Interview: Mobilee’s Anja Schneider

Interview: Mobilee’s Anja Schneider

24 February, 2010 | 7.42AM

• Written by: Philip Sherburne
• Filed under: Music News: anja schneider, mobilee

It’s no slight to say that Mobilee co-founders Anja Schneider and Ralf Kollmann understand how to build brand longevity—both came from marketing backgrounds, after all. Schneider’s renowned weekly show Dance Under The Blue Moon, on Berlin’s Radio Fritz, has been going for 10 years now; her Friday night slot has become a veritable institution for the pre-party hours.

So if it’s surprising to hear that Mobilee turns five this year, it’s only because they seem like they’ve been around a lot longer. Thanks to residencies at key Berlin nightspots, much talked-about annual events at Sonar and WMC, and their savvy graphic sensibility—not to mention a roster thick with heavy-hitters like Sebo K, Pan-Pot, Exercise One and Dan Curtin—they’ve established one of Berlin’s most recognizable brands.

In that time, they’ve built up a booking agency and turned out a catalogue numbering 63 singles and counting, along with multiple artist albums and the ongoing mix series Back to Back.

All that, and Schneider still manages to find the time to record her own music. Her new EP ‘iThought’, finds her venturing into deeper, housier terrain, with chopped-up acappellas rolled out over nimble drum programming.

The three tracks are the result of a collaboration with Berlin’s Kiki, but they still bear Schneider’s distinct signature, with eerie atmospheres suffusing supple, 4am grooves.

We caught up with Schneider in Mobilee’s Berlin offices to talk about her productions, studio technology, Mobilee’s plans, and why Berlin inspires her.

Let’s start by talking about the new single. You worked with Kiki, right?

Yes, I always work with someone. I never produce by myself.  I have changed a lot, but when I look back I always have to be able to say that it’s an Anja Schneider track.

With Kiki, we’re really good friends. I did a remix for him, and it just started out as an idea—’Hey, maybe you’d like to work together?’ I knew that he had already produced with some other people, so he was used to working with other people, which is important for me. It was quite easy.

Paul Brtschitsch and I did an album together, and Paul helped me a lot. He’s a great producer, and we worked with a lot of analog stuff. I learned a lot from him. Kiki works differently: he’s more of this young producer who works digitally. But it’s interesting to see both sides.

I will never say that I won’t work with Paul again; it’s still open. We still have a good relationship. And I won’t say that there’s nothing else possible [with another producer]; I’m always open. There are a lot of good producers around me, so if I have the chance, if I’m friends with someone, I won’t say that I won’t work with them.

When you work with other producers, what’s the process like? I’m sure it’s different every time.

It is. With Paul it was really like building everything from the beginning. We would start with a kick and build up a beat, and everything was really organic. We even did the mixing together. That’s why I say I learned a lot.

Kiki’s quite different. Sometimes it was like this: I would come and say, ‘I have this beat,’ and he’d say, ‘I don’t like the kick, maybe we change this and this…’ [makes mouse-clicking noises] so it was easier.

So you have basic ideas sketched out in software, and you bring those in, and go from there?

Yes. When I did the album with Paul, we spent one whole week in the studio just listening to tracks that we liked. Not only electronic music. I brought some old records with me - I can say it because it was way before it became a trend [laughs], but my mom had this old collection of an African chorus, so I brought that… I brought really weird stuff. So this was quite interesting, to find ourselves, musically speaking. This was good.

Did you find similarities with Paul’s musical tastes?

Yes, and it was important for Paul to get a feeling for my sound. With Kiki it’s much easier, he’s one of these young producers with Ableton. It’s a different way to produce. It’s easier. There are some people who say they can hear this – it was in Ricardo [Villalobos]’s documentary, he said that he can hear when a track is made only with Ableton. I can’t hear it, actually, but of course he did.

But then, if you look at how long a record lasts these days… With Lee van Dowski, Lee’s working with a lot of samples, and when we did ‘Deseo’ together, I think it was just two weeks later, we heard the vocal sample in three different tracks.

You’re kidding me!

I hear people using the same samples in other tracks, and I can hear when something is a preset. I try to avoid this.

I’m starting to learn Logic, but it’s really complicated for me, and I have to say, I’m not this nerd sitting by myself in the studio for eight hours. To really get into it, you really need time. I’m not this kind of person. I’m interested, but I gave that up a while ago.

