It’s a frosty night in downtown Moscow, as Ali and Basti Schwarz unload their gear for the night’s show. Brushing off the frost that’s set down upon their lapels, they retire indoors in an attempt to escape the weather and warm up before the show. The last few months have seen them globe-trotting through warmer climates, on the shores of South America, Ibiza, Tokyo and Australia, and if there’s one thing the siblings have learnt, it’s that you can’t always bank on the clubbing faithful to brave the cold for another blistering night on the dance floor. So, as they sit back, enjoying some body warming shots backstage, they can’t help but feel a little nervous about the possibility of playing a scarcely attended room.
Finally it’s stage time and, although many shots have been consumed, they’re still unable to shake the nerves completely. They close their eyes and walk out, concentrating only on getting to the decks, still unable to look out into the room. Their thoughts and concentration is instantly interrupted by an almost unbearable pitch, as the first sight of the duo’s familiar form sends the crowd into a state of fanatical mayhem. A state that, until now, has mainly been reserved for rock and pop stars (unless we’re talking about Japan, where they bestow almost any artist with the same welcome). “It was an amazing feeling, we felt like popstars, everybody just came together and turned into one big ball of energy through the set!” This is a perfect example of how times are indeed changing, as DJs and producers are springing up from the ‘underground’ and onto the forefront of the international scene. It’s something that Tiefschwarz have experienced in the wake of their superb sophomore album ‘Eat Books’. Since then, the boys have been taking over the world with their breath-taking DJ sets, which have already seen them on Australian shores once this year. They are now preparing to return to their devoted sun-kissed followers this month. “We love it there, the crowds are great and we’ve made a lot of friends on our trips. Plus it’s a beautiful country to travel,” gushes Ali, down the line from his mother’s house in the South of Germany, “So we can’t wait to come back so fast!”
The last few months have been a blur of bright lights, red-eye check-ins and unfamiliar hotel rooms for the boys, who are happily reveling in their first real break at home. The short, but much-needed, break has had the boys holed up in the studio most of the time, where they’ve been hard at work remixing the likes of Depeche Mode, Roxy Music and Madonna’s new single, which even scored Mad’s seal of approval (the boys were informed by Stuart Price, aka Jacques Lu Cont). They’ve also started writing for the first time since Eat Books’ completion. “After a year, we’ve just dropped the last single from that album, with ‘Damage’, it includes a great remix package with remixes from M.A.N.D.Y., Buick Project etc. It’s good to finally be able to close that chapter” he admits, “It’s finally time to look to the future and move on.” It’s a step the boys have been yearning to take almost since the album’s release last year. “Since we’d been touring and playing DJ sets before the album came out, we were almost over that material as soon as it came out. Cause we’d already played those tracks for so long and had moved on to playing our new material and progressing as artists.”
They’ve also found the time to start a new project ‘Ich Und Du’ (translated as ‘me and you’), which will see them venturing into new territory. “This project will be more club-orientated and less song-based, it’ll be more minimal.” Explains Schwarz of their new venture. Another exciting development for the duo is their new label, which they’re looking forward to launching by the end of the year. “After many years of releasing, remixing and touring, it’s the perfect platform to help expose the talented artists we’ve met along the way, friends that aren’t so well-connected. We’ve got a lot of friends who have already taken this path, like DJ Hell, Tiga and the Get Physical guys, so it just feels like the right time to take that step ourselves.” With the first releases already finished and ready to go, including Phonique and the debut Ich Und Du single ‘Hey’, 2006 is set to be another jam-packed year for the brothers Schwarz, who have also been confirmed for a Summer-long Sunday residency at Ibiza’s We Love Space. Make sure you catch them this time round, their next trip Down Under might be for quite some time!
Tiefschwarz tour Australia this month:
Fri Jun 9th – We Love Sounds, Melbourne
Sat Jun 10th – Surprise Show, Details TBA!
Sun Jun 11th – We Love Sounds, Sydney
