No matter where you work, what you do, or what time of the day you do it at, one fact will forever remain applicable and immovable: preparation is key.
If you look at the astonishing impact Patrick Gräser’s Answer Code Request guise has made in a few short years after you’ve read up on how he wouldn’t green-light anything until it was ready or until it was sculpted and honed to his high levels of satisfaction, then it makes perfect sense. Over the course of 5 EPs and one 12 track album, the project has explored elements of Berlin’s techno heritage, the melancholia of Detroit, the hedonism of Warp’s Artificial Intelligence series and the stylistic and rhythmic innovations of the post-dubstep-bass-music-surely-there-must-be-a-better-name-for-this-sort-of-music-yet era but what’s more is that Gräser’s already made a massive impact having done so.
Just the fact that he’s now a Berghain/Panorama Bar resident and that he’s appeared on Ostgut Ton and his friend Marcel Dettmann’s MDR label, as well as releasing records on his own self-titled imprint, gives you some idea of the level of respectability of his output. But his performances, whether he’s playing live or DJing, seem to want to draw you even further into his own world. Take this mix – one that he’s made for us ahead of his appearance in Room Two on the 7th March where he’ll be playing live in between sets from Dettmann and Anthony Parasole – it actively picks apart the pixels of techno music and ends up painting it in an exciting new form.
Considering that the mixtape was coming from a guy to whom taking his own sweet time is absolutely key, so far we’d been pretty happy content to wait, safe in the knowledge he was planning something special. But today, it arrived and we’re understandably excited to be able to share this with you ahead of both his upcoming performance here this weekend and ahead of the release of his contribution to the eight track MDR Compilation, which is due out on 20th March.
Can you walk us through how you approached this mix? Is it representative of what’s forthcoming on the label or more of what you’re playing in your sets right now?
I’ve given special attention to this mix and made a careful selection. I wanted to give a little insight into what I’ve been playing lately in my DJ sets and what I am planning, concerning my involvement with the MDR tour.
Can you tell us a bit about ‘Corps De Ballet,’ your track on the forthcoming MDR compilation. What can we expect from it?
‘Corps De Ballet’ is what I would describe as a typical ACR broken beat track; with its bass and pad string… There are these broken group dynamics within it and in my mind I kept having this image of ballet dancers performing to the track. The first half is pretty dark but the emerging strings later on create an interesting shift.
This will be the first track of yours released since your album on Ostgut Ton – what kind of vibe have you been working to in the studio recently?
It’s been a little more relaxed after the release of my album but of course I’m not stopping there. Recently I’ve been working on more 4/4 stuff and focusing on doing it without compromising my production technique.
Have you got any other releases pencilled in this year yet?
I’m putting out two new EPs this year, one for MDR and one for Ostgut Ton. A remix work for DJ Slip is scheduled for release between March and April and another release on ACR is also in the planning stages. That’s as well as a collaboration project with another artist…
What are you looking forward to most going on tour with all the MDR crew?
Definitely the company. Being with these guys beats the usual travelling on my own and it always brings a lot of fun and adventure on the road. Given that I will be playing a live set for most of the time on this MDR tour, it feels like a challenge and I hope that it will help to improve my live performance more as that’s something I am constantly working on.
What’s your personal favourite record from the back catalogue so far and why?
Norman Nodge’s ‘NN 3.0’. It’s minimalist yet very functional. Been in my bag since its release and it’s never left!
Source: Fabric London