As a native of a small fishing port in Northern Germany, DJ Ulrich Schnauss made the life-changing decision to relocate to Berlin in the mid-1990s in the hopes of pursuing a career in music.
Schnauss, who was born in Kiel in 1977, moved to Berlin in 1996 with an impressive repertoire of work under his belt. He came to the realization that the big city would offer him much more opportunity in the music industry than his small hometown.
By the time he arrived on the scene, Schnauss had already caught the attention of the Berlin-based electronica label CCO, and recorded the album "Far Away Trains Passing By."
In 2001, he recorded the popular "A Strangely Isolated Place" on the independent label Domino Records, which has also brought listeners works from bands like Clinic, Four Tet and Franz Ferdinand.
Schnauss, who will perform at the Knitting Factory April 29, spoke to The Beach Reporter about this new album and his perspectives on the world of electronica.
The Beach Reporter: At what point in your life did you realize that you could be a composer/ DJ and actually make a living at it?
Ulrich Schnauss: I was never too much into the DJ thing, but I always wanted to make music. To try making a living out of it wasn't that much a question of choice - I quickly realized that I simply wouldn't be able to do anything else anyway.
What are your top-five all-time favorite albums?
Tangerine Dream, "Force Majeur"
Chapterhouse, "Blood Music"
My Bloody Valentine, "Loveless"
Pink Floyd, "Wish You Were Here"
Cocteau Twins, "Heaven or Las Vegas"
What is the biggest lesson music has taught you over the years?
I don't think music itself has taught me anything specific, but trying to work in this industry has definitely brought up a couple of unpleasant issues. The biggest disappointment for me was to find out that some of the indie labels that are usually considered to be of great integrity and credibility can behave as bad or even worse (restrictive, oppressive) toward an artist than most major labels would. To say it in a more general way: I was probably quite naive until I found out how many people really are just in it for money and to celebrate their egos.
How would you characterize the difference between remixing and writing original pieces? Which is easier in both a technical and emotional sense?
I don't think one thing has got to do that much with the other. Of course it's "easier" to remix an already existing song rather than composing and arranging an entirely new one, but emotionally it certainly is much more satisfying to produce an original piece of music.
How would you describe the contrast between the American and the European electronica music scene?
Especially the German electronica scene has a tendency to be quite narrow-minded or even arrogant toward other music styles. My impression is that the American underground scenes generally seem to be a lot more open-minded and flexible. There's a huge amount of American/ Canadian music I really like at the moment. In my opinion, one of its greatest advantages is that a lot of these projects and bands already have a wide range of influences in their music. Maybe that's what automatically prevents a scene from getting too purist or elitist.
On your most recent album, what did you find was the hardest song to create and why?
"On My Own" took me ages to mix because it had the highest amount of tracks I'd worked with up to that point.
How do you respond to the notion that many people have about electronic music being cold and unemotional?
There's good and bad stuff within every genre, but if you wanted to come up with a generalization on the state of electronic music I think it's a fair comment to describe it as "cold and unemotional" because a lot of it simply is.
When was the first time you remember music deeply affecting you? What are the circumstances surrounding that memory?
There was a woman working at one of the kindergarten places I went to as a child who would occasionally invite kids to her home. She played me Vollenweider's "Behind the Gardens." I listened to that on headphones and it completely blew me away. It was the most beautiful and inspiring thing I had ever heard, and afterward I suddenly started to come up with my own ideas and melodies that I sang to myself and later tried to play on the piano.
You spent your earlier years in a small town and eventually moved to Berlin. In retrospect, how do you think the time there influenced your perspective on music and perhaps your style, if at all?
I don't think Berlin had any influence on my music. I certainly would have tried to avoid that. Kiel as a specific town probably didn't have a real influence either, but I spent the biggest part of my childhood there. If you've got the "wrong" music taste, "wrong" opinions, etc., growing up in a small town isn't necessarily a positive experience.
What do you feel is your biggest ambition as a musician?
Putting as much emotion into every song as possible.
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