With Paul we also worked with Logic, but it makes me better to use it by myself. For me, it’s really complex, and really good – Ableton is easy, but to be honest I’m not so interested in going deeper into it. I really want to learn Logic. Maybe one month, if I go somewhere else, alone, with someone to teach me every day….

I find Ableton very intuitive, but I’m sure it’s not for everyone.

It depends what you’re comfortable with. Every artist is different, and everyone has to find his own way. You can talk with 10 different people and you’ll get 10 different opinions about it.

What did you mean about how long a record lasts these days? Do you think the shelf life of records is shorter than it used to be?

Yes, of course it is, and this is really sad. The feeling I have had in the last months is that a lot of new talents came up, and they just made a record saying, ‘Come on, I want to get into the charts, and I want to get bookings, and I don’t care if the record lasts.’ It’s not… how do you say, when you have respect for something, you say, ‘I want to make something, I want to tell the world something.’

In the beginning I thought, ‘I want to say something, I want to make something that lasts.’ And I have the feeling that these young talents don’t have this so much in mind.

It’s more for their DJ career, and this is sad, in a way. Of course, it also works, but I’m not sure how long it can work. But there are some talents out there that also develop through this process. It’s not bad to start like this, and then develop yourself - this is also possible.

But nowadays, there’s so much music coming out every week. It’s unbelievable: I don’t even have the time to listen to all of the music, every week. And it’s not just me, it’s everyone.

I’m getting two or three full days worth of music every month. It’s absurd!

When I remember the early days, Thursday night was the night when you would always listen to promos, and it was easy, just sitting down with all the vinyl. Now it’s not possible.

What format are you playing?

I play CDs. And of course sometimes I have some ‘alibi’ records with me – I have to bring some records, because I run a record label! [laughs] Sometimes, too, certain records I have only on vinyl.

Sometimes I get home and I’m really frustrated, because I didn’t make my DJ set the way I wanted, because it’s like, ‘Oh this is new, what is this, I can’t remember…’

I burn things to CD, but I always forget to play them. But because I’m only bring vinyl, I don’t play much new material.

Yeah, but this is also really good right now. Sometimes I doubt myself, because I end up playing all these promos, and sometimes it’s the first time that I hear them, when I play them out. Sometimes I get home and I’m really frustrated, because I didn’t make my DJ set the way I wanted, because it’s like, ‘Oh this is new, what is this, I can’t remember…’

It’s not good to be like this. I really have to learn to focus more on the tracks I’m already playing for three months, but this isn’t what I’m doing right now.

It’s a balancing act, really, between new material and the music you know and love. You also don’t want to be one of those DJs who plays the same set every night.

This is true. You have to find a balance. It’s all about time, and really concentrating, really listening to the tracks. Give them a chance, and they’ll last a little bit longer.

Since we’re talking about DJing, where have you been playing lately?

Last weekend I was in Italy, in Napoli and then Bergamo. I did a little break, so I went on a ski holiday with my father. Every January I spend one week with my father. We even went to a discotheque! [Laughs]

I went to Mexico in December to have a little break, a holiday, and I played there too. And now I’m going on tour with And.Id, because he’s doing the Back to Back tour, so I’ll play some gigs with him.

And then I think something with Dan [Curtin]. But I’m trying to focus more on doing Mobilee showcases. It’s more fun for me - I don’t have to travel alone. And I love all the boys and girls here, so it’s fun to go. In the end it’s even better for the label and the artists, especially when they’re new.

We have a big, big project coming up this year, because we’re celebrating our five-year anniversary, which is unbelievable! We want to do a Five Years tour - that means five gigs in Germany, five gigs in Europe, five gigs in Asia, and five gigs in North and Central America. No Africa, so actually it’s only four [continents]. [Or three and a half. –Ed.] But the idea is five/five/five.

And I’m going now with Sebo and Pan-Pot on a little tour, because we’re all going to Miami. We have a little Mobilee party there on the rooftop – I can’t say where right now, because we have to work it out today. And then Sebo plays a gig with Cassy on a boat, I play with Pan-Pot on the terrace, and then we have a gig together in New York, all three.

What else are you planning for the five-year anniversary?

