Interview with Andy Vaz - 11th Hour Technology

Andy Vaz is a man passionate about minimal music and all that it stands for. After getting heavily involved in the emerging German scene, in 1995 he founded "Background Records" in Dusseldorf, his home town. The label has presented a massively diverse picture of all that this music is, and can be, and it continues to do so today, always at the cutting edge. In 1999 Andy founded "A Touch of Class" to illustrates his similar love for all things House music, and then finally in 2001 came his own productions, his own view on the music he loves, on a label dedicated to his sound and aptly named "Sound_Variation".

11th hour presents – Andy Vaz

11th-hour How did you initially get switched onto electronic music, and in what form was it when you first heard it?

Andy I started listening to early (Bronx) Hip-Hop when I was about twelve years old. This was when music suddenly and unexpectedly turned into the most important thing in my life. In this specific early form of electronic music I found the same things that I found so important in Techno/House later on, which was basically raw music, uncompromising simple beats and repetitive raps. The repetition in words over minimal drum rolls and beats just entirely changed my life.

When I found out about Detroit Techno in '92 after going to my first "Techno club-night", I found a similar feeling in this music which almost seemed more intense to me, it seemed even more drastic in regards to rawness, repetition and futurism - which was probably based on the simple fact that it was so fresh at the time, and that nobody knew anything about this new music, nobody in the "outside" world except for a bunch of people who were going to that one small underground club-night ever heard this new music that they called Techno. It was very intense and futuristic, hard and raw. I definitely felt it from the first few seconds after I first heard it and it really sounded like the future in the present. Secondly, I was a little older then and had a feeling that it could be something that I could get actively involved in.

I definitely knew that I wanted to find out more about the background of this music, so I started buying early Detroit Techno and Chicago House, followed by (Chicago-) Acid-House etc. In that same year (`92) I started organizing the first events in the "Ruhrarea" and later on in Cologne as well where I exclusively invited Detroit Techno acts for their debut-appearances in Europe - acts like Terrence Dixon, Ectomorph or Todd Sines etc.

11th-hour It says in your biography that you made excursions to Detroit and had meetings with some of the key artists there. In what era was this, and what were your motivations for going? What did you draw from these visits?

Andy Well, after becoming good and close friends with Terrence Dixon (and others), he invited me to come to Detroit, an offer which I immediately made concrete without thinking about it since I wanted to make my own personal "puzzle" about Techno complete, knowing that seeing Detroit and meeting its godfathers would answer some of my last open/unanswered basic questions (so I thought back then - of course I learnt that the fascinating thing about this music is that it's always in progress and that it allows someone with a lot of passion for it to constantly learn from it; no matter how deeply you go into living this music, there's always new things to experience even after so many, many years), bringing me closer to understanding the whole past/background of this music.

The surprising thing was the people who I was drawing knowledge from (except for talking to Mike Banks about all this political stuff, including the riots and black living in Detroit then and in the past etc). Now, in the first place, it was the surroundings and the vibe of the city and it's regular inhabitants who were inalienable and knowledgeable for me, rather then any of the key players. In fact meeting Juan Atkins was one of the most normal experiences. It's the city that really tells you the history of this music, which has changed quite a lot. The city has managed to improve quite a bit every year since I first made it out there. I still visit Detroit once a year in order to stay aware of things, see/feel the changes the city takes - struggling to leave the financial structure of a bankrupt, dead city behind and to visit/see me friends there. I also recently played at the official Audio-Lap event @ DEMF last year.

11th-hour How did the idea for Background records come about, and what were your motivations for starting it?

Andy Well, Dave Whiteside who ran Utensil Records where Terrence Dixon released his material (including his outstanding record entitled as MINIMALISM on Utensil 005, which has been one of the most influencal records of mine ever since!!!), ran out of money and had to close the label. This was before he started working with Juan for Metroplex. So basically, Terrence's musical output which I had always found hit the spot precisely on how I thought this music was supposed to sound - looking at his so unique ultra raw and repetitive way of arranging Techno and this so typical and unique cold feeling in his tracks - was left behind without a label at this time when we were so much in contact.

