Fresh TEA - Reno Wurzbacher

Is the Fachwerk family misunderstood? Are press shots of three topless German males greased up to the chiselled jaw-line really a narrative for house music? Were we wrong about linear and rugged machine funk?

Well, kind of. Mike Dehnert’s extensive back catalogue has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is in fact as much a house honcho as he is a bulwark of German functionalism. Sascha Rydell’s lusty productions glow with the kind of sensuality that has you seductively biting your bottom lip like Angelina Jolie, not screwing up your face with a look that says “tune”. Roman Lindau also suggests he is more about da funk and shaking his ass like a “fitness DJ” rather than manufacturing conveyor belt fist pumps for dancefloors. On top of all this, Fachwerk’s production titles are laced in French suggestion, not unequivocal Deutsch.  

So creating the label Colombage for their house-mate cousin Reno Wurzbacher isn’t as left-field as one might think, if anything it’s a vote of confidence for Wurzbacher and a giggly new outlet for Fachwerk’s thrust into house music.

Last year Wurzbacher released his debut opus, "Julischkaa", alongside yet another trusty Dehnert cut for the launch of the Colombage label. It’s now obvious as to why MD dedicated an entire platform to Wurzbacher, as his introductory oeuvre is majestic house music at its purest and a serene set opener. Wurzbacher followed up with "Mode One" earlier this year for Colombage’s second missive Raw Mode, which also gave Roman Lindau his debut on the Fachwerk sub.

Wurzbacher opened up the doors to “the huge Fachwerk-apartment” to let us in on Sachas Rydell’s record collection, his relationship with Roman Lindau and hip hop, his supposed stubbornness and attuned taste for turkish tea.

How and where was the mix recorded? 

I did the mix with two Technics SL-1200 MK2, an Allen & Heath Xone 92 and a Bose Soundsystem. I only DJ with vinyl. Digital stuff like Traktor hasn’t done anything for me so far. I guess I am really old school and very stubborn. In Germany we have an old saying which fits perfectly: "Was der Bauer nicht kennt, dass frisst er nicht" which means “some people won't eat anything they've never seen before”.

Explain the type of house music you are into, how you discovered it and how long you have been DJing for?

I see myself as an advocate of good old deep house. Vinyl records have a special groove, they should show emotion and evoke feeling and they’re can be a bit scruffy. There is nothing worse than an overloaded and perfectly shaped production where the focus is only on the sound. At its best a production is balanced and for me the “idea” behind any track is the most important thing.

In 1997 I started DJing and back then I only spun hip hop records. In 1999 I went to a party where Dixon and Mitja Prinz were playing at WMF. I was completely blown away by them and their style. From there I knew this was the the music had been impatiently waiting for - for so long. So, I sold all my hip hop records and started spinning and collecting house music. Of course I still like to listen to hip hop, mainly the old stuff by BootCampClik and Mobb Deep, but my musical life is mostly affected by deep house sounds.

You recently played for the first time at Panoramabar with the Fachwerk crew. How was it? 

Oh yeah, that was an awesome night, I played from 3-5am. Mike got the party started and the crowd was full of enough energy, literally soaking up the music and partying hard. The Fachwerk guys and John Tejada’s live set kept to a much straighter sound, so I think my house set was a really good contrast and the people enjoyed it and got their money's worth. We all had a lot of fun and hope we can do it again pretty soon.

Roman Lindau said you first meet eight years ago. How did you first become involved with the Fachwerk crew and how close are you know with them?

It’s actually nine years now but Mr. Lindau has trouble remembering things (laughs). We accidentally played a show together called “Deep Impressions”. We were booked separately. From then onwards we became really good friends. After that Roman introduced me to Mike and Sascha and we met up regularly, went to parties and we shared a studio for a while. Right now we are all doing our own thing, but of course we are still hook up, talk about music or just have a beer and enjoy the good times.

How long have you been producing for? 

