A*S*Y*S: Back in Australia to save your soul

I understand that you discovered electronic music when you moved to Frankfurt around 1990. What do you remember about that time?

First I was just a raver, haha. The legendary clubs of the time, The Omen and Dorian Grey in Frankfurt, they were my homebase for a long, long time! It was the time when techno, as a new sound of music, captured first Frankfurt and also Berlin.

What inspired you to start making your own music?

After years of being just a supporter of the techno scene my wish to become a creative got stronger and stronger. So I bought my first pieces of equipment, an Atari computer and a D10 Yamaha keyboard. After the successes from my first releases as A*S*Y*S, ‘Acid Save Your Soul’ and ‘Acid Headcracker’, both on Tracid Traxxx, the step to become a DJ was logical for me. I love to be close to the crowd, and DJing also gives inspiration for my own productions.

Your biography talks about the techno clubs you went to back then. Did techno influence your early sounds and do you still have a sense of connection with it?

Yes of course. While trance has its uplifting melodies, the techno sounds is perhaps more dominated by a sense of darkness. It is also the sounds of minimal, tight loops that build and work together in an almost mathematical sense. My goal for future productions is to bring some of the feeling and rush of techno with the existing menace of the A*S*Y*S sound.

Tell me about how you started working with Kai, was it an exciting time for you?

When I first met Kai in 1995 we were both addicted to the TB303 acid machine, an addiction that of course still exists today! We worked together for the Acid Test label with our studios next to each other, so it was only a matter of time before we finally worked together on our own project, which became the A*S*Y*S project!

You love the acid sounds of the 303, is this something you continue to use? What other equipment do you like to work with now in your studio?

What I like most is the dark and mystic feeling that acid and also progressive trance is able to transfer! I never was much impressed by ‘happy-happy, la-la’ trance or house music. At the end of the 80s the first acid wave from the US and England hits me hard! Later some artists like Emmanuel Top and Hardfloor made a kind of music that I really loved. I still use the original TB303 as it is unbeatable. Not one of the 303 emulators comes close to mimicking the original beast!

Do you see yourself mainly as a producer of music? And do you enjoy playing out in clubs?

Although I started out as a producer, after the success of ‘Acid Headcracker’ and ‘Acid Nightmare’ it was important to take my music to the people so that I could be closer to my crowd and understand better how people respond to my music. Now I am too addicted, I love the feeling of rocking with a crowd – it really is like a wonderful rush!

You have played some of the huge European music festivals, what are some of the best things about playing to such a big crowd?

There is never an empty dancefloor! Sometimes playing the massive raves are just as good as playing to a small intimate club where I can really feel the people. Of course feeling a crowd of many thousands is truly an amazing feeling that cannot be beaten. Both are special in their own way!

I remember that you were out here about 2 years ago – did you enjoy playing in Australia and how do you feel about coming back out here?

I like that Australian people seem to be very educated musically, they know and love their music so much! It is great that you are much more open minded than some other places that I play. Here I can play some techno, some hard trance, some acid and maybe some hardstyle, but you cannot do this in many other countries. Never lose this!

What can we expect from you this time?

The only track I know that I will definitely play is of course the new A*S*Y*S, ‘No More Fuckin RocknRoll’, and one or two of my classics like ‘Acid Nightmare’. Also I recently finished a track with Kan Cold (of Hennes & Cold and Derb) called ‘Theme of Pharmacy/Transmission’. This is our thank you to the Australian crowds! My whole set will be dark, hard and creepy…

You are touring as part of the Tracid Traxxx world tour, do you enjoy touring with the rest of the Tracid Traxxx team?

The confirmed dates will take us to Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. The Tracid Traxxx tour has been well established in Germany for four years now. After the big success of the label world wide it was obvious to take the tour international. How do I find travel with the other guys…? You should better ask me that after the tour, haha! I think it will be fun, the only thing I don’t like is that I can speak a lot of German during the tour with the other guys, so I can’t improve my English the same way like in the past.

You can see A*S*Y*S, alongside his Tracid Traxx labelmates Kai Tracid, Hennes & Cold, and Derb, on the remaining dates of the Tracid Traxxx Global Tour: