dj1 magazine

dj1 magazine: "Bionik" is your brand new record published by Cocoon. This work evokes progressive house, 'the populist genre that minimalists once loved to hate'. Especially the track 'Lotuseffekt', is like coming back to the 90's. Nevertheless it remains the minimal touch, and your personal style that won the heart of the critics and, of course, the public in 2004. Listening your new release is listening the post-minimal the 'neo new wave'?

Eulberg: I never cared about names and styles of music. I'm just sitting down, listening to my heart and do this kind of music I want to do. I hate to pigeonhole music, this is typical human, we always need to categorize and classify everything. But music is something more, it's about emotions about expressing a feeling and telling something very personally.

dj1 magazine: Could you talk about the process of producing your wonderful new record?

Eulberg: I always have the aim to tell people something about our beautiful life. So I always try to pick out an interessting topic. “ Bionik” was the logical next step. The expression Bionics is composed from Bio-, taken from Biology and -nics, taken from Technics. Its aim is to use biological principles, which have been invented and perfected by nature over millions of years, for technical purposes. I selected ten examples of this and wrote a song and an information text for it. Musicaly, it was important for me to create an album with a lot of different styles and atmospheres. Songs you can listen and home or during driving car and songs which wash out your braintwists on the dancefloor. Because I was playing so much it took me much more longer to finish than the first album.

dj1 magazine: The titles of your tracks have evolved pragmatically, but 'Der Traum Vom Fliegen'; it was a suggestion of the label, or a personal decision?

Eulberg: Yes its true, this titel disturps a little bit the consistent concept of combing a word with an element of nature and an element of the technical use. But it was by decision to name it like this because this is an amanable entrance to the world of bionic. And also the dream of flying can been seen as an prime example for bionic.

dj1 magazine: When you started getting into music you used to listen the Sven Väth radio show. Now you work with Cocoon. How do you feel? You shall cross out this aim of your aim-list, isn't it?

Eulberg: Of course this makes me very proud. If somebody would have told me that 15 years ago when I was always listening to Sven Väths radio show I didn't believe him. But I never had aims or a plan about my musical career. It just happend. I was studying biology and wanted to work in the nature conservation sector and music was always just a hobby, a passion and a therapy for balancing me. And suddenly one thing come after the other.

dj1 magazine: Let's talk about your musical origins. You started DJing in underground parties when you were a teenager. Afterwards you started performing weekly in a club where it was forbidden the ritual of the dance. How do you remember those times?

Eulberg: I was growing up in a very rural area called Westerwald. Here were no clubs to listen to techno music. So we had to be proactive to listen to techno and we did a lot of illedal techno partys in farms, stone pits or isolated huts. It was a time with a big breakup atmosphere. Something very new. I loved the vipe that everybody accepted the other no matter if he was black or white, which age, or disabled. The music was so mystical. There were a lot of sounds I couldn't understand how they where genereted. I think it was one of my most exixting times. When I wnt to Bonn to study, I earned some money to financiet it by playing in a bar one time a week. This was also a very nice experience to create a friendly and pleasent atmosphere with music with out unbaging bludgeon.

dj1 magazine: Nine years later your first release appears in the Matthias Schaffhäuser´s label “Ware” and on “Raum Music”. Could you talk about your early professional contacts?

Eulberg: I was always to shy to give a demo to somebody and this was also not my aim. I had more fear to get into a music machinery where you have to functionated and not be able to be your self anymore. But friend of mine from the Westerwald started to work in Frankfurt in a big record company and gave it to Mathias Schaffhäuser without letting me know. The I learned really quick that a lot of the people who run technolabels are more human than I thought and I felt well.

dj1 magazine: For me, and I suppose for someone else..."Flora and Fauna" is a masterpiece of the minimal scene, taking into account that is your first album is a commendable fact. You were working on in detail, ins't it?

Eulberg: The first album is always the easyest album. You have no pressure and nobody has any expections on it. “Flora & Fauna” it did very quick in something like 3 weeks, because I was really glowing to do it and I thing this is a really peice of my heart. I was really glad, Riley and Jacqueline from Traumschallplatten gave me the chance to do it. It's always hard to analyse your own music but I think “Flora & Fauna” is innocent with magic moments.

dj1 magazine: own touch and style...but don't you think that 'Flora & Fauna' was the beginning of your musical career, and even the beginning of a new electronic style, something like 'organic minimal'?