As I mentioned before I started DJing in 1997. Five years later, in 2002, I started producing on my own. Basically it’s like what Roman said: if you always deal with music, buy listen and spin records, your own ideas automatically begin to evolve and you want to put your ideas into practice. You want to know how it works and obviously you want to make something that people will say “Wow, I like that. That's the groove. It affects me”. 

But it takes a while to reveal something that you are convinced is good enough to be released. At least I think that’s the best way, because with music, it’s like everything else in life; you have work on it intensely, learn about it and work on it. Then you’ll master it and have something of value that will mean something to you and others.

It seems as if the Fachwerk guys are really enjoying house at the moment. Sascha Rydell’s new EP is the very “housey”?

It' may appear like that but I wouldn't say that this is just a period for the guys. All of them, even Mike, test the waters outside of techno and they toy with house music all the time. Sascha’s record shelves are full to the brim with terrific house records from all kinds of decades. Mikes "Deep Route", released on Deeply Rooted House is now two years old and for me is still one of the best house tracks of the last few years. Roman in person, I got to know through deep house and I know that he is a huge fan of funk and soul.

I think Fachwerk stands out from the techno-crowd as a label because of their passion for house music. They produce techno music with soul and drive. They have the energy to give something back to the people who may have missed it previously: The spirit of techno music. Frankly, it isn't about clumsy, fast beating kick drums and some arty, abstract industrial sounds thrown in the mix, it’s more about the depth and the groove that catches you, something that literally picks you up and won't let you go. People should feel the music and I believe they do with any Fachwerk record.

How much do you think you have influenced the Fachwerk sound since you have been involved with them?

I don't think that I have a big effect on their productions, or maybe I just can’t tell. Somehow I don't want to affect them. Each of them do their own thing and that’s fine. Sure, I tell them what I think about their tracks, what I like and of course what I don't like, but in the end they release stuff on Fachwerk that is Fachwerk - Mike Dehnert, Sascha Rydell and Roman Lindau.

Explain the Colombage label. Was this created for you to be able to release your music on, as well as Fachwerk's “housier” tracks?

Yes, definitely. It’s as if they all loved my stuff, well most of it (laughs). My tracks didn't match the label (Fachwerk) so Mike offered me the chance to launch a label I could release my own tracks on instead. My track Julischkaa was the decisive factor behind the decision. It’s more of a calm and long house track rather than a techno anthem, but they liked it so much that they wanted to release it on vinyl. Therefore Mike launched Colombage. So what can I say, I give Mike huge props because he has given me the opportunity to release my music the way I want.

Would there be a Colombage label without Reno Wurzbacher?

No, I don't think that Colombage would exist without me. With the sub-label (Colombage) Mike essentially built a little empire just for me. The guys have their own home-base with Fachwerk, so they don’t need another label. However, each of us is free to release on Colombage. Mike and Roman already have and I am sure that Sascha will also release something on Colombage.

What productions are you working on at the moment?

Currently I’m working on my third Colombage record. This time it will just be a Reno Wurzbacher record. I’ll release three tracks with the chance of a remix by one of the other guys, but we’re not sure yet.

Do you consider Colombage to be your home label? Would you release music with other labels?

Oh yes, Colombage is my homestead. It's like my own room in the huge Fachwerk-apartment. Here I can carry on and make a mess, until the man of the house - Mike - comes home, gives me a wrap across the fingers and tells me to clean up and release more music.

For sure I would release on other labels, but it has to be on good terms. I don't mean financial terms, but rather being given the freedom to create and being given time. I am not a machine, I want to take the time to produce music and need to be given as much time as I need to make a good production.

What’s coming up for Reno Wurzbacher?

I hope just good things (laughs). Firstly I am looking forward to Colombage 03. At the moment it’s the most important thing for me. Apart from that I hope to spin some records with the guys soon, whether it’s in Berlin or abroad, we’ll have to wait and see. Music will continuously play a major role in my life. That’s guaranteed.  

What is your favourite tea?

Turkish apple tea.

