Ahead of his first visit to Australia, one of Switzerland’s most talented techno DJ/producers Raphaël Ripperton spares some time to have a chat with ITM about the impending tour, as well as his future in solo and collaborative producing. Inspired in his early days by listening to mix tapes of new beat and acid house, Ripperton was influenced by watching electronic music legends like Louie Vega and Tony Humphries behind the decks. Now well over a decade later he’s begun moving up in the scene with his productions and DJing, touring the world and releasing on some of the biggest minimal and techno labels including Planet E, Border Community, Wagon Repair, Crosstown Rebels, Systematic, Audiomatique and more.

Capping of what has already been an enormous year; Ripperton has just recently released his new single on Connaissuer Superior called Zugunruhe. Quite a unique techno number, it reflects that ‘Ripperton sound’. “I’m just trying to get the good sound, the right balance and most of all the true emotion.” Last year saw the drawing to a close of his partnership with Mirko Loko, with whom he released under their Lazy Fat People alias. Since then, along with Sam K he’s been busy running their Perspectiv Records label that has enjoyed solid success in the past 12 months and features new talents emerge in the form artists such as Agnès, Minz, Masaya and more.

It wasn’t until 1997 that Raphaël Ripperton set out on the road to become a producer, acquiring his first sampler (an MPC3000) and some synthesizers. But from that point on he didn’t look back. Looking at the studios of producers who began producing in the 90s and are still working today, they more often then not have a certain affinity to working with hardware over software, and Ripperton is no different, choosing to use a combination of the two. “You can’t compare the sound of a real moog or a machine drum with the plug-ins,” he says. “With the new technologies you can produce in the plane or at the hotel room with a laptop. That’s really funny.” But in the end it’s the one behind the controls, and not the hardware itself. “You produce what you are and what you want to explain to the audience.”

But it hasn’t always been easy, explains Ripperton. Back in the 90s getting a record deal was much more difficult, and now running his own one in the present day, he’s always excited about releasing new talent and most especially, the music he likes. Asking him whether or not he still enjoys the same music he did a decade a go, he replies, “Oh yes! Good music is good music. It doesn’t matter when it was produced… It’s not a shame to play some old records; it’s a sign of culture and respect.” Keeping that in mind, he also feels that house music is making its way back again. “I mean the real house, like from Chicago and Detroit in the early 90’s.” But all things go round and round. He admits Minimal, House and Techno are always in good form and it will be, for a long time.

Quite probably his most famous alias or collaboration has been the before mentioned Lazy Fat People, which he stated in 2005 with Mirko Loko, after meeting at the Caprices Festival where they were both playing. “We started to do some stuff in my studio, and the first label who was interested was Border community… Can you imagine that?” Unable to find the answer anywhere else, the question had to be raised: where does the name come from? Unfortunately there’s still no public answer. “A personal joke. I can’t explain that here sorry.” Despite Lazy Fat People continuing with just Mirko behind the controls, Ripperton has moved on and is not only focusing on solo productions but working with fellow artists from his Perspectiv label, Agnès and Masaya, with releases planned for the future.

DJing since 1993, Raphaël Ripperton’s indefinable style can often sound like house or techno, but are reflective mostly of his smooth and deep production sound. So how does he program his DJ sets? “Well I’ll take all my favourite tracks of the moment and I’ll do my selection live. I work like that with the instant feelings.” With gigs in Sydney and Melbourne, including an appearance at one of Australia’s Rainbow Serpent Festival and a club appearance for reputable Melbourne brand Blow Your Own Way, Raphaël is excited about the tour, admitting most of his gigs are on the other side of the planet – in Europe. “I’m a little afraid about the traveling… I hate plane and airport. Funny for a DJ isn’t?” Indeed he also has hopes of gaining some inspiration for his artist album. “It’s not finished yet, and it will be really long to do it. I need to produce more and more.” With Robert Babicz being inspired to write a track last time he was in Melbourne, there’s a chance that Raphaël has come to the right place!

In the near future – amongst the plethora of bookings he is receiving, Ripperton gives a sneak peek into his release schedule. “I did my new EP, who will be released soon on Perspectiv with two remixes from Radio Slave and Anders Ilar.” Not only that, but there’s Raphael’s work with Agnès to look out for, as well as releases on a number of different record labels. Not only that, but the hope is still there for that elusive artist album. There’s plenty of Raphaël Ripperton to keep your ears open for!

Catch Ripperton bangin’ it out at the following dates…

Sun 27th Jan – Rainbow Serpent Festival, Victoria
Sun 27th Jan – Lost Baggage, Sydney (not Sat 26th Jan as published in 3DWorld)
Fri 1st Feb – Secret Show, Sydney
Sat 2nd Feb – Blow Your Own Way, Melbourne