Roland Appel - Interview

Working as part of trio or a group for your whole musical career must be a comforting thing, especially when one of those groups is the Trüby Trio. Probably even more so when you make up a significant part of critically acclaimed Fauna Flash, and quirky disco posters Voom Voom. However, Roland Appel clearly doesn’t crave that comfort. He wants to make music with no compromises, music that expresses exactly how he feels, and how he wants to sound.

Dark Soldier was the track that bought you, as a solo artist, to everyone’s attention and now there is an album. Has it been a long time coming? Well, I started producing and writing songs, about two years ago. In the beginning I just wanted to produce and write and not work especially on an album, just to see how it would be. It was my first experience of working alone, then after a while there were a few songs and then it was a case of “ahh ok….!” that could be an album! But in the end, the process was not that long. When the album was finished, it was maybe a year in all.

That’s not so bad! No, It was quite a fast process, because it was only me. I rented an engineer, and a studio so it was very important to be prepared, as obviously studio time costs a lot of money! It was not a case of jamming in the studio, and seeing if something happens. I had a very clear picture of it, and of course I was the only one making decisions so……

You just mentioned that your original intention was not to make an album. At what point did that start to change? When I saw that the songs were all following a similar direction, I started to see how they could start to fit together, in German we say ”Roter Faden” which means that there is a continuing story, there is something that links these things together. I was working on each song with the same singer, the same voice, so it was clear then the songs were not that different. The first thing I gave people was Dark Soldier and then I had a lot very nice offers to make a record.

Everyone was like, “yeah it’s great its cool, do you have more” and I was like “yeah….” . So the next thing was; “so you can do an album right?”. I was like…. “OK, why not!” I didn’t want to sit down and have it planned before I started. I was so tired from all the other projects, where it was always, what next – contracts, albums, studio time, deadlines, all this is not good for the creative process! I still did not know what it would be like to work alone. Was I going to run out of ideas after one song? Or will there be more? I really didn’t know! So all I could do is see, and try. It was important that I didn’t want to have the record deal before… the first step was always the content, the music, then everything else around that can come afterwards.

In the end it was really good, I didn’t have to think “do the other people I am working with like it or not”. I can just concentrate purely on the music.

Dark Soldier was such a huge hit. Did you feel under pressure to follow it up? No, because most of the songs were 70% finished when I took them to the Winter Music Conference and played them to the guys from Jazzanova. I think it would have been different if Dark Soldier was all I had, but the first three 12 inches were finished and we had already decided that Dark Soldier would be first one, so we never knew what a hit it would be when we were working on the other songs…

It’s interesting because everyone in the scene knows Dark Soldier, but when you look on iTunes or something, a lot of people in places like the US, they are much more for New Love.

It was actually pretty strange that Dark Soldier was such a hit, because on one hand you have the techno guys playing it, then you have someone like Gilles Peterson who loved the tune and supported it. It seemed everyone was playing it, which for me was actually quite interesting! It was really perfect though, because it left me free to go in whatever direction I liked. For everyone it was clear; it would be different from Dark Soldier. There is no point in making Dark Soldier 2 or Dark Soldier 3, so for me it was very good!!

Your background has been working in pairs, trios, groups, for a very long time. Most people work alone first, then collaborate. Did you feel a need to move away and express yourself? Yeah absolutely! I realised when I was doing Voom Voom. I loved every project, everything was really cool but it’s always a compromise you know? There were a lot of ideas I wanted to try with everything, the artwork, how it looks, everything. I had a very clear picture of how that should be and the way it happened was a really natural process. 4 years ago I moved to Paris and we closed our studio. I sold my stuff and it was quite clear that we wouldn’t come back and work together. Then when I returned to Munich after a couple of years, it was still quite clear that we wouldn’t start again. Everyone was working on their own stuff, so I knew it was the right time.

So are these projects on hold, or completely dead? Well never say never, but for the moment I am too busy with my own stuff and remixes… and I must say, I am really enjoying this new situation. After fifteen years of living, working and touring with the others, we are still good friends and I think the reason for that is that we stopped the projects! Haha!

I was playing in Vienna at the weekend, and I met Peter Kruder (Kruder and Dorfmeister) and it was all good, but at the moment none of us could imagine working on these projects again. For me, I enjoy the travelling alone, making decisions alone and being able to write just my own music, I am really really enjoying that, but I didn’t know in the beginning if I would enjoy it because I had never done it before. It was a perfect situation though, at the moment it isn’t interesting for me to work with the others; there is no challenge in it.

Did you seek any advice or feedback from the others when you were making the album? What do they think of it? I never play something before it is finished. It wouldn’t make sense, having left a group situation, to then seek another opinion. The only person I play sketches or ideas of tracks to is my girlfriend! She is the only one. I didn’t want to start to question my own decisions; if someone didn’t like the bass drum for example, if someone had said that to me, I would go back to the studio and that would influence me! So no, I definitely didn’t want to do that. I mean, the engineer is there, the singer is there, there are other people involved in the process with me and of course afterwards, when I had finished, I gave them the stuff, but not before then!

And did they like it? Of course haha!! Of course I was happy about that, but if they didn’t like it, that would be ok too, I wouldn’t care. But they played it, charted the tracks, so that of course was really nice. However, I think it is a big mistake to try and make something that everyone should like; there should always be someone who doesn’t like it!

