Johannes Heil has been a mainstay on the techno circuit for quite some time and boasts close to a 20 year spell in the business. He’s featured on labels such as Cocoon, Kanzleramt and Figure but recently broke out with his own label Exile Rec, shared with fellow stalwart Markus Suckut. We caught up with him following the release of his 10th studio album, a moody and brooding affair that sees the German producer test the realms of contemporary techno.
Thanks for taking the time to chat to us! What are you up to at the moment?
You’re welcome, thank you! Right now I am playing the first shows of my album tour and I am looking forward to spending some quality time with my family and friends during the holidays.
‘The Black Light’ is your 10th album to date and is the first album to be released on Exile. What is it about this album that separates it from the previous ones? Was there a particular sound or aesthetic you had in mind when creating it?
There is no separation, it is an addition to what I already created, the continuation of a process which started almost twenty years ago, the judgment to separate I leave to others.
This time I decided to create something that has the ability to invoke intense mental pictures, like a science-fiction movie score, something that builds tension through the contradiction of harmony, the combination of what one would hear as darkness and light, creating visibility of that which is hidden without its counterpart.
How was the album recorded and was there any machine in particular that played a special role in its creation?
In terms of technology, the whole album was produced inside the box. All sounds you hear are made with computer plugins, there are no machines involved besides the outboard equipment I used for summing the master signal, such as a Culture Vulture by Thermionic Culture, a Vertigo VSC 2 and a dbx 160sl. But there is something far more important than the equipment you use, it is the connection you have to your deepest emotions and the way you are able to translate these from the internal to the external world.
There’s been quite a transition in your sound to a much darker feel over the last few years if you compare ‘The Black Light’ to your last album ‘Loving’. Is this a phase you’re going through or is the dark side something you’ve always gravitated towards?
There was always light and there was always darkness in the work, I do not have any preferences, I simply draw pictures with sound the way I feel in the moment, no matter what they are. If it merges with how I feel, I do it. I do not feel that the black light is dark. It is mystical, mysterious, but not evil. It does not invoke fear or hate, it invokes suspicion.
You chose to release the album on your own imprint Exile Rec that you share with Markus Suckut. Was there any reason in particular for this?
The reason is that I want to give all the energy to the label and that I had all the freedom at Exile to do whatever I feel like, there was zero limitation, from the first tone to the last letter on the cover artwork. This is all my vision, a non compromised piece of work.
Since the label’s launch, the releases have been just collaborative efforts between you and Markus Suckut. What plans do you have for the label? Will it be just for your music or do you intend to have a more open affair?
Markus and me will of course continue our teamwork with more singles to be released and in 2016 it is his turn to drop an album on exile. We welcome our friend Mikael Jonasson on board. He is such a decent human being and a great artist, which is the foundation of our brotherhood. Another befriended artist will join us as well, but since he has not sent us tunes until right now, I can’t tell you his name.
You have a very select number of labels that you have called home for your music. What is it about a label that’s most important for you?
I need to enjoy what they are doing, to feel connected to the label, to have a personal relationship with the people running the label and receive the freedom I need for the musical visions I have.
What message would you give for people starting their own label or young producers about to sign to a label?
First of all be yourself and follow the path which unfolds from within. Do not build your house on sand by following the urge for quick success, do what you love. If you don’t love it, leave, observe yourself and focus on your energy, if it decreases correct your thoughts and actions until you feel it increases again and base all of your decisions on that, because it is all you have.
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