Paul Kalbrenner Interview at Coachella

Posted on Apr 19, 2013 in Brand New, Disco House, Electro, Festival, Interview

On the day before Paul Kalkbrenner‘s Sahara Tent set at Coachella, I sat down with the legend for a brief Q&A. He told me about how he removes himself from the stimuli of pop culture when creating new music and about the significance of listening to radio as a child in East Berlin.

Josh: Welcome to the states, have you ever been to Coachella? How is the weather treating you?

Paul: No I have not been here - I was actually expecting something like Burning Man, which I played a few years ago. But this is more civilized, I like that it isn’t so dusty. It’s my first time here so you cannot ask me if I like it yet. Actually I’m trying to see everything next week. I did not come here on Friday, just today, so I can play tomorrow. The rest of the week is for chilling. I would have thought I missed the festival, but not if it takes place again.

Josh: What kind of gigs have you found yourself playing recently? What do you enjoy and what do you prefer?

Paul: I like to play mostly concerts, because in Germany, there are huge venues; it’s like a concert but its techno. I have not played any small club recently. I think it’s a different thing. Sometimes you see faces looking at you, but when the venue is so big it is like an anonymous crowd. I always like festivals, concerts, and small clubs. But now I would have to say festivals since the season is starting.

Josh: Spotify, Soundcloud, and Mixcloud are huge right now but what other medium(s), influenced you personally and helped your career?

Paul: I think I have been most influenced by the radio. I am from East Berlin, you know? I listened to it, when I was a child growing up. I was listening to a West Berlin radio station, Rundfunk, which came from the American-Berlin Zone. So, this was more influential than anything else for me - more than anything I heard later on radio. The older I get, the more songs I cannot even remember, but I listened to them as a kid. They had a bigger imprint than anything that came later for me. Radio had a big influence on me as a kid absolutely! I would record it on cassette – on tape.

Josh: Are there any performances that you are excited to see here?

Paul: I think Wu Tang Clan, since I have never seen them. Joris Voorne who will play at the Yuma stage, and Moby too.

Josh: This year there are a lot of publicized back-to-back sets. We had dog blood at Coachella on Friday (Skrillex and Boyz Noise) as well as TNGT (Hudson Mohawke & Lunice. Have you ever played a back-to-back set?

Paul: No I could never do this, it will always be a one-man show. It is too big of a compromise. Whether in a studio or on stage. It is hard for me to think about it, I admire the people who do it.

Josh: What music in general are you listening right now? Any artist in particular?

Paul: I try to explain in many interviews that I do not listen to music. Because when I listen to music, I do not hear my own music anymore. Especially when I make an album, no TV, no radio. I try to arrive to the studio with no input and leave home with no input. Otherwise I would maybe try to copy it. It’s a way for me to work. I’m actually like an outsider, I did not know about Trap, and other things that are popular in club music within the last two years, that I would have never heard about. I try to keep myself out, to make my music.

 

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