Last week, Vienna’s Stefan Obermaier and Marner joined forces for ‘Hielo’, a deeply atmospheric yet dancefloor-focused single released on our sister label Tales Of Romance. Built around a striking bassline, lush melodic elements and a carefully evolving groove, the collaboration brings together two distinct approaches to production in a remarkably natural way.

The track’s journey began with a bassline and chord progression from Marner, before Stefan took the idea further through additional layers, percussion, melodies and arrangement. Rather than imposing a strict division of roles, the two artists exchanged ideas back and forth, allowing each stage of the production to shape the next. The result is a record that finds an elegant balance between emotional depth and club functionality.

Adding another dimension to the release, deep house titan Gorge delivers a standout remix, reinterpreting ‘Hielo’ through his own refined and unmistakably groovy lens.

In this conversation, Stefan Obermaier and Marner take us behind the making of ‘Hielo’, discussing their collaborative workflow, the hardware and software that shaped the record, finding the balance between melody and groove, testing the track in clubs, and what’s next for both artists.

Enjoy this great interview!

Hello guys, welcome to When We Dip. Let’s dive straight into the questions. How did this collaboration between the two of you come together? Had you worked together before, or did ‘Hielo’ start from a sudden spark in the studio?

Marner: Well, I’ve known Stefan for, I think, two or three years now. We both live in the same city, Vienna. Sometimes we drink a beer together and talk about music. It was time to finally do a collaboration. The idea for the song came when I came up with the bassline and the chords for the break. This is everything I sent to Stefan, and he got his part on the track from there on. Then it was just sending it back and forth until it formed into this track.

Stefan: I was hooked from the first moment. Marv’s draft already had a really strong identity, so it was quite easy to pick it up from there and see where we could take it together. It was also really fun to discover how the track developed with each round of exchanging ideas. That’s how a collaboration should ideally flow.

WWD: Walk us through the initial production of “Hielo.” How did you start the track, and what was the core idea or element that established its main direction?

Marner: I think the main direction was the bassline. I was just jamming around with the sequencer on the Prophet. I thought the style would fit very well into Stefan’s portfolio, so I sent him the bassline. He took it and brought it to the next level, and I was hooked from the first draft he sent me back. The track went from there.

Stefan: Marv’s starting point was already really strong and I didn’t want to change too much on this. I mainly worked on layering and made some changes to the chords and melodies, so that all elements could breathe and the chorus could unfold to its fullest. It basically was more about enhancing what was already there rather than rebuilding it.

WWD: What specific hardware synths, drum machines, key plugins, or processing tools did you rely on to shape the track’s signature sound?

Marner: On my end, the Prophet Rev2 played a very big role. It created the basic idea for the bassline, which Stefan then took and developed further. Also, the beautiful lush pad in the break comes from the Prophet. Other than that, I think Stefan can probably go into more detail on his side of the production.

Stefan: On my side, I mainly finished the track in the box. Omnisphere played a big role for some of the additional melodic and textural elements, I also used Maschine for the percussive parts and recorded some shaker myself.

WWD: When working as a duo with distinct individual styles, how do you handle the workflow? Do you divide duties (e.g., one on groove, one on melodies/arrangement), or is it a fully hands-on, collaborative Jam session?

Marner: I think Stefan’s strength really lies in all the rhythmical stuff, especially drums, percussion and all those small additions and layers. I’m strong in harmonies, chords and melodies. We didn’t have a strict line where everyone had their own specific part of the song. It came very naturally. We actually have quite different individual styles, but I think this track combines both of our tastes in the best possible way.

Stefan: Exactly. I think it combines both of our worlds and strengths really naturally. There was no strict division of roles, we just picked up whatever felt right at each stage. The workflow was easy, mainly sending the track back and forth for a few rounds and reacting to what the other person had done. We’re also working in different DAWs, but even that turned out to be easy to manage.

WWD: ‘Hielo” manages to strike a great balance between deep, atmospheric melody and a driving, dancefloor-focused groove. How did you fine-tune that balance without letting one element overpower the other?

Marner: It’s really important when producing a track to sometimes just sit back and listen to it from the beginning, over and over again. At some point, your head or maybe your heart starts telling you what should come next. That helps you find a balance where the track can work on the dancefloor, but also when you’re listening on headphones, on the train to work, during a workout or wherever else. I think we did a really good job with that on ‘Hielo’.

Stefan: I think that’s also one of the great things about collaborating. You’re naturally forced to step away from the track, listen to it with fresh ears and then come back with a different perspective. That made the workflow much more efficient for us. Instead of getting stuck in the same details for hours, we could keep moving forward and make decisions more quickly.

WWD: Was there a specific moment during the production of ‘Hielo’ where you both knew the track was officially finished, or did it go through multiple iterations and revisions before landing on the final mix?

Marner: I think that’s one of the great things about doing a collaboration, because you always have a second opinion on the production and on what state the track is in. The song came pretty quickly to a point where it was very playable and worked really well. After that, it was mostly the typical fine-tuning, where it’s very easy to lose yourself in the details. Having both of us constantly giving each other honest feedback helped us decide what the track still needed and, just as importantly, what we shouldn’t touch anymore because it was already right.

Stefan: A track is almost never truly finished and it’s very easy to disappear into a kind of perfectionism that can suck the life out of it. At some point, we both felt that it had reached the right place and that we should stop touching it. I also had a chance to test it in clubs and it worked really well, which was a good confirmation that we had found the right balance.

WWD: When you test a track like ‘Hielo’ in a live DJ set, what specific reaction or energy are you looking for from the crowd? Has playing it out influenced any final tweaks you made to the arrangement?

Marner: I think one of the strengths of this collaboration was that Stefan naturally took the lead on the arrangement and the overall flow of the track. I naturally love diving into melodies, harmonies and those bigger emotional moments, while Stefan has a really good feel for keeping the groove and energy moving on the dancefloor. That balance really benefited the track.

Stefan: Marv had already structured the elements really well, so the overall direction and flow of the track were quite clear from the beginning. We had this great combination of the sonic world, the vocals and the rhythmic foundation, which left us a lot of space to build tension and let the track develop naturally. Playing it out confirmed that the arrangement had the right dynamics, so we didn’t need to make any major changes afterwards.

WWD: Now that ‘Hielo’ is coming out to the world, what’s coming up next for each of you? Are there more joint productions in the pipeline, or upcoming solo projects or shows we should keep on our radar?

Marner: There is actually another ID we just finished working on. We’re just looking for the right time and place for the release. Other than that, I’ve got a couple of songs in the pipeline that you’ll hear about pretty soon. Most likely there will be a small EP with around three tracks, at least that’s how it’s looking right now.

Stefan: Yes, we have another one waiting to see the light. Other than that, there are also some things coming up on my side that I’m really looking looking forward to.

WWD: Thanks a lot guys for this great track, and welcome to the Tales Of Romance family! 

Thanks, guys! <3

Follow:

Stefan Obermaier: Instagram / SoundCloud
Marner: Instagram / SoundCloud
Gorge: Instagram / SoundCloud