So you think all of the club music coming out of Germany is of the deep and dark minimal variety? Well you’d be dead wrong because along with the acclaimed Boys Noize, Cologne-based DJ/producer Klaas has his sights fixed squarely on rocking the dancefloor with his bangin’ and extremely upfront brand of electro house.
But whether the music is deep, or instead verging on rock n’ roll, the talent coming out of Germany seems to be never ending and Klaas is no exception. He’s in the country now for his first ever tour and due for a performance at the Stereosonic festival in Melbourne this weekend, to be followed by club dates right across the country. And if reports from his first gig in Canberra are anything to go by, you’d all better brace yourselves… ITM catches up with the electro house meister.
What first inspired your love of dance music?
I got into music by playing drums at the age of seven and was listening to pop-rock music and became a big fan of Bon Jovi and Guns & Roses. When I was 16 I switched and started listening to electronic sounds. This is already 10 years ago, so in those days I was more into the trancey sounds.
At an age of 18 I got into producing and I loved the work of producers like Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten and Tiesto. Nowadays I still love the melancholic Armin van Buuren sound, even if it’s not the right sound for my sets in clubs. In the clubs in the 90´s I preferred house and trance tunes. I think I had and still have many sides to my musical tastes.
Tell us about some of your favourite places to DJ.
When you ask me now, I tell you Australia because I’m very curious about it and already heard a lot of positive things about the clubs. But to answer considering my past gigs, I’ve had the best experiences at gigs in Paris at ‘Redlight, Moscow at ‘Fabrique’ and Kiev ‘Patipa’. Also a real highlight was yesterday in Gozo ‘Ku-Club’. It’s a very small island next to Malta and in winter there is only one club open. But that didn’t seem to affect the spirit on the island. The enthusiasm on the dancefloor was really amazing.
You’ve achieved so much already. What would you rate as a career highlight?
I hope I will never reach any career highlight. My way to live is to always have goals to achieve. When I achieve something it cheers me up for about 24 hours, then I have to start to try and find something new or better. A great achievement for me is to be always excited by producing and always being able to live from my music.
Tell us about remixing No Angels’ Goodbye to Yesterday – how did that come about? Were you a fan of the original?
Yeah, this remix request was a big surprise! I had only a few days time to complete this remix and it was not an easy task to combine these two different styles, not to mention the different tempo. No, I was not really a fan of the original but I checked the acapella vocals I got from the label to test if I could arrange something new that fits in with my style, because that is the all-important thing that will determine whether I decide to make a remake or not. Luckily I felt confident that I could activate my ‘rackety saw’ for No Angels.
What’s Micha Moor like to work with?
I met Micha Moor during the production of our first Scream & Shout release Slip & Slide. He is an arrangement professional, so he provided the sounds, the hookline and drums for what I was creating, and he’s a king of system and order as far as the temporal development of the arrangement is concerned. This work is pretty important as he was an essential element in the productions we did together. He profits from his very long experience as a well-known DJ in Cologne. Also I get along very good with him personally and we help each other by giving constructive feedback for our productions.
What are you both cooking up in the studio at the moment?
Currently Micha is working with Dennis Koju on several projects and I like their work. Dennis is also a good co-worker. We often give each other advice on each others tracks. By doing it this way, we have the best chance of doing great work and making tracks the crowd will love.
We all know this upcoming tour of Australia will be your first. Apart from the music side of things, what are you looking forward to most about the tour?
To be honest, there is nothing I’m not looking forward to. Actually there is something – the 27 hour journey! I’ve actually heard a lot of positive things about the clubs and the crazy folks. Also I’m getting a lot of positive feedback from Down Under considering its largeness compared to the rest of the world. Apart from the people and the clubs, I can’t believe that I only have to take shorts and t-shirts with me. I’m curious about getting real spring fever, as in my head it’s still actually winter. I hope to see a lot of the country and its sights. Apart from the city, I’d also like to enjoy its unique nature.
Catch Klaas destroying clubs at the following dates…
Wed 28th Nov: Fannys, Newcastle
Sat 1st Dec: Stereosonic, Royal Melbourne Showgrounds
Sat 1st Dec: Bloc, Penrith
Thu 6th Dec: Cabana, St Leonards
Fri 7th Dec: Metropolis, Fremantle
Sat 8th Dec: Family, Brisbane
