When German duo Die Vogel takes the stage, you don’t see any laptops. Instead, you see a tuba, clarinet, trombone, flute and other unexpected instruments alongside the arsenal of electronic gear. As one half of the duo Jakobus Siebels tells inthemix with a laugh, “We are very, very, very busy. We’re changing instruments all the time.”

Die Vogel’s techno-with-a-difference has found the perfect home on Pampa Records, the label overseen by chief lover of all things weird and wonky DJ Koze. Pampa will release the group’s in-development album hopefully some time in the next year. With Die Vogel’s starring role in Melbourne Music Week fast approaching, we got on the phone to Jakobus and his friend “behind the knobs” Mense Reents to hear what’s in store.

So, what is keeping Die Vogel busy right now?
Jakobus: We’re working on our album and preparing the live set for Australia. It’s going to be a mix between electronic music and really live music: tuba, trombone, clarinet, trumpet and percussion instruments. The beats and the basslines came from sequencers.

I saw you back in June in Barcelona, and there was a very charged atmosphere in the room when you played. I imagine there’s a lot of work involved in creating a vibe like that?
Jakobus: It’s really a lot of work, because we are very picky with our sounds. It’s walking on a very thin line: either you use to many folk elements, or too much melody, too many tones, too much pop. Plus we don’t want it to get too techno.

So how did the pair of you come together as Die Vogel?
Jakobus: We’ve worked together for three years now, but we played together in the past in different bands. We have different influences. Mense has had a few electronic projects before, and I was mainly into pop music. I play a lot of different instruments, and Mense is the guy behind the knobs.

Mense: But I’m also playing trumpet and flute [both laugh].

Jakobus: I was just about to say that he plays trumpet only because his parents forced him to.

Mense: Well, that’s true, but I forgot the instrument for 20 years. But then we had the idea to work with brass and electronics together. It’s a strange mixture.

So, what inspired you to create that strange mixture?
Jakobus: It just grew somehow. There was an art fair in Germany where I was invited, and I had a lot of time and space. There were stages where I could organise ‘happenings’, and I invited Mense to come along with his MPC, 808 and his MS-10. I played the Hawaiian electric guitar and I had electrodes on my muscles; I was an electronic music marionette.

So we had a concert and thought what a great idea to combine real live instruments with electronic music. But the idea was: don’t make that kind of jazz crossover something.