So it was an easy and logical step that my own label had to replace the vacuum, and I knew I could do it right, knowing that at this time when the Rave/Trance movement was getting stronger and bigger, bigger and stronger in Europe, something no matter how independent, deuletantic and small had to show another vision to the world. The first Background releases where dominated by the presence of American artists doing records in that similar raw and very repetitive/minimal style, which brand marked the very concrete sound of my label at this early staged, which can still be found in a very updated post modern version of it today.

11th-hour 11th-Hour: Is there a prominent philosophy / ethos behind the label, and if so, how has it evolved with time?

Andy Well, as I just described in the last few sentences above, Background has always had a very international approach, the goal to bring minimal, raw, unique and sometimes futuristic music from different people, from different angles, with different and very personal individual backgrounds together, each character bringing their own perspective of the minimal side of Techno together, where I collect these different languages of a global minimalism on one imprint, that should have a clear identity and still being very international. That was the idea. A very clear defined sound and still very international both at the same time.

Pure electronic music: Uncompromising from deep and emotional to radical minimal or textured, unique and serious.

11th-hour How did you first make contact with the artists that have appeared on Background, and how do you go about discovering new talent now?

Andy Now, a lot of people contact me since the label is a worldwide-established trademark for this very specific type of music. Sometimes other people bring me in touch with other people. "Dave Miller", a great talent from Australia, who just got signed for two twelve inches (Background 027 + 029) and a full-length album, got introduced to me by Jan Jelinek who believed in Dave's talent and thought that this would be interesting for me with regards to the label - which was true.

11th-hour How important is the link between Europe and North America? Of what relevance is it to Background?

Andy It's very important, like I stated previously. Canada is very fresh sounding, great new artists especially within the minimal-context expanding their talent to the world by releasing/making contact with European record labels such as Background. There is also great friendship and co-operation between Europe and Canada, between myself and my friends Jeff Milligan, Scott Monteith (Deadbeat), Akufen, Adam Marshall, Mike Shannon etc, and there will for sure be more contributions to follow in the future as well.

11th-hour Why do you think that Canada has become a such 'hot spot' for abstract Techno and House, and what is it about this sound that has interested you in representing it on Background?

Andy I think that the talent has always been there, but Canada never had any infrastructures that would allow them to show their talent to the world, and it took them many, many years to have their music heard and discovered over here. Akufen was writing music for almost ten years and he only managed to maintain a career after being signed to European labels. Jeff Milligan has already been one of the world's most outstanding dj's for many, many years with his legendary (but for us invisible) three turntable stunts, combined with great taste in strong minimal quality music - he just never managed to play any gigs outside of North America, so it took him years and years, until just recently to be heard and recognized by people over here. Until that movement, nobody knew of his djing and his production. I meet him on his second dj gig in Europe that actually took place here in Düsseldorf. I remember that he played almost every Background record that was out that night and that he was very enthusiastic about meeting me after the show, and so was I after having experienced what he could do with minimal records and three turntables. He got that whole thing started for Canada as being the front man of the Canadian minimal Techno invasion that has rolled over Germany and Europe in the last year.

11th-hour How do you feel about the current explosion of laptop-induced music around the world? Do you see this as zeitgeist in the beginning of the 21st centaury?

Andy Yes, definitely. Techno was always about technique and the future, always into new things (while never cutting out the past), so doing live performances and music production with laptops seems more than logical to me with regards to the tradition of this music.

Andy House music, as something even more emotional and deep was always my second love. With ATC I tried combining minimalism and soul, in a more friendly housey way than Background which was shifting more and more into a radical blend of 4/4 and home-listening.

11th-hour Why have you not released your own works on Background? Is it because it would have detracted from the musical statement you are making on the Sound Variation series?

