WORLD´s ELECTRONIC MUSIC LEAGUE IN INTERVIEW:

Iman Gerowgan: Hey Alex, very glad to have you in interview! How are you?

Alex Bau: I am fine, thx.

Iman Gerowgan: Tell me, what's new in the world of Alex Bau ?

Alex Bau: Well, after being “locked in” at the studio over the last months there are a lot of new prouductions coming out these days like remixes for sasha carassi, brian sanhaji, punch music, Elektrax but also some new fresh stuff like my release for the label Spielstaub or UK based Sleaze Records and for DMOM on which I usually release some more banging stuff of mine. Beside this I discovered tennis again for me, still love it even that I really had a ling break on playing, but the feeling is still great… And I am the proud owner of the complete Miami Vice DVD box now, so no more boring TV in hotel rooms, at least for the rest of the year!

Iman Gerowgan: To those unaware of your work, how would you describe your sound?

Alex Bau: Not very difficult: Techno :-) simply, pure, bassheavy, energetic and partly hypnotic techno.

Iman Gerowgan: Which producers are currently inspiring you the most?

Alex Bau: In the studio I actually try to do my own thing of course, but when it comes to performing on the stage of course music from other fellows is very important for me. These days I could name people like Audio Injection, Gary Beck but also “older” mates like Mark Broom or young upcoming guys like Ralph Mirto from Italy.

Iman Gerowgan: Wayne Sidorsky, how is he doing?^^ Are there any plans for an another album in 2011?

Alex Bau: Ha ha, no, there will not be another album so fast… As you might know, Wayne is very slow and lazy, but he sent over some demo, a very funny song and he asked me to do the final production on his basic idea, so let´s see. Be sure, there will be another release from Wayne, just hard to say when exactly with someone who sleeps 22h 43 mins every day and who spends the rest on listening to the album dedicated to him :-)

Iman Gerowgan: What productions can we expect from you in the near future? ..and whats going on, on your own label CREDO?

Alex Bau: After the album I took it quite slow, also because of the heavy touring last year, so I just did one release “Hey Bronco” after the album so far. But I am almost done with the new 12” on Credo, should be out very very soon, and there will also be a follow up on the Credo Black Series, on which my first one (Dark Summer Nights) was very successful.

Iman Gerowgan: What do you enjoy the most, djing or producing?

Alex Bau: Puh, a really fierce question :-) Let me say it like this, I love the moment when a new production is kind of finished, you do a last rehearsal and then couple of hours later you can test it for the first time on a big soundsystem and people go crazy. I love both, performing for people and playing tracks from other people as well, but sometimes sitting down in the studio and developing ideas is great too…

Iman Gerowgan: A guy, lets call him...Alex Bau, said „What is worst then a day in the studio with a bad output? A day in the studio without any output.“ What are you doing in such moments?

Alex Bau: Ha ha, seems like you follow me very closely on Twitter, right? Actually, there is nothing to do about it. It happens sometimes that you spend hours and hours from the morning to the evening and beyond, but absolutely no result being worth to be saved or recorded. That`s all about creativity, it`s nothing you can count on. It has to happen, but the nice thing is: this is the best proof that I am still an artist and not a simple production tool.

Iman Gerowgan: We know beeing a proffesional DJ & Producer is much more then just party and fun, but also hard work! What is your motivation?

Alex bau: It`s very simple, all the things I do and which are related to music directly are not a job for me, they are my passion, and normally for your passion you don`t need any motivation. I love what I do, I am very grateful for being able to live my passion, so I always try to give the best I can and I try to improve all the time. And last but not least: The search for the holy bassdrum drives me all the time, so be sure, it`s not over until I found it :-)

Iman Gerowgan: If I´m right, you started as Dj in the early 90th.. are you still enjoying the business? If you compare then and now, are there any changes you worry about?

Alex bau: Even that I am still enjoying the whole crazy circus, more and more I have the feeling that people changed their approach to arts in general a lot. With the new media you can everything anytime you like, with almost no limitation, and I expect this not to be a real improvement. I remember times when you have been the last lucky guy to grab the last available whitelabel or record and sometimes I really miss these times when everything was a bit more exclusive and unique. It`s sad that people loose interest very fast on things like music. It`s not about participating, it`s more about having everything available. But to be honest: Who listenes to a 500 gb harddrive with thousands of illegally downloaded songs? This feels like some people spit in the face of the artists, and it`s very sad that there is not even a little respect for all the passion, energy and dedication the artist spends on his work, just so save 1,50 euros for buying it legally? Sorry, I don`t get this…

Iman Gerowgan: Beatport! Nowadays many artists think, successful is, who´s in the top charts or featured in the spotlight of beatport. What do you think about that? ..which role plays beatport for you?

Alex bau: Ha, this is a really stupid thinking in my eyes, but it fits to what I said before. People loose the interest in developing their own style, checking out their very own preferences. Of course it`s easier to download the top ten on beatport instead of checking out more than just the surface, on the other hand it makes it easier for us pro`s to differ from this because even the normal partyvisitor can hear the difference between somebody who is doing the job professionally and with passion and dedication and knowledge compared to the “Wannabees”, who think they are Dj`s after downloading three compilations and learning how to press a sync button. But anyway, Beatport is the market leader, and on the other hand they make all the music accessible to people everywhere, even people who never had the possibility to hold a vinyl record in their own hands, even if they wanted to…

Iman Gerowgan: We see your busy touring shedult with dates round the globe. Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Mexio, Argentina, Usa, Uk.. Where in the world is your most favourite place to play? ..and why?

Alex Bau: It changes every weekend, really! I made the experience that the next “best party” is always ahead, and at the same time I have nice memories to countless gigs I played in the passed years, no matter if it was Berghain or a small club in the “Outback”… So it would not be fair to pick some single gig. I expect myself not to be the center of this thing, every party is like a movie, and while the partypeople are the main actors, I am just the guy who is delivering the soundtrack.

Iman Gerowgan: Which party are you really looking forward to?

Alex bau: As I said, I look forward to every single gig, but most likely in the near future Cocoliche in Buenos Aires will be a huge show again…

Iman Gerowgan: Thank you for your time and the interview Alex. Very glad to have you in our upcoming radio night in May 21st with Speedy J.  and Gemma Furbak. We wish you all the best :)

Interview by Iman Gerowgan/Stercatchers Germany (April 14th 2011)