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Written by CGNY   
Friday, 28 June 2013 02:44

 

What a treat!! Just ahead of his New York visit on Saturday at Sullivan Room our CGNY contributor Markus managed to squeeze in a quick chat with Kyle Geiger. One doesn't expect perhaps erroneously, such hard hitting and top class techno to come from Indiana but Mr. Geiger delivers just that! Shaping up on Saturday for what looks like a super gig along with Truncate and the Erratic crew - here are some thoughts on music from Kyle!

CGNY: As a musician every experience and inspiration flows into your artistry. Do you feel your productions have changed over the course of the last 5 years? Have you felt that your recent move from the U.S. to Berlin has effected your style as well? If so, how?

Kyle: I feel like my productions have taken on more personality in the last several years.  For years, I feel like I was really specializing in, for lack of better words, disposable DJ tools.  I think tools are critical to sets and I certainly utilize them a lot, but I also wanted to offer up some projects that connected directly with my fans instead of only DJs.

Berlin certainly has had an effect on me musically.  I get inspiration from places beyond the club, and so it's nice to even be in a different landscape, let alone such a techno mecca.  That said, and maybe it's a bit blasphemous, but I think when you throw 60% of the techno population in a city together, have them only hang out with each other, only talk about techno, and only go out to the same 3 clubs every weekend, those people run the risk of sounding exactly like everyone else.  I think on one hand it's great to be in a place where the majority of people understand and connect with your music, it's also incredibly inspiring to have to fight to win over every single person on a dance floor who hasn't been exposed to techno, such as in a place like Indiana.  Berlin is a super special place musically and culturally...but if people are only be inspired in Berlin, this music will get boring and homogenized rather quickly.

CGNY: You have been fine tuning your production studio. What do you use for your productions?

Kyle: My production comes 100% through Ableton and a few pieces of hardware that I love dearly.  I think people could debate until the end of days as to which is "better"...but something that can't be refuted about hardware is that it is DIFFERENT than software.  For that reason, I think it's great to have both as options, as you're less likely to feel like you're a factory worker in the studio just churning out the same product through the same process over and over again.

CGNY: When is your full length album on Soma Records set to be released?

Kyle: When it's done is the most generic answer.  I really feel like musically I'm in a place to offer up an album that will tell the story of an album.  If I'm releasing an album, it's essential for it to tell a story vs. being a collection of 10 tracks or so.  I was in the process of submitting the first 10 tracks for the album, down to putting them into a folder to be zipped up and sent to Soma...and said "5 of these tracks can be way better than what they are."  Once you change 5 tracks of the 10, you have to rework the other 5 to keep continuity.  I've been having a lot of fun with the process, and I would predict the album to be actually DONE by the end of July.  Provided I receive Soma's go ahead (they do have to like it, afterall ;) ), it will be put in the queue along with the other albums and projects and hope for a winter release.  That said, I'm just doing the music, so I won't put words into the other half's mouth.

CGNY: What have been some of your most memorable gigs in the past?

Kyle: Go ask a mother with 10 children which is her favorite kid, and then you'll have my answer.

CGNY: Reading the crowd is an art that often is underestimated. How do you manage to establish contact with your crowd and what are some of the adjustments you would make?

Kyle: Man, is it ever!  I think one of the most important things for a night is the opening DJ.  A good opening DJ can make your job easier than it should be, and a bad one will do exactly the opposite.  In the same way that I'm going to play a different set in an old warehouse than I would at a cocktail lounge, a DJ should also factor in the time of the night as well as the landscape of the party.  Opening slots can actually be really interesting, as you get to play great music that isn't necessarily full-on dance floor material.  I always get to my gigs an hour and a half before, mostly to access how the crowd is responding to what, what works well, what to avoid, etc.  It always drove me crazy when a DJ would play a track that the previous DJ played in his or her set, so I try to get there early enough to try to prevent some things like that.  I never prepare a tracklist, but I do prepare for different directions that I may need to take things.  The journey through the night is what is most important to me.   Amidst this age-old vinyl vs. digital debate, I fear that DJ's are losing sight of being story tellers.  These huge festivals where everyone plays 1 hour or 45 minute sets can hurt that as well.  It kind of forces every DJ to type in all capital letters while telling their story, and that's not really interesting to me. In fact, it's incredibly boring.

Lately my sets have been averaging about 3 hours in length, and I think that's really conducive to being able to take people places, and push boundaries a bit.  You can play some old, some new, and of course, some weird ones!

Thanks Kyle!

For more information go to www.kylegeiger.com

Check out Kyle at Sullivan Room on Saturday June 29th at the Erratic party!

Interview for CGNY by Markus Rhoten.

Last Updated on Friday, 28 June 2013 04:49
 

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