We’re planning a digital compilation, and I have to receive all the tracks by Monday. There are some really cool tracks. For example, Pan-Pot did a track, and I have to say, for me, it’s one of the best that the boys have done. Sebo maybe needs a week more… [Laughs]

Also Exercise One did a really good track, and Rodriguez Jr. is joining us. I also put a track from Vincenzo on there, because he has his studio here, and he made that track with Pan-Pot, ‘Faces’, the piano thing. He had some tracks ready, and I said, ‘If you want to join, come on, because you’re part of the family.’

Let’s talk a little about the whole turn towards deep house. Obviously Mobilee’s sound has shifted over the years, and that’s only natural—you’d hope that it would develop. But do you worry that people will accuse you of following trends?

Ach. No, I’m not worried about this. With Mobilee, there was always something different between our artists – Exercise One you can’t compare with Sebo, and Sebo you can’t compare with Pan-Pot, and And.Id is now going his own way.

With Marcin Czubala, I have to say that he’s one of the artists who changed his sound a bit, he was really minimal and now he’s going really housey. Now he’s also released on 8 Bit, and I’m sure he’ll carry on with this. But with Mobilee, everything is possible.

Sebo always had his love for house, and Pan-Pot never will. I think this is fine. Even I was never afraid of melodies, to have more of a ‘girly’ sound, but still with a heavy kick. Even Pan-Pot played my new record! I was really surprised.

But everything is possible, and I’m not afraid that anyone will say, ‘Oh, they’re not minimal any more.’ I still have a love for minimal, but I never called it minimal, it was always ‘house’ for me. I still like this, and it’s still possible here; we’re still doing it.

Even the first record you and Sebo did was really housey…

‘Rancho Relaxo’ was very housey, with a big love for Detroit.

Where do you see things moving right now, stylistically?

To be honest, I have this feeling that techno tracks are coming back. When you see the charts and the sales, it’s quite housey. But my experience playing is that people sometimes need a little…

Sometimes when I’m playing and I don’t know what to do, I play three pumping tracks, and the party starts rolling. Sometimes I’m really afraid of this, but it’s good! Sometimes you need a kick in the ass. I think both are working. Now, also these housey tracks have this heavy bass, and touch you, and make you dance.

But I think techno is coming back. Pan-Pot’s ‘Confronted’ was the best record of last year for us.

You always have to find a balance. And this was always the idea of Mobilee, that we release tracks you can dance to - it doesn’t matter what time it is. In the morning, in the after party, at peak-time, or at the beginning of the night. It just has to make you dance, and to touch you, and to have a special, individual approach.

Going back to the single, I’m curious where the voices are from.

[Shakes her head, smiling] It’s well known. But you can’t hear it when you listen to the track. I cut it so that it’s completely out of context.

On ‘Amore’ I can’t even discern the words.

It was an old house track, and it’s not actually saying ‘amore,’ but the way we changed it, it sounded like that.

This was always the idea of Mobilee, that we release tracks you can dance to - it doesn’t matter what time it is. In the morning, in the after party, at peak-time, or at the beginning of the night. It just has to make you dance, and to touch you, and to have a special, individual approach.

Have you done any of your own vocals, or would you consider it?

I did this two times, on ‘Addicted’ and on my album with ‘Fish at Night’. But it’s not like, just because you’re a girl you can sing. I can’t sing.

I’m doing something now for the compilation with a singer from L.A. Using samples, I couldn’t find what I wanted for this track, so I have to go to the studio tomorrow with her, and I’ll try to have a real voice.

I tried it first with Mike Shannon, because I love his voice, and he was always a little bit related to Mobilee, so I thought it could be nice. But in the end, I’ll have a girl.

Since you mentioned the fact that not all women can sing - can you tell me about the Next Girl DJ contest, which you’re involved in?

Yes, it’s about why women aren’t as well established in the DJ business. I decided to join this project when I was reading DJ Mag’s Top 100 Poll list, and there was something like just two women on the list. Magda and another I didn’t know. This is so embarrassing, because we have so many good women out there who play really well. So we’re doing this mixing contest, and it’s happening in London, Paris, Berlin and I think Brussels. I’m on the jury, with Noura from Beatport.

I also want to invite the winner to my radio show, and I’ll say something like, ‘Hey girls, go and mix, don’t wait for someone to push you. You can do this by yourself!’ Make them feel more comfortable.

Are things getting better, in terms of women being represented in the DJ scene?

