Interview with Stefan Goldmann

Interview with Stefan Goldmann

21 August, 2008 | 3.33AM

• Written by: svnvt
• Filed under: Music News: stefan goldmann

The Berlin-based producer Stefan Goldmann has always had a thing for eerie soundscapes and textures.

For his debut album which is coming out in September, he explored this love for dark ambient and multi-layered soundscapes even further, taking it beyond the dancefloor.

‘Voices Of The Dead’ as the album is aptly called, dives deep into the realm of multi-layered sound experimentation and electro-acoustic composition. Showing the producer’s experimental side on a full-length album.

But of course there is also the dance music producer Stefan Goldmann, who produced hits like ’Sleepy Hollow’ or ’Lunatic Finge’, which moved dancefloors worldwide.

After giving it a little thought, the Macro label boss combined both aspects of his productions on two CDs.

So we have the compilation of his dance tracks, previously only available on vinyl on one CD – which is called ‘The Transitory State’, and the second CD (‘Voices Of The Dead’), which features his take on electro-acoustic composition.

Reasons enough to ask him a few questions.

Your debut album ‘The Transitory State’ is coming out in September. Is the title of the album referring to your own ever-changing sound?

It refers to the period it represents, i.e. the last two years, as well as to the transitory state music and its industry are in at the moment. Everybody feels there’s a lot of change happening and I wanted to name it.

Is releasing the second CD as a five piece 7” box a reaction to these changes - releasing not just a product but an artifact? Was it hard to get an odd format like this done?

I am not sure …

The first of the two CDs is a compilation of the tracks you released on your own label Macro (mostly), the second one is fresh material but more on an ambient tip. When did you have the idea to combine both things to form an album?

The second one is an album in its own right, ’Voices Of The Dead’. Also I wouldn’t call it “ambient”, a word mostly associated with harmonic pads – ’VOTD’ isn’t much about pads or harmonies at all. It’s more about electro-acoustic composition techniques.

Since it was produced for the odd format of a five piece 7” box set, I tried to give the CD version a life of its own and came up with a second album of material that was available as singles only.

I edited the tracks and added new ones in a way, they sound as an album you can listen to from start to end. So it doesn’t sound much like a compilation, I believe.

Could you elaborate a little bit on the electro-acoustic composition techniques you used for ’Voices Of The Dead’? When did you start to get interested in electroacoustic music, what were the challenges and things you have learned in the process?

Usually, in terms of techno, you have a grid and bpm rate and some general concept of arrangement.

When these elements are missing, you have to come up with something else to make it still interesting.

You work with much wider time spans to structure elements, than in dance music and it takes a lot of time to learn to work without a beat.

That’s why so much ambient, drone music etc. sounds so lame: There is no composition at all, just a sound.

It’s hard to name the point where it started to be of interest to me, but it was a long process for sure. The rest is engineering, but that’s a different issue.

What intrigues you more right now, making music that is suited for the dancefloor or more sound experimentation?

Are these really two different things? I think the main task is to stand out.

I certainly didn’t lose my love for the dancefloor, so my focus is on bringing new aspects to it.

Music needs a social place, and the club certainly is the most relevant one today. There is so much that can be done and I hope I can contribute a bit to keep clubbing interesting.

For sure they don’t need to be different things. What I meant is that dance music has definitely a different purpose than electro-acoustic compositions. What I wanted to know is if the latter is the main force where you draw your inspiration from these days?

I don’t like the idea of purpose in music. Music has no purpose.

We’re not talking about a screwdriver or a washing machine. Functional music is dead.

Regarding the issue: beat or no beat - if you develop a piece and at a certain moment you realise it is better without a beat, well, then have it without a beat! 

I can’t really tell what inspires me more. Everything I like inspires me.

You will present the second CD live at Berlin’s techno cathedral Berghain. Do you think clubs should be more open for events like this (again)? And how are you going to perform your album live?

I’m happy Berghain is open to this.

It’s one of the best clubs in the world and if the others see this is happening there and see the artists involved, it will be considered sort of a signal.

We have all been to too many boring club nights with the same loop all night long, so I believe there are enough people who are ready to get surprised again.

It’s great to have Villalobos and Mika Vainio playing experimental sets that night.

My performance will be something between a DJ set and a live set. I will have a bit of the gear ‘VOTD’ was made with on stage and blend it with the records I play.

What are your future plans?

Loads. But the future is the future.

Well, maybe I can tell you now that we will continue the “Prototypes"-series, which we started with Namlook and Pepe Bradock.

The concept is to re-release outstanding works of electronic music’s past decades, that stand out in their individuality and don’t match with the retro trends of the day.

Plus getting them remixed by today’s cutting edge producers.

The next one will be by the man I call the “Pynchon of electronic music” and the remix is by Ricardo Villalobos.

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