That’s the problem with the commercial stuff; so many people at the radio and stuff, saying “ah you know make it a bit slicker here...” and that just kills the whole thing. I would rather someone say they hated my track, than not to react. You have to be prepared to stand up and say something if that is how you really feel. It makes no sense to be everyone’s darling!

Was the fact you were alone the biggest creative influence? The title of album refers to that… Yes definitely. There were many times when I was questioning what I was doing, trying to understand why I didn’t like a particular element and after working in the studio for 15 years with other people, that was sometimes very strange! It’s like a couple that are together all day long, every day, it’s like one of them going on holiday alone – you experience things completely differently, you see things differently. You could go down to the beach, or not, and nobody would know, or even care! That’s what it’s like working in the studio alone after being with the others for such long time.

On the other hand, this is very interesting. If you go with this experience, it will take you to another level and for me it was such a great experience. I really loved being alone so much that there is more coming. I am already working on new productions

So is another album planned? There is nothing planned in terms of dates, labels, etc, but I know now I am capable of doing an album; so of course, at some point there will be a new one!

And what about touring? Are you going to play the album live? No, not live. To be honest the whole money situation with playing live …. I did that with Fauna Flash, and I don’t want to have to do that again. As a DJ I tour around the world, so I still get ‘play’ the album

On Vinyl, or CD’s or Serrato ? At the moment it’s CDs; which for me, is a very easy way. It’s funny as the first show, on my birthday, was at Fabric and it was the first time ever I arrived to play a gig with no vinyl! I always had both, and it was strange experience, but also a relief!! I was like, ok, I can just go now haha! No heavy bags.

I don’t think people care so much now anyway. Yeah defiantly with Final Scratch or Serrato, everyone is using something. Really, it’s just about the music; none of those girls on the dancefloor care what you are playing from, they are not even interested!

It’s always the men that care… Exactly, we do this to bring the people music that is different and new to other things that they can hear. They just want to dance and that has nothing to do with what you are playing from. 
The only exception is the Maiden Voyage project that I am working on with Rainer Truby, it’s a nerdy collector thing and it’s only ‘old skool’! There, at that night, we just play the originals, but that’s my private thing because I’m a record collector for disco and boogie. So when we do this night, we only play on vinyl,but that is just for me, as it’s fun. I don’t care if someone else is playing old music digitally. 

So were you road testing the album when you were DJ’ing? Absolutely. I am a big big fan of that. I originally had a slightly different bassline in Dark Soldier and always when I played it, something was missing… you could see it from the people. You could see that they wanted just a bit more. I would never, ever have seen that if I wasn’t playing the tracks in club; in the studio it is a different situation. DJ’ing is actually part of the process, because of course tracks sound so different in a club.

Do you have a favourite track on the album? Angel. In the beginning it was totally different , the structure is now much more song based… I was working on the vibe for such a long time, I always felt there was more there. I remember exactly the day, when I just changed a few things and it just felt absolutely totally right. You really have to have the feeling of bonding with a track and of course, I like Dark Soldier for helping me out so much!

Do you have favourite?

Yeah, New Love. I love the disco vibe. It is also my girlfriends favourite, and she insisted I tell you how much she likes it!! Haha, that’s great! That’s the tune that is really big with the US house guys like Quentin Harris, Dennis Ferrera and Martinez Bros; they are really on the New Love tip.

The tracks are very much songs  Absolutely! I find it so boring to make ‘tool’ music, I was always most interested in the arrangement. Sound is important, but it is just one element.

What is your musical background? Do you play any instruments? Yeah keys and I am also a drummer. I used to be a studio drummer, I am a professional ha!

That’s the difference I think though, I have this band background and music is about communication, conveying something and when you can play instruments, that is totally different to when people are coming from the computer world where they don’t play, or cant read music.

So what’s for the immediate future? Well I have just completed a load of remixes that are just about to come out and of course the main thing is playing DJ gigs with the album. I am playing the Southport Weekender, a new venue in Barcelona, Singapore and Asia; then after the summer we have a US release and tour.

Are you getting a lot of remix requests? Yeah it’s crazy! Even before Dark Soldier was officially released, I got a request from one of my favourite labels Freerange, and then just lots and lots more; 2 Banks Of Four, Sonar Kollective and Mule, who I really like. I am really in a happy place right now because all of the labels I really like are asking me to remix their projects! Always they send me the originals and I always think, “well what should I do with it?” They are all such great tracks to begin with. It’s perfect!

Where was the studio you worked in? Munich, it is the studio Giorgio Moroder worked at when he was there. All the stuff he is well known for was engineered in this studio by one engineer, who sadly passed away 2 years ago, but my engineer had worked with him for 16 years. All these platinum records on the wall, working on the very same equipment he used, so of course if I said to him “OK, disco snare” he knows exactly what I am after!

What is the scene like in Munich? Oh it’s great from an electronic point of view. We have Permanent Vacation, Compost, Gomma, Disko B, Gigolo. Hell is always there; there are lot of good bands and 3 excellent clubs. Everything is great – there are so many live acts and DJs there, its pretty good.

And what do you think about Berlin? It’s crazy! I think just now it’s the best place on the world for electronic music.
I know at first it seems like everyone is going to Berlin, but there are so many good people here, so many important people and the whole creative scene. The galleries, arts, movies, everyone is there doing their stuff at such a high level. I think that leads to a very special situation. 

So, are you happy with the album? Yeah, actually I am! It’s strange to say, but I am. What is quite interesting is that there are not any songs I don’t like. That always happens in projects!