NOT many electronic music artists from the last few years have invented their own sound but German DJ and producer Boris Brejcha claims to have done just that.
Boris’ High-Tech Minimal sound has swept through clubs and festivals across the world over the last few years winning armies of fans along the way with flamboyant DJ sets full of positive energy whether he’s wearing his instantly recognisable mask or not.
This weekend Boris will be heading to Sonus Festival in Croatia which starts on Sunday. You can catch Boris playing next Tuesday at the week long spectacular in the beautiful surroundings on Pag Island.
With four albums already under his belt and another on the way, we caught up with Boris to find out more about the man behind the mask, High-Tech Minimal, his Fcking Serious label, Love Family Park, Sonus Festival and what he’s got coming up…
You played the infamous Love Family Park in Germany for the first time two weeks ago. We were there and it was sizzling in more ways than one! How was it for you?
It was very hot. But I was impressed by how many people were still dancing even though it was about 35 degrees. I had a lot of fun. Many friends of mine were there and we spent a funny time together.
You are playing for another of Love Family Park promoter Cosmopop’s spectacular events Sonus Festival in Croatia which starts this weekend. What’s it like working with the guys behind some of Europe’s most spectacular events which include Love Family Park and the techno essential, Time Warp?
Of course it’s an honor to play these events and I really enjoy it. I think it’s always an advantage to work with people you already know. You always meet up with people you know very well and you know the whole procedure, because it’s often the same. Beside from that, I find it remarkable that they have established such a huge company which always makes every festival visitor happy at their amazing events.
Can we talk a little about the early days leading up to getting booked for these high profile events. I read that you weren’t really into the clubbing/festival side of things as a punter and it was always the music first for you?
That’s true. Music was always the most important thing to me. Music helped me to get through hard times and it was always my passion. Very early I decided that I want to keep music as a component in my life and that I wanted to unite my career with my hobby. Obviously, it’s also very overwhelming when you perform on a big stage, playing your own songs and people are dancing and screaming to it. Nothing can surpass that feeling.
You had a long relationship with the Harthouse label which was founded by Sven Väth. You released four albums with them. How influential was that label to your sound ahead of you founding your own label Fckng Serious?
I was happy to work with Harthouse, because ‘Der dritte Raum’, who inspired my music very much also had releases on Harthouse. It was also very suitable for me, because they were located in Mannheim. Back in those days, Harthouse was very famous and everyone was talking about this one label, so it became a small dream of me to be a part of this.
Can you describe your sound which has found its very own label High-Tech Minimal, a term coined by yourself?
When I have to describe my sound my answers are always very similar. I try to explain to people that there is no certain genre where my music fits in. High-Tech Minimal is a mixture of different sounds from different genres coming together. I mix hard bass lines with a lot of melodic parts and then I add my own specific touch. I produce music as I feel it and so there is no certain recipe for my music.
This is my latest release. (Check out other examples of Boris’ sound peppered throughout this interview).
If you want to hear more, there is a new album in the pipeline, be prepared!
Speaking of your label Fckng Serious, can you give us a bit of background on the imprint? I understand you run the label with two of your best friends?
I founded the label Fckng Serious in 2015. We have three other artists, while two of them are very good friends of mine. The label grew very fast. I have a manager, a label manager and another employee who does the paperwork for the label. Also our booking company is growing well at the moment and we have many people who are working together at the project Fckng Serious. Our Label is like a small family. We all know each other very well and we often do funny company excursions. For example we visit roller coaster theme parks together or have dinner together. We also enjoy our label nights together very much.
There is another Fckng Serious Bus Tour planned for September where the whole crew travels with a huge Nightliner through different countries and we are play a lot of gigs. We did this last year as well and we had a lot of fun. We also found out, that the Bus Tour stayed in the minds of many people and the reactions to it were great. That’s the reason why we will do it again.
What do you look for when signing new music to the label?
I receive a lot of requests from artists who want to join my label. I always try to listen to all demos, but sometimes it’s not possible. It’s very time consuming and after all it’s also very hard to find music, which fits to the Fckng Serious style.
When can we catch you playing back in the UK?
I’ll be playing at Egg in London on November 16. I’m looking forward to coming back.
Boris Brejcha joins an all star line up of the finest electronic music artists at Sonus Festival, Croatia which starts this Sunday August 19. Check out the details below and for tickets click here.
