Boysnoize Records has a new Driver

Boysnoize Records (BNR) was founded by Boys Noize aka Alex Ridha in the year 2005. Launched by Ridha in order to retain his full artistic freedom while releasing his own music under Boys Noize as well as under different monikers (Puzique, Einzeller, Eastwest) BNR became a home for multidirectional quality electronic music. Now BNR has a new Driver. He is called Jan.

Last week your new album Amatilda was released through Boysnoize Records (BNR), though it doesn’t sound like a standard BNR release.
Yes, this is not a typical BNR release: I think this album has a great variety of sounds and I think it’s a cool and forward-looking decision from Alex Ridha to release my album through his imprint and open up towards new beatmaking.

You’ve been part of the Berlin Bass Boheme for a while now. When exactly did you start producing your own music?
I did my first record when I was 15 years old, through the good old Formaldehyd label. I started with Industrial music, then I turned pretty much to trance for a while.

But that was not under your Jan Driver moniker?
Nope. My first Jan Driver single was released in 1995. It was a blue vinyl 12” for my own label Grand Petrol. Then I was more or less producing and mastering stuff for friends and clients. So you were really young when you started producing techno.

Were you inspired by early Berlin techno clubs like UFO, Planet, E-Werk or Tresor?
I really loved the Exit Club at Fischerinsel. I was really, really digging this club – and from time to time I was visiting the Tresor aswell. But after a while that was boring and I prefered working in my studio producing and mastering stuff.

Who were you working with then, can you drop some names?
I did all producing and mastering for my buddy Siriusmo, then I worked for Jesse Rose, Modeselektor, then the Ghost remixes. I was very busy with working for other people but then, in my freetime I started to work on material for myself.

How did you come across with BNR, who are relativly new to the long-established Berlin techno-scene?
It was Siriusmo, who presented me one to to Alex and then later I was inviting him to come into my studio. There I played some of my tunes and he instantly loved them. We had a good collaborative feeling and we stayed in touch. One day we were working on a single and after that turned out pretty much good, we decided that one day I might release an album on his own imprint. And as I am pretty much on a run the last couple of months, I came faster than we all thought and the album was ready.

And the result of his rush is the Amatilda album on BNR?
Yes, exactly. Of course I did some changes after playing the tracks to Alex, but this was no problem because I am on a run. What I’ve learned about myself is, when I have a run, then I gotta use this. And now you’re with BNR? I think BNR is a really cool platfrom. The people working for BNR are really professionals and very gentle. I like BNR a lot.

How would you describe the BNR status these days in Berlin? I think BNR is facinating. Sure, not everybody likes the BNR sound, there’s still a lot of minimal around, but BNR had always a great variety: from funk, to hiphop, to oldschool, jungle and 90s rave to deep house, techno and more. But for me it’s not really important to define this. I think my album is somewhat special. It could be an advancement of the BNR sound. I think it’s pretty cool that Alex opens the range and signs artist like me or Spank Rock to BNR.

Was there any special inspiration for your Amatilda album? Did you listen to some contemporary music? You can tell me.
I think my album is anything but influenced by modern music. More likely influnces from the 1990s. As I told you the album was produced in nearly one rush and during this rush I never thought that this will be music for a new Jan Driver album. That’s so strange. I’d really like to know how it would sound if I had known beforehand that this will be a Jan Driver album.

What can we expect now? Are you going to tour with your new album?
Sure, there’ll be a tour but I hate being on a plane, so maybe it’s more a European tour. We will see. Years ago I already drove by car to gigs in Scotland or Finland – you can’t imagine how the promoters react, when they saw me with my Berlin car in front of the clubs. So maybe, this will happen again.

Don’t miss to tune in for a two hours mix of Jan Driver at “Electronic Beats on Flux FM” today, thursday 22nd starting 10.00 pm European time.

Berlin and Brandenburg – 100.6 MHz
Stuttgart – 97.2 MHz
Bremen – 97.2 MHz

Published September 22, 2011.