Whenever you start to think that dance music – Techno or House or Detroit and Berlin – is better suited for elderly people, suddenly there is a silver light on the horizon.
And at the moment, it is Sascha Dive who is shining really bright. This young man from Frankfurt and his label Deep Vibes Recordings is among the most promising new producers and companies in Germany at the moment who, despite c…lear references to early U.S.-American sounds, all have found their very own rhythm and style by now.
And so has Sascha Dive (this is actually his real name!).Long before he turned 18 years old, he was deeply thrilled by the tapes his brother brought back home. He wanted to learn everything about this exciting music and hot nights out in clubs and at parties, for example Omen, XS, Wild Pitch Club or Robert-Johnson or DJs such as Ricardo Villalobos. And finally, Sascha Dive made his way into the coordinate system of Motor City in a more or less roundabout way. Records from Moodyman, Theo Parrish and Cie. telling stories about snoddy soul, flaky disco or shaking samplers are as inspiring to him as the dry funk and the abstract sounds from U.K. artists such as Baby Ford or Thomas Melchior. The inventive joint between these two styles can be found in Sascha’s highly appreciated productions. Not to mention that he runs his label Deep Vibes Recordings all by himself and in a very characteristic style when it comes to artwork, A&R, remixes and productions. Moreover, he can look back on a number of extremely successful remixes and tracks released on labels such as Raum…musik and Drumpoet Community. Dive soon became famous for his first-class, deep House sounds with references to Scott Ferugson or master Tony Rodriguez. The reaction was enormous and rather unusual for this almost nihilist and cynical daily business and its innumerable records and releases.
As a DJ, Sascha Dive does not hesitate to combine new and old, America and Europe, light grooves and finest melodies. He does not care whether a record is 10 years or 10 days old. What counts is its aesthetics and if the results fits in his sophisticated dramaturgy and subtlety of his set. Dive’s DJ sets are characterized by his knowledge of Afro-American dance music he skilfully translates into the empiricism of the European club scene and sociology that is becoming more and more expressive….
Interview with Sascha Dive
You’ll have heard about Sascha Dive. He is talented, young producer that, in a short space of time, has made a name for himself as one of the best exponents of using groove in his true house productions. The Frankfurt artist has used his Deep Vibes record label to foster more along the same principle from Brothers’ Vibe and Ray Okpara, leading to his debut artist album, Restless Nights, released earlier this month.
I met with Sascha last month as he was discovering Ibiza for the first time, this year being a milestone in his career with gigs not only at Space but Cocoon at Amnesia. A moment to remember for any DJ, let alone a Frankfurt boy and self-confessed Ricardo fan.
I’d read with interest the criticism of Dive’s choice of artwork on an EP last year and tried to see the point from all sides. I guess my over-riding feeling then remained here. For sure there are sensitivities and bad taste, but in free art expression, if something is an influence to you, does it matter who you are or where you’re from or how relative that expression might seem to you?
I wanted to ask you straight away about your new artist album ‘Restless Nights’, what was the influence for the album?
The influence………[long pause] I started last year making some tracks and the idea came to me to make an album from them, rather than an EP.
Ok, let me rephrase, what were you thinking of when you were making the music, where did your inspiration come from?
Everywhere, all around. The sun, the beach, people can inspire me, movies, but most of the inspiration came from the roots of house music actually.
The reason I ask the question is because, having listened to the album, it immediately struck me how there was a evident American, more specifically black, African-American feeling to the record….in track names, vocal samples….
Interrupts that’s it, it’s a feeling, just feel it and don’t think too much about it. I don’t go into the studio and think “I’m gonna produce that”. It comes from in here, from inside, cos the inside knows already what I want to do.
The Panther EP lead to a lot of criticism of the artwork and references it alluded to. What did you think about that?
I think the people didn’t listen to the music, I think they saw it and they had no idea why I made it like this. They didn’t know why. They didn’t know the background. I didn’t want to be like a musician, where I’m trying to do something different like make a jazz album or something. It’s the classic way how it started for many DJs; I wanted to make music to play in the club…
So what was the background?
The background was at that time I saw a lot of documentaries about it, about the Black Panther movement but I’d made all these tracks before and then when I listened to the music again, it really felt like it fits together for me somehow. The tracks have this really dark and a little bit scary feeling to them….
So was it a kind of tribute to the Panthers, like respect for that?
No, nothing like that. It’s just an art thing; I just liked the art and design that they made.
The tracks from the album are generally very dance floor friendly, there isn’t much ambient or alternative sounding stuff…
Yeah, it’s just what I like; I didn’t want to do something new or experimental.
When you come to produce do you have a core principle that you like to stick to, a particular bass line or something.
For me, I like to keep things simple and it’s important of course to have things like a strong bass line, which is the main thing on the album. It’s also the thing I have most problems with too, trying to make the bass line really sit well in the track. In Jus Groove, there were 15 different bass lines I had, I mean it was the same bass line but different vocoder or I change the instrument, stuff like that. It really takes time to get these things right.
