Malente interview

Malente interview

16 July, 2007 | 6.15AM

• Section: Music News
• Written by: Terry Church

If you like phat electro house, Germany’s Malente is a good producer to check out. His recent ‘This Manrox’ release was in the top 10 of Germany’s Club Chart and brings a raw breakbeat approach to electro house. 

Beatport has exclusive remixes of ‘This Manrox’ (check it out in the player below) so Beatportal caught up with Malente to find out more about his quirky music.

How did you first get into electronic music?

“After listening to hip hop and funk of the mid to late 1980s I fell in love with Bomb The Bass, S’Express and stuff like Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley’s ‘Jack Your Body’.

“Of course I had heard Kraftwerk before and also Italo disco in the charts, but my first real discovery of electronic dance music was that stuff and the house sound of Chicago as well as all the UK acid house.”

So the music inspired you to make your own?

“It was just the best thing for me to do.

“It was so much fun to do DJ mixes and make tunes from samples by tape deck in my spare time. 

“I just tried to do what Bomb The Bass and also what Westbam were doing.

“Sometimes I sang over it, so it was not done for the dancefloor so much.

“I did this for me and some friends. Electronic music? Nobody used that term. I made music, didn’t matter if I laid metal guitars over hip hop beats or mixed German schlager with new beat.”

What was your plan behind ‘This Manrox’?

“With Manrox I wanted to create another alias for more glitchy, bit-chrushed and Atari-influenced music.

“When the first EP ‘Theme From Manrox’ came out I wanted to let the people know that this is not a record on Moonbootique, where I do more straight electro and also not a record on Unique.

“I wanted to do something that fits with Luscious Sounds.

“In the end though it’s just another side of Malente. Stupid music for intelligent people.”

What do you mean by ‘stupid music for intelligent people’?

“I love songs. I love good indie rock songs, so I need that hook. I’d say I’m more in love with melodies though. I did some instrumental tunes like ‘Killer Applikation’.

“When you listen to the Malente stuff you’ll recognise that it is very different from all the other music out there.

“It is very positive for club music, very energetic and yes it’s fun.

“I mean people go out to have fun, so why play boring music?

“And Malente is not deep.

“When I try to do deep tracks or more reduced stuff I fall asleep in front of the computer, so that Malente record will never be released, sorry.

“But there’s more than enough deep and minimal music out there I think.”

What’s your take on the electro house scene currently?

“Well, I’ll be honest with you - electro house can go to hell and party there with big beat or 2step. It doesn’t interest me.

“I get a feeling about what’s right for me to play and that’s fine.

“And production wise I always try to come up with something different anyway otherwise it would get boring.

“I try to have fun and provide new ideas at the same time. Naming trends dosn’t help. Never did.

“There’s always something interesting happening in music, just listen.”

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