words: MICK WILSON pics: NATASCHA ROMBOY TECH TWO’S COMPANY…
With his new album alongside Japanese techno master Ken Ishii in the shops now, we thought it was a good time for German DJ/ producer Marc Romboy to tell us all about the kit he uses to do his business nowadays…
M
arc Romboy has just collaborated with Japanese techno don Ken Ishii on a new long-player, ‘Taiyo’ — out now on Marc’s Systematic
Recordings label. It’s an understated journey of techno textures, which propels the listener from instant ease to dancefloor mayhem throughout its journey.
Marc Romboy and Ken Ishii between them have a long history when it comes to the dance music scene. Ken Ishii is inarguably one of Japan’s most respected and innovative techno artists, whose influence and reach extends far beyond the dancefloor. Marc, meanwhile, has been active in the industry for almost 20 years, as an acclaimed producer, DJ and label owner, first heading up prolific underground imprint Le Petit Prince back in the ‘90s. Now they have come together to deliver a stonker of an album. Marc tells DJ Mag more about the recording process and how it all came about… How did you and Ken get together? “Well, everything began with a DJ mix Ken prepared for my radio show Systematic Session, which I found pretty outstanding and great. Since then we stayed in steady contact and found out that there is a huge intersection of music that both of us like. After a while, we started to produce a track together that was, let’s say,
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‘sleeping’. I always loved the weird LFO pulsating bassline of the track, but couldn’t for some reason find that certain something in order to finalize it. When Ken returned his solo tracks and ideas from his studio, I was like, ‘Wow, this is awesome’, and happily finished our first song, ‘Taiyo’.” How did you go about working on the project, considering that Ken is based out in Japan and you are in Germany? “Yes, this was a very new and fresh approach when it comes to producing music as a team, as it was from a distance. I’m still fairly fascinated by the thought that two people make music together
although they are around 7000 miles away from each other. I only did this once, with Gui Boratto a couple of years ago when we produced ‘Eurasia’, but I’m positively surprised how well everything went. From now on I know that once artists are on the same, let’s say ‘musical frequency’, anything is possible — even wrapping up an album, although we haven’t even spent one minute in a studio room together.” The internet and technology has changed the way that collaborations and records can be recorded. How did it work for you guys? “Yes, it’s really amazing how this works nowadays. Our way of working was pretty simple. For example, Ken prepared a rough demo, only with a few drum elements and the pads, so that I could catch up with the harmonies. Once in my studio, I added my typical basslines and heavier drums to it so that it had that special Teutonic pressure. And after two, three rounds of playing ping-pong in this way, the track was ready. Pretty easy, actually…” Describe the style and sound of the new album? “The album is a journey into the sounds which are played in our brains, I would say. It’s the musical world of two guys who are addicted to electronic music, and we want everybody to share this world.” What were your influences when putting it together? “Oh, this is actually not an easy question to answer because from my point of view every moment, every sound can influence your musical and artistic output, you know? Basically, I was always influenced by electronic music throughout the years, starting with bands like Can, Kraftwerk and Jean-Michel Jarre in the ‘70s, followed by phenomenons like breakdance, EBM, Italo disco and Chicago house in the ‘80s — and, of course, the techno movement in the ‘90s. Every decade influenced me in a way. “I still buy a lot of albums by interesting electronic artists. I just bought the latest album by Pantha du Prince, which I found inspiring insofar as he went on a brand new path in using real bells in his productions. This is a creative and forward-thinking move that deserves my respect. Also, all releases around the circle of Moodymann and Andrés are very fresh and inspiring, and of course the radio show of Gilles Peterson is something I’m almost never missing.”
What does your studio set-up consist of? “I have a studio set-up consisting of analogue and virtual machines. But I always try to include as many analogue elements as possible, although it’s much more convenient to use plug-ins. For example, the real Roland TB303 bassline machine is something special, something that a virtual
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