Martin
please introduce your self...
i am martin landsky, born in hamburg germany moved to berlin 5 years ago. i
started doing music in the early 80s, beiing into funk and rap, i used to do
breakdancing and started with my first rude dj activities...later when house
music was invented i started to get more and more into that electronic music...iīve
been djing professionally for more than ten years now...my first record was
released in 1997....
A number of cities in Germany are perceived to have their "own
sound" - i.e. people
(like dj linus)
talk about the "berlin house" sound, "minimal from cologne"
etc. How would you breakdown/describe the music coming out of Germany at the
moment?
i think thereīs a wide variety of music coming from germany..i also think
thereīs no really typical sound from one or another city...sure there are some
labels which are definitily related with certain cities, but these are always
just ONE part of the citiesī sound. thereīs more behind the curtains. for the
so called berlin sound i really donīt know what it should be. there are so many
different djs and labels based in berlin, and itīs getting more and more
everyday, so which is the "real" berlin sound? :-)
Do you have any theory why there is so much good music coming out of Germany
at the moment or has this always been the case but its now getting the attention
it deserves?
germany was and is one of the biggest and most important markets for
electronic music. you have a big club structure here, many djs, many record
buyers and so itīs too logical to have many producers followed by many
labels...there was always alot of music coming from germany but in the last
years it got more and more internationally recognized. and this is motivating
the german producers scene to fuel the machine again. and thereīs a whole new
generation of artists that have followed their own sound, creating an own
identity, away from the "old" heros...maybe this is THE german sound
of now....
A lot of well known producers have relocated or base themselves in Berlin
(Richie Hawtin, Magda, Villalobos, Ewan Pearson, Luciano) at the moment and
people talk about it as having the best nightlife in Europe. What is it that
makes Berlin special?
i think itīs not the nightlife that makes the city so special..sure you have
many possibilities here to go out..there is something everyday of the week, all
different styles, so thatīs in a way a metropolitan way of nightlife...but the
city has to offer so much more..itīs a melting pot of all different
influences..a lot of creatives here, everything is moving and changing on a
daily basis, it feels so fresh and you can feel the energy of creating. the city
is really big (in terms of germany) but not so hectic as london or new york,
berlin is a mosaic of all the small spots that grew on their own (because it has
been parted for so long), like little villages but you still have that
cosmopolitian spirit around...that is providing a special atmosphere....itīs an
own charm...i think that makes the city so attractive to a lot of (creative)
people...i fell in love with berlin...if we would have the mediterian weather,
the city would blow away any other..;-)
And what is "special" in Berlin at the moment?
thereīs is more or less something new every week...some hyped places, some
unknown places, that are cool...and even a lot of places i never heard of i
think...famous at the moment is still cookies, a incredible tuesday night, the
new panorama bar, watergate, weekend (to be opened these days), still wmf and
and and.....
How would you describe:
- the music you produce?
groovy minimal house to techno-house with an old school american
influence....
- the music you play?
groovy minimal house to techno-house with an old school american
influence....
- the difference between the two (if any?)
as djing is not limited to own productions, the music varies a lot from time
to time, as i think that certain different artists have definitily a very own
style/sound that makes their music a lot different sometimes...
Name 5 desert island discs (i.e. records you couldnt live without)?
-
grandmaster flash "the message"
- carl craig "et las"
- d.h.s. "house of god" (the original from back in the days of course)
- fatback "is this the future"
- rockerīs revenge "walking on sunshine"
And your favourite 5-10 records at the moment (top ten?)
-
losoul "you know (down dry dub)"
- sleeparchive 02
- john tejada "mono on mono"
- dj minx "walk in the park (wink remix)"
- samim & michal "dirty big mouse"
- sten "bluebell"
- b "minikool" (yeah still)
- michoacan "2 bullets"
- justin harris & lil mark "crackiceboom ep"
- jovonn "old man groan"
What about other musical influences - from a breakdancer to what you are
today they must be quite varied?
thereīs alot...but some names that must be dropped are: grandmaster flash,
fatback, quincy jones, herbie hancock, all the prelude stuff, carl craig, rob
hood, todd terry, roger s, jovonn, chez damier, one way etc etc..but i am sure i
forgot the most..;-)
Who are your favourite producers at the moment? Could you also say why?
there is alot stuff i like today, too much to name here and not to forget
someone..but you will know when you hear me playing ;-)
If you could get anyone in the studio to work with you or into anyones studio
who would it be?
oh thatīs always a tricky question for me...i respect a lot of people for
what theyīve done and what theīre doing...but that doesnīt have to mean that
it would be creative to work with them....i think creative cooperations are
always a product of accidents...you should not wish to meet someone particular
or to work with someone in particular...what will happen will happen, then you
know..so i donīt have special wishes regarding this...