Andy Yes, Sound Variation is much more personal to me than Background of course, which is logical because it represents my own art, explains my very individual soul on wax, that is designed the way I want myself to be presented to the electronic community - of course the same goes for Background as well, but Sound_Variation is even more concrete and into taking risks when it comes to my music and it's presentation (no label name, slightly experimental, quirky, harmonic/disharmonic, ultra stripped, left-of-centre and radical/no compromising, while trying not to be limited by a static given name which a name of a record label usually suggests to the listener upfront).

11th-hour What was the motivation to start producing, and what in particular inspired the concept behind Sound_Variation?

Andy The idea was simple, but extremely effective at the same time - just based on the particular way that I was creating sounds. For example, I was always creating sounds from pitching and tone shifting, so an ordinary kick-drum would become a bleep, or a hi-hat or even a more complex sound, and something high and short like a former hi-hat would become a bass-sound etc. By going deep into creating sounds like that I realized that I could do everything with almost nothing, and that I could turn one track into a totally different sounding track by just re-shifting/re-arranging the same sounds, by giving the entire instrumentation another approach in it's sound aesthetic & function, creating different feelings and atmospheres with the same tones by twisting them around into another direction.

The entire concept of Sound Variation 1-1 was based on a handful of kick-drum sounds and hi-hats, all completely turned into three totally different results: minimalism, maximalism and dub - a result that I didn't even expect myself when I started working like this. It's very lo-fi, which was always my idea about techno - advantage through easiness rather then using advanced production-techniques. Minimalism = plainness/simplicity with maximal results. I think that 1-1 transports/demonstrates the idea of the concept in the very best way, since the tracks are so diverse, so different from each other even though some sounds remain the same so a connection can still be heard.

11th-hour Why is it that you did not want to make music more in line with the ethos of Background?

Andy Well, first of all, I never wanted to benefit from the name and the recognition that Background had gained over the years. I wanted to release my music without taking advantage from my labels' works, and the names I had on the label. I wanted something of my own and even more personal than Background for my own art, I wanted it to be totally independent, so a platform which would allow me to do whatever I feel needed to be created. Sound Variation is the perfect label, because it can be just everything from conceptual to non-conceptual, from minimal to maximal, from intellectual to body-music, from warm sounding to cold sounding, hence it can be everything I want it to be.

Andy Sound Variation is Andy Vaz - all my personal influences are manifest in the Sound Variation series. My music is so personal, so much Andy Vaz that it makes Sound Variation like a double of myself. Background can only represent my taste, while my production represents my vision, my soul. I think that what makes the Sound Variation series special are not the concepts and production techniques, but rather the fact that the music does not sound like the average minimal label does.

Andy It depends, like the music - I think people's reaction can be anything. Sometimes people dance and freak, sometimes people just stare at me concentrating, sometimes people get mad because they would rather hear the average dancefloor Techno side of things, and nothing that is on the edge to being more art/listening oriented. From playing places in Germany, Europe, USA etc. I happen to have experienced all kinds of reactions. Good, bad and in-between. Sometimes I get asked to play Techno, which is kind of funny, since my entire live set/music is pure Techno. Everything is strictly 4/4 as well. I never used any a beat structure other than 4/4 and I never do music without beats. The only thing that Sound Variation is limited to is that it's ALWAYS TECHNO and 4/4.

11th-hour In what direction to you plan to take you productions in the future? Do you have any other projects planned?

Andy Well, Sound Variation 4-4 will be a more traditional 4/4 piece, more for the floor and much groovier/easier than the previous ones - definitely a little easier and less experimental but still weird and freaky stuff. 5-5 will be a remix 12" with my tracks remixed by Portable, Dave Miller, Jan Jelinek and Rhythm Maker. I have a track out on the Swiss/Cologne Bruckstück 010 compilation together with Thomas Brinkmann, Move-D and Mo from EMD Fame, to be released in September 2002. I will also be debuting on Background for the forthcoming "Futuristic Experiments Chapter 6" 2x12" which is planned for late 2002/early 2003.