Oliver Huntemann on his Dubfire collaboration ‘Dios’

Oliver Huntemann on his Dubfire collaboration ‘Dios’

11 November, 2008 | 2.47PM

• Written by: Ryan Keeling
• Filed under: Music News: ideal records, oliver huntemann

After grilling Dubfire last week about his new collaborative track ‘Dios’, we now turn our attentions to Oliver Huntemann whose brand new label Ideal is housing this meeting of musical minds.

‘Dios’ is the first track to be released through the label, which gave us a good starting point for our chat with 15-year veteran Huntemann; a producer who has remixed Depeche Mode, Underworld and The Chemical Brothers as well as released genuinely unique productions.

We asked Oliver for his take on the scene at the close of ‘08, his working relationship with Dubfire and the fears behind starting a label during a recession. 

What’s the ethos behind your new label Ideal?

The idea is to make something new. My former label Confused Recordings has existed since 1995 and my partner Jan Langer and I were a bit bored with it. We wanted to lose the old things and find new ways. The plan is to be much straighter and fresher, and not as ‘confused’ as before.

For the first release you hooked up with your sometime collaborator Dubfire; do you feel your differing musical styles complement each other?

My work with Dubfire is really a musical enrichment for me. Our styles together seem to work. It was a very easy and fast working relationship when we produced ‘Diablo’ and ‘Dios’. I think we are tuned to the same wavelength.

Do you each have a specific role within the project, or is it just a case of going with the flow?

It is absolutely just a case of going with the flow. One of us starts with a few patterns and sends the Logic files to the other, who works on it further. That process happens four to six times, back and forth until we finish. It’s very comfortable and also very unspectacular.

Gaiser has been drafted in for remix duties on the first release. Are you guys big fans of his?

Of course! Dubfire and I are huge fans of Jon’s stuff. We couldn’t be happier to have a remix from Gaiser. He is one of best producers at the moment and he inspires me a lot.

Are you aiming for a particular angle or niche in the market with the label?

Hmm, not easy to answer. I think I work in some kind of niche in electronic music but I don’t know how to describe it. It’s groovy but it’s not house; it’s reduced but not minimal; it’s dark but it’s not… maybe it’s a kind of new techno. It seems to me that describes the style best.

Although it has been suggested that spending on entertainment and culture actually increases during a recession, was it a difficult decision to start a new label in the wake of a worldwide economic downturn?

You have to think twice whether or not the release or releases you have are that special and worth pressing on vinyl and offering them on Beatport. The tracks have to be stronger than ever because a flop can kill your label these days.

You’ve been on the scene for a decent number of years now so how would you assess the current state of affairs? Is it as exciting and creative as it was, say, 10 years ago?

For me I’m having the time of my life at the moment and I feel full of energy to make new things like the Ideal label or producing fresh music. Maybe I feel like I’m coming home and that makes me feel safe. That´s why I’ve worked for all these years and I’m very happy and proud about it.

So what can we expect from the label in the coming months?

We have a couple of fantastic releases coming soon. Ideal 02 will be from my studio partner and co-producer André Winter. His tracks ‘Karma’ and ‘Trauma’ are killer on the dance floor.

The third release is by Andreas Henneberg, who is part of the successful project The Glitz.

They are very strong modern techno tracks. After that I will present my new album ‘H-3’ in March 2009. The production of the 10 tracks is already finished and we are now preparing for the release on Ideal.

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