If there’s one thing that has defined the career of Henrik Schwarz to date, it’s consistency. In recent years the unassuming producer has been responsible for some of the most enduring house tracks around. From the percussive groove of I Exist Because of You to the deep-in-the-night throb of his Equinox remix, each release is as essential as the last.

While the man’s work-rate has slowed in 2009 due to his duties as the father of twins, a long-anticipated artist album is coming together. Moving outside of his favoured instrument Ableton, the record sees Schwarz collaborating with various musicians. Whatever the result, it’s sure to be made with finesse. This weekend, Henrik Schwarz brings his celebrated live show to Australia for the first time. He talks to ITM’s Jack Tregoning about the shared joy of the dancefloor experience.

Being a father of young children, have you had to cut back on the touring and studio work?

It has got a bit better. My kids have grown but when I heard that I was going to be a father of twins, I had to take it a touch easier than before. It turned out to be a good thing.

Does it make you more selective about what you choose to work on?

Definitely, yes. More selective; and more concentration, more awareness. However, there are many, many things happening at the moment. I have to use every free moment I have. I’m working on an album and I’m travelling to Paris tomorrow to meet somebody who might be playing on it. Next week, I’ll be doing some recordings too – so, lots of things!

You’re planning to work with several musicians on this album?

That’s what I’m planning, and that’s why I’m travelling and talking to people I’ve met over the last years – to see if they are interested in making something. I want to be as well-prepared as possible when I meet them, as I’m not so interested at the moment in improvisation sessions or anything like that. I really want to get to the point really quickly.

Yes, the plan at the moment is to write songs rather than sit down and play around with a computer. Also here I’m trying to get the essence of what I’ve been doing the last couple of years. It’s a different thing from before. It won’t be a collection of dance music 12-inches.

Is it enjoyable to move outside that mould and work on music not necessarily built for dancefloors?

Yes it is, definitely. It’s very difficult today to make an album I think, because people are totally into singles – especially in the club scene, it’s all about, ‘Do you have this track?’ Doing an album is a big thing and I don’t know if the result is going to be what I was planning. I feel quite unsecure because I’m stepping into a new field.

Well, some producers do, but maybe it’s not so much about understanding. The difficult thing from my perspective is that it’s really easy to get something out of Ableton that sounds like music. Within one minute, you can create something coming out of the speakers that seems to be music. But it’s not. It’s just…sounds coming after each other. I believe many people are just happy with these sounds.

You have to learn a computer program like you learn to play a piano. It is something very complex with many possibilities. If you compare it to piano, much of what we hear is someone opening the piano lid and pressing just one button. They think, ‘That sounds cool, I’ll keep that’. But there are so many other keys and other things you can throw inside the piano.

We’ll be seeing you in Australia at last this month. I know you’re very inspired by jazz; how does that play into how you approach the live show?

For me, jazz is not about having piano or saxophone solos. It’s more about how you play. In jazz, anything is possible at any time. That’s how I approach the playing also. I have thousands of little parts in my live set and I don’t know where it’s going when I start. I’m jumping from one part to the next. Then when I see the reaction from the audience, I might jump somewhere else. That makes it interesting for me.

I imagine a lot of producers have a fairly rigid live show; but yours is quite malleable from night to night?

Definitely. The place, the people, everything is important. Again, there’s a lot of people who – like you said – have a very rigid set-up in their computer. They just jump from one track to the next. It’s pre-worked, and that’s not what I’m interested in. In that case, you may as well play vinyl – because that’s about pre-produced loops and there’s no real need to use a computer. In my case, I have many, many files and effects but this took years to get under control.

Because you also incorporate parts of tracks that aren’t your own in the live show, is that right?

Yes, whenever I find something I find useful I pop it in there and if it doesn’t work, it fades away.

Is playing live in clubs something you get a thrill from? Is it vital to what you do?

I love playing, no question. Sometimes it’s physically exhausting if you’re travelling long distances for many gigs. This doesn’t touch at all the joy of playing. I can be totally exhausted and within 30 seconds of being on-stage, the energy is back. But then of course you come home totally destroyed! [laughs] But it’s alright! It’s a big part of music should be made.

It’s something of a business model for all of us – if you go out and play and people come, that’s cool. You cannot download this experience. You might be able to watch a little snippet on YouTube, but you can’t share it physically. That’s something that seems to be getting stronger in the last few years. The clubs are fuller and fuller, people want to dance and sweat. When they go home though, they might be downloading your stuff. That’s of course not ideal from a musician’s perspective, because it makes it difficult to sell music.

On the other hand, if many people have your stuff they come to the live shows. It seems to be working in a way. Let’s see how it goes with the album. I’m paying a lot of money now to make the album and I’m not sure if this is ever going to come back. If it doesn’t work at all economically, then…well…I might disappear. And so might others if they’re also trying to do more than a home studio album that costs not much. It’s a risk. But let’s see – it’s exciting.

So, being able to offer that shared experience in a club is something of a safeguard?

I’m very much after this live experience. I’m putting a lot of effort into the development of other live experiences. For example, I’m doing a new live show with the Norwegian jazz pianist Bugge Wesseltoft. We did a few shows together, with more next year. We’ll do an album too, but it’s all about putting a grand piano and laptop onstage and seeing what happen.

You’re packing a lot into one very busy weekend in Australia – two club gigs and a 5:30am slot at Meredith Music Festival. Have you ever visited before for a holiday?

No, I was hoping to come two or three years ago. But the situation changed with the twins. That’s something you just can’t plan. This year I thought, ‘Come on, I’ve wanted to do this for such a long time!’ Even though it’s three days, it’s better than nothing. Hopefully I can come again and expand it, because it’s important to see something too.

Henrik Schwarz tour dates:

Fri 11th Dec – 5 Years of Future Classic, Sydney
Sat 12th Dec – Blow Your Own Way, Melbourne
Sun 13th Dec – Meredith Festival, Victoria