Eulberg: I think my first success was “Die Rotbauchunken vom Tegernsee”. I got so many good reactions on it that I was really motivated to do more. “Flora & Fauna” was more the result of the running motor.I don't know which style it should be but I think this is really personal music with a lot of details and surprisings.

dj1 magazine: Nowadays at 2007, you have released in one of the most important labels, such Trapez, Traum, Raum. You have published world success hits like 'Potzblitz & Donnerwetter', or the trendy hit with Gabriel Ananda 'Kirschplunder & Jasmin Tee'. Moreover the remixes like "Get Noch" of Roman Flügel .You have grown to currently become one of the most renowned minimal producers. Could you analyze or summarize this years?

Eulberg: It was a very quick process. 3 years ago I was a tidly student and now I'm touring all arround the world and doing interviews every week. Sometimes its hard to believe for me. This live has advantages like seeing the whole world, meeting a lot of interessting people and learn so much. But it also has disadvanteges like more allegiances, a lot of stress, no time when the friends party there birthday on the weekend and so on. But for me I still see a sense in the thing I'm doing and it makes me happy.

dj1 magazine: You did a remix of one of your favorite tracks: 'Strobelight Network' of G.Ananda. How is your contact with Gabriel Ananda?

Eulberg: I know Gabriel allready since 5 years. Now he is one of my closest friends. We meet one time in the week and speak about music, technic, life, astronomy and nature till the morning light. I'm really glad to have him because we can exchange our knowledge about music and we understand very well because we both are doing this travellunacy every weekend and can be there a very good support. We just did our second EP together and this won't be the last one for sure.

dj1 magazine: And... could you talk about the contact with your label boss and teen idol Sven Väth?

Eulberg: Sven is a very unique character with an unbelivebel big charisma. He was born to be a leading personality. But what I really admire is the fact that Sven is so well grounded in spite of everything. He is speaking to everybody in the same way, no metter if you are the pope or a taxi driver. And he gives everybody the chance to have success like he did with me. Sometimes I make myself to much thoughts about everything and Sven can delete them with one single adepted sentence.

dj1 magazine: You also have several releases as Rocco Branco. What is the difference between Rocco and Dominik?

Eulberg: Dominik is the brave natureboy, who is taking no drugs and is doing beautiful and filigree music and Rocco is really fucked up, alcohol addicted and is doing really craggy music. Rocco is just finishing his new EP for Platzhirsch, but he is a really crazy guy who is just working when it suits him.

dj1 magazine: The next New Years Eve we will have the pleasure to see you in Spain, specifically in Metro Alicante [I'm from Alicante and I love this club]. What is your point of view about the Spanish electronic music scene?

Eulberg: I always love to play in Spain because people are so into music. The atmosphere is always so euphoric and energyloaded. In Spain there is not so much “techno police” and “deck sharks”, people are listening music with the heart and not with the head and this is good as it is! Esta noche una fiesta mui grande !!!

dj1 magazine: What do you think about the electronic music scene in general, about new artists, new styles; what's your opinion about the future in electronic music?

Eulberg: This is really hard to say. The quantity of releases and labels increased massive in the last years but this was for sure not good for the quality. Today everybody can realize his own visions just with a cheap computer and some software. I think this is a really nice point, but a lot of people directly want to realease their music, because they think there are only cool when they are also producer or labelrunner, everybody wants a slice of the cake. So I think the trend is going more and more to indiviual styles and trends and less consens. Because of this big mass it will be very hard that new starts will be born

dj1 magazine: And, well.... we could talk about your personal life. I have read that you study Geography, Biology, and Geology [I study Geography right now at Barcelona Univ.] and even you teach some lessons as a university teacher?

Eulberg: My father was also a biology teacher who showed me a lot about nature. I was growing up without an television so was everyday outdoor and the studying of birds, butterflys, insects and flowers was my television. It was always very important for me to show other people who hadn't have the luck to be into such a close contact to our source, the beautiness of nature and the need to secure it from us. After school I moved to Bonn and started to study a special subject with economy and environmental thinks. After a few years I got the offering of a professor to teach young students which was a very interessting experience. Then I worked two times in national parks.

dj1 magazine: How do you handle being a world star DJ with your academic degree?

Eulberg: Sometimes its hard and I miss the mental tasks. Touring and playing has not a big intellectual claim. But I always try to satisfy myself a bit with always choosing a theme when a do an album and write informationtexts for everybody on it. But in the night I'm dreaming often to be back at the university and I'm sure I will be in a few years

dj1 magazine: Do you wish to return to this peaceful way-of-life someday?

Eulberg: This is sure. At the moment I still have a lot of fun by touring and feeling the energy of music. But travelling so much is not really healthy when you do it for long time and the fire of love to work in and for the nature is still burning very huge in my heart. But producing music is a very important part of my life and balancing me and I'm sure that I never won't stop this, even when its just for myself.