If you could choose your dream line up, who would you play with and where?
similar thought here...you never know what will work when where how and if...so
a dream constellation could easily turn into a nightmare constellation..;-) but
one of my dreams would be to have very good djs playing, but nobody cares, no
body knows...all itīs about that night is the music, the people could get lost
into...no hypes no groupies no nothing, just a dark room you and the music....
And if you could get anyone on the guest list, alive or dead, fictional or
real who would be there?
this question must be asked the other side..i donīt know who would like to be
on my list...but maybe no guestlist is the best solution..if the people have to
pay you can be sure they really want to be in there... - we like this answer
too
A lot of very good producers are not very good dj's. As a dj that started
producing music what is your take to that?
first of all i think itīs impossible to be both on the same level...thereīs
always one thing you are better in. but the aim is to get as good as you can in
both, or even better
in the past we had the producer on one hand and the djs on the other. both are
very different skills. but nowadays where djing is an excellent way to promote
an artist and a good way to make a living, a lot of producers started to dj
without any knowledge. the industry made them doing it...but itīs also the
other way round.. there are djs that realized they need to have records out in
order to get more bookings...thatīs the bitter side of the medal...the scene
has grown very big..we have press, promotions, internationally connected
clublife etc...so we are all part of an industry....there are always people
trying to milk the cow double, thatīs really bad on one hand, on the other we
(me) benefit from that, too. so hopefully the people will decide whatīs good or
not, they are paying for the records and for the entrance in the clubs...donīt
believe the hype, believe in your emotions...
As your pretty much booked up every weekend, where do you enjoy playing the
most? Or is there one gig / booking / place that your most looking forward to?
i had the best parties in the worst places and the worst parties in the best
places...again i think thereīs no 100% cool place or booking...every night is
different...and suprises are a daily issue in our job...i think the best way is
to expect nothing, then you wonīt be disapointed...
With Pokerflat being probobally one of the best known German based labels
what is it like when you get together and do one of your nights, and when is the
next one?
we had a regular clubnight once a week a couple of years ago here in berlin. but
not anymore. we are all travelling a lot, so itīs not easy to find together in
one place on one time ;-) but from time to time it happens that we have the
chance to play all together, or at least two or three of us...then itīs always
really cool...itīs so good to have djs playing before and/or after you that are
trying to transport a similar feeling, that are feeling on the same level...only
bad thing about that is, we mostly have all the same records, so really hard job
for the night not to double play all that tracks...;-)
In terms of your DJing and producing what are your plans for the near future?
And can we expect to hear some exclusive or unreleased material this coming
weekend from yourself or the pokerflat stable?
i donīt follow any (master-)plans...i keep on doing what i feel i have to
do...my next release will be a new pokerflat 12", which is already
finished, another one is in progress ....right now i am working on some remixes
and on a cd mixcompilation that will be released early next year on systematic
records...and so on and so on...
regarding your expectation for you clubnight...for sure i will play one or
another unreleased track from the vaults of pokerflat..as thatīs what promos
are for
And finally you've been to Croatia already but this will be your first time
in Slovenija. What was your first "taste" of the balkans like and what
are you expecting this time round....
the first time iīve been to croatia is some years ago...it was round about one
year after the war officially ended...it was a really strange situation for all
of us...we were "sightseeing" some of the spots of the war..we stayed
a week or so...it was so intense to see this in reality, as we just knew
everything from the television...so our all over mood was kinda unreal, really
strange..and then we had such really great parties, that blew us away...so
strange and intense on one hand and so cool on the other...we didnīt know what
to expect before and we were really suprised...and as i mentioned before i donīt
want to expect something this time, i wanna be suprised...but i definitily hope
that we all will have a lot of fun..
Many thanks for your time. Ladies and Gentleman Martin Landsky!!!
Intervju by Fedja and Sergej
more
info @
http://www.pokerflat-recordings.com/upload/documents/adcf52c7534158c1eedf317762aab084_biography_english.pdf
http://www.pokerflat-recordings.com/upload/documents/adcf52c7534158c1eedf317762aab084_discography.pdf
Music @
http://www.reload.nl/index.php?filenombre=040110_Martin_Landsky&id=253
http://213.238.35.203:8000/file/alsterradio2.mp3