not that typical for me. But i like these tracks very much at the moment and they fit together so very perfectly, so you have the miniswingmix now........