Of course, everyone has better opportunities to be a DJ or a producer now, if you compare it to 10 years ago. I don’t want to say it’s getting better because the technical stuff is now so much easier - that’s the typical girl thing, ‘Now it’s getting easy, now you girls can do it!’ Of course it has nothing to do with this.

Well, in that sense it’s getting easier for everybody.

Yes, but it’s still a very man-dominated thing. If you look at all these girls at the top, there are only three or four that did it by themselves. Sure, in the end, everyone did it by themselves, but the first gig they got was because there was a DJ giving them a leg up. In the end, the work is done by the girls. But the first step was probably a boy, and I think we don’t need this any more.

I think Ellen Allien, for example, was the first one to do it really by herself. Even when she started Bpitch Control, it was quite heavy, because it was more male-dominated, and it was much more difficult for her than it would be nowadays.

When you look at the fees of these big superstars - I’m not sure, but I swear that the women earn less. And this is sad! This Top 100 DJ list, I’m not a fan of these lists anyway. But it was super embarrassing that there were only two girls in it. Out of 100 people, that’s just stupid.

What do you think possible solutions are, besides things like this contest?

The problem with girls, in my opinion, is that we’re very critical of ourselves. We don’t take ourselves so seriously, even though we’re serious about what we’re doing. If our name isn’t the first on a flyer, maybe we don’t care, but a male colleague would be like, ‘Hey!’

Because we are so critical of ourselves, when we go home from a gig we think about, ‘Well, this was good, that was maybe not so good…’ We are really going over everything, and I think boys are not like this. They come home and say, ‘That was great, I was fantastic.’

We girls think more, and we want to be perfect, and maybe we’re not sure of ourselves. This is maybe also the problem, that boys are more confident.

How are you feeling about Berlin these days?

I’m still quite excited about Berlin and happy to be here. I mean, Berlin was always interesting, music-wise, and not just since electronic music started. It was years ago with Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, who all recorded albums in Berlin and even made tributes to Berlin. I think it’s always a good place to work as an artist and be creative, because you don’t have to work three other jobs to run your life. It’s quite easy.

The clubs are a gift, and it’s wonderful that every weekend all these tourists are coming to listen to the music. Berlin is like a Mecca for them. And it’s not stopping! I like it.

I mean, the Berlin people will always look for their own niches. Then they go only Sundays to Panorama Bar, not on Saturday night, maybe. So that after 5 o’clock in the afternoon, they feel, ‘It’s for us.’

What is happening right now that I find very interesting is this big underground scene. It’s unbelievable what kind of parties are going on every weekend in the Ritter Butzke, or the Salon der Wilde Renate, or in the park in the summer, and they’re always attracting 1000 or 2000 people.

These are young people, and they’re still looking for their own way of making parties. They may not have the money to buy drinks and a ticket for 12 euros, and they don’t want to wait in the queue; they’ve built their own scene. Even with their own music!

When you go to Wilde Renate it’s kind of trancey, rocky, and it’s completely different. It’s super interesting that this is still happening, and there are still young people around saying, ‘I’m not just a consumer, I will do this by myself, and I have another view of how to make a party.’

They talk about this in the video documentary that’s linked from the Mobilee site right now.

Yeah, it’s about this, and Bar25, and young people, and how is it to be in Berlin and to go out. But these parties are amazing. I’ve been only one time to Wilde Renate, because our Andreas is going there and is a resident DJ, and every Monday he tells me what’s going on there and at these other underground parties.

He’s not even from Berlin, he’s from Sweden, but he knows exactly what’s going on. I don’t know this! But it’s very interesting that this is still happening, that Berlin is still burning on the underground.

You were doing things at Rechenzentrum, but that’s gone now, right?

That’s definitely gone. I received the press release from them, and they really have to close it down, because of the Reederei Riedel [the tourist-boat agency that has taken over the riverside site’s lease]. It’s sad. Of course, it wasn’t the same kind of party I’ve been talking about; it was still something different, but it’s not this young, underground crowd.

But it was special too; you got to see a different part of Berlin than you’re used to.

It was not so far away, but for me it always felt like I was going outside Berlin.

Are you looking for something to take the place of Rechenzentrum?

Well, we have our first night in Panorama. They gave us the red carpet treatment: it’s the night before May 1! I was really happy that they gave us a Friday, and then they gave us that Friday. It’s going to be crazy.

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