So you’re a bit of a perfectionist, do you have lots of unreleased material?
Yeah, I have a lot actually. Sometimes I erase a lot of stuff, when it’s a day when I’m feeling shitty and I get rid of it. Then the next day I might think “Oh! What have i done!” but that’s me and yeah I’m a perfectionist. I hear these little things, I have to change this or that, it never ends. Some album tracks, I’m still thinking about little things that I’d like to change, but i can’t……nobody will hear or think about these things, only me.
Are you a geek about the technical side of things?
No. I’m just a DJ…….so no way! You know there are some people sitting in a studio going all nerdy with the machines, I’m not like that. I need to have it clean and not many things around me otherwise I’d get lost. I just have small bit of kit and software (Ableton). I want to make music I want to play, it’s like that you know. I didn’t want to be like a musician, where I’m trying to do something different like make a jazz album or something. It’s the classic way how it started for many DJs; I wanted to make music to play in the club.
How do you decide what’s right for Deep Vibes?
Well I just release when I have something. I have some other thing, from friends and I’ll tell them, “yeah, maybe we gonna release them” but in the end I didn’t release them because it didn’t feel right or it’s not the time. The label has been going since 2007 and we’ve only done like 14 releases, so it’s not many. I don’t want to do a new record every month, it’s also a lot of work because I do everything myself for the label. I’m travelling every weekend, so…..
How many vinyl copies do you put for sale?
We do 1000 vinyl pressing and [sneers] we don’t do this mp3 exclusive or digital only release thing.
I take it you’re not really a fan of how Beatport operates like this then?
I don’t like, I don’t like it at all to see all these labels only releasing on digital and not anymore on vinyl. Even to release on CD is better, it’s like a finished product. I will still carry on doing vinyl and I will carry on doing it when i just make 100 copies for friends. When those friends are no longer playing vinyl, then it’s over!
Do you come under pressure playing vinyl at some gigs across the world?
Yeah, it’s becoming difficult. Most of the places use Final Scratch or Serato and it damages the mixer, because the contacts aren’t good when you’re always plugging things in and out. Also the needles aren’t so good, so I have to take my own needles with me. I play about 80% vinyl.
What if, especially more internationally, there weren’t any turntables at a gig for example. Doesn’t Traktor just make that all easier….?
No. I can never see that happening. I’ve never tried it and I never felt interested to use it. Also if you’re partying a bit, you can see vinyl better early in the morning, better than a small line on a screen!I will still carry on doing vinyl and I will carry on doing it when i just make 100 copies for friends. When those friends are no longer playing vinyl, then it’s over!…
Do you feel the art of being a DJ is being lost?
Yeah of course, there is a sync button and everything is done. Why do you need this person to be standing there? You can make a mix before, plug your laptop in, press play and say ‘Bam! Goodnight’. That’s it, no more performance.
Ok, but what about someone like Richie Hawtin who is trying to do something different with the technology.
Yeah but Richie is doing something different. He did this loops thing, DE9, making all these loops and putting together in a new way and is hard work. This I respect. I do a lot of edits for my DJ sets actually, so I’m doing some of this, but putting the loops together like Richie, I don’t think I’ll do this, I mean Richie did it, so I don’t need to do it again.
But that’s what I said in the Fabric interview and everyone was like *imitates hitting the table*….I said there is so much shit music right now, it’s amazing how much shit and cheap music there is. Also, there is some good music coming out of vinyl now, I’ve bought lots of vinyl recently. Lots of stuff from Hardwax, second hand stuff and artists like Argy and Jerome Sydenhmam especially, he’s producing a lot of good stuff. He’s one of the producer, you can buy blind a record and Lo*soul the same….you can buy these release and play out in the club straight away. But this bringing out 1-2 releases a month, it’s too much, the quality is poor.
What’s your history with Ibiza?
I’ve never been as a tourist before. I didn’t have a very good perception of Ibiza before, but I love it here, I’ve really changed my opinion of it. We have a lot of friends here and they have helped me find the best parts of the island. So I’ve spent some quality time here relaxing here, with good food, good friends.
And Cocoon, what do you know about what they’ve done?
Cocoon have one of the best line-ups, they’re not booking Sasha & Digweed or these same DJs from the last 20 years. They’ve had like Johnny D and Federico Molinari in the last couple of years and me, Seth Troxler and others this year.
Are there any particular issues in dance music culture that you want to talk about?
What I really don’t like in this business, is the i’m more important than you. I hate all these people, especially around the DJ, I hate that. A lot of DJs are also like that too. I hate this, I just wanna go and play and hang with my friends and I’m no better than the people on the dance floor, because I came from there. Really, this is one point I wanna tell all the people, it’s not so important to dance next to Ricardo, there are other places to dance!!
Finally, you say you came from the dance floor, which club did you grow up at?
Simple answer: Robert Johnson. This is a club of 300 people, small DJ booth, same level as the DJ, the DJ is partying with you. Yeah, Robert Johnson was my home.
Interview by Ibiza-Voice
