Exclusive Interview with Alle Farben

Siam2nite had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Alle Farben, shortly before his performance at Ocean Bangkok on 9th January.

How did you get in touch with electronic dance music in the first place and how did you get into DJing and music production?

I started late in music, especially when it comes to electronic music. My parents were old 68-hippies and I grew up with rock music from that era. One day I found two old vinyls in the hallway. My neighbour was a DJ for electronic music, mostly Trance and House, and so I got in touch with electronic music for the first time. Today I think those records are horrible - especially the trance record. Nevertheless started my love with house and it was just the beginning of a long journey that I am still on.

My producer story began in 2009, when I met a producer for movie scores at the bar in a club, where I was a resident DJ at that time. We decided to work together on my first releases and so “DANSE”, a Tchaikovski inspired track, got born. Over the years I released some EPs, like “Sailorman EP”, as I am connected to the North.

You play and produce a mix of House, Deep- and Tech-House. How would you describe your own music in just a few words?

First of all I understand my work in two completely different ways - on the one hand I am a DJ, playing, mixing, choosing and combining music of various artists to sets and live experiences. On the other hand I am a record artists producing my own music. I would clearly describe the music that I play as Tech House. Speaking of my productions, it varies.

In May 2014 you release your Debut album “Synethesia”. What can you tell us about the album and its creation process?

It took me almost 8 years of DJing before I started even thinking of doing an album as a record producer. For a long time I sinced that my productions probably would not be good enough and that it needed more time for me to get into the album production.

Then in 2012 I had the first ideas for the album. I started doing drafts and I had a lot of input at that time. With the pre-produced songs I started the studio time in December 2013, inviting different musicians to perform for the record. Tilly, my guitar player, also member of a band called ABBY suggested inviting Graham Candy, as they have been on tour together. And so did “She Moves” born, with the astonishing voice of Graham and the laid back guitar of Tilly.

Your track “She Moves (Far Away)” was ranked on #9 in the German charts and entered the Top 50 of 4 other European countries. What other tracks would you recommend to someone that is not yet familiar with your music?

„Synesthesia“ has, like probably every album, ups and downs. On first sight it is a mostly melancholic album. „She Moves“ is kind of a different song, though. So Synesthesia is a kind of a journey with many different endings. One shall explore the album on his own. Nevertheless I think it won’t be enough to just listen to it one time. To understand the album the way I do it, I think one needs to listen to it some more times.

I also did a lot of remix work in the past years, for example for Lana Del Rey, MØ, Parov Stelar, Elvis Presley and many more. That is a good way to get to know me as well.

You have played at the prestigious Tomorrowland Festival 2014 in Belgium. How was it to play at such a huge festival, what was the best and the worst gig you ever played and what was the funniest thing ever occurred during any of your performances?

The Festival really was an exciting experience for me, and I am happy that my friend Bakermat invited me to play at his stage. Hopefully I’ll play there again next year. I can’t tell if it was the best gig of my career, because every gig has its own highlights, but it for sure was not the worst one.

You were born and live in Kreuzberg, one of best-known areas of Germany’s capital city Berlin. What can you tell us about clubbing and nightlife there? Do you have any nightlife related suggestions for first-time visitors?

As you say, I was born and raised in Kreuzberg and I still live here. Berlin really changes a lot. A club that is the hottest shit this season, may close the next one. It really is exciting to see all of this new clubs and bars opening and closing again. As a first time visitor you should definitely explore the Neukölln area with its bars and small clubs as well as good restaurants. You can’t do anything wrong if you come to Berlin, as it really has a lot to offer.

On 9th January you will perform live in Bangkok at the Ocean Basement (Sukhumvit Soi 33). Have you visited Thailand before? Will your performance be your Bangkok debut? What can Bangkok expect of your upcoming performance?

I usually visit Thailand every year in January for my annual vacation. As a DJ I am always on the road, and Thailand is my little hideaway. I have played in Bangkok already in early 2014 and it really is an amazingly big city. You can definitely expect to have a great night with me!