TEA with Roman Lindau

Of the Fachwerk throng, Roman Lindau suggests he is the funkiest of the three and while there is no denying Fachwerk commander in chief Mike Dehnert possesses his own brand of funk - as does Sascha Rydell - it’s Lindau’s cheeky approach to techno that grants him his own sound within the Berlin techno collective.

Spearheaded by Dehnert, the three have crafted their own distinctive niché and Lindau has begun to extend his branch of that niché outside of Fachwerkian waters, but he is yet to stray too far from home. Only a clutch of tracks have been commissioned for other labels including ‘Raumgestaltung’ and ‘Keppra’ for both Len Faki and Ben Klock’s Berghain mixes, while Roman, Sascha and Mike all supplied mixes for Delta Funktionen’s Inertia // Resisting Routine mix CD on Delsin sub Ann Aimee.

The mix subsequently opens with Sascha Rydells ‘Rainy Days’ and then Delta Funktionen tears the roof off when mixing Lindau’s beefy cut ‘Borné’ into Dehnert’s bone crunching ‘Pneumatic’. Marcel Dettmann also uses Lindau’s throbbing ‘Sub Suggestion’ in his Conducted mix for Music Man.

For anyone who has seen Lindau DJ, you will know his sets are a fair representation of his productions; burly and powerful, yet laced with groove and very danceable. Which is why Dehnert is not the only one jet-setting all over the world fuelling night clubs and dance floors with the Fachwerk heat, particularly in France - a fitting connection since the trio so often pay homage to the French language in their track titles.

TEA’s man on the ground in Berlin Nic Tuohey caught up with a Roman Lindau at a local cafe for a candid chat on his career and 2012 so far. Lindau opens up to TEA, quietly quipping Berlin is ‘the place’ for electronic music, as well as unveiling plans for a new album, his relationship with close friend and Colombage staple Reno Wurzbacher and why he is considered a fitness DJ.

How has 2012 gone for you so far and how important has this year been for you and Fachwerk? 

It’s been very exciting because I’ve decided to do an album. I’ve been producing a lot of tracks and hopefully they’ll see a release this year, toward the end of the year. I’ve been playing a lot of gigs, often international too. Each year I have been getting more and more, with more Fachwerk label nights also which is great. Last year I signed to Octopus booking agency in Amsterdam. It’s great because now I have someone to manage my bookings. So to summarise; 2012 has been a good year with more gigs, releases and remixes. I did a remix for Lee Holman on KAWL Records, one for Zadig on Construct Reform and another for Ed Davenport on Counterpart 2. 

How much are your label nights about pushing the Fachwerk sound as opposed to putting on a good techno-house party? 

A typical Fachwerk night is of course the ‘Fachwerk sound'. We play a lot of unreleased stuff with a lot of raw house grooves and modern groovy techno stuff. We don't like this 'new wave' of techno - there's this new wave...this dark, moody and straight stuff. I respect labels who release these sounds, but we are more about rawer and rougher sounds. You can hear it our productions and the label nights.

Yes, actually I listened to your last podcast for Sonotown.

Yes, it's an event in Paris. We had a very interesting label night there last year. It was one of the best label nights we’ve had so far. It was a little different from the 'usual' Paris club-night, but we received a great reception and everyone was up for a party. Julien, the owner of Sonotown, asked me to play again and I did in December. It’s a very nice venue called Moulin Rouge; actually it’s called club La Machine du Moulin Rouge, it wasn’t cabaret though (laughs). I played there with Shed, Machinedrum and Dorian Concept.

Sure. So Fachwerk is received quite well outside of Germany. Were you throwing parties before you were a part of the Fachwerk collective?

Ah yeah. We played in Berlin but it wasn't gigs like Berghain or Arenaclub, it was more like the underground of the underground (laughs). I don't know, I cant describe it, but we weren’t playing very often. When we were around 17 or 18 and Mike and I organised small techno parties. They weren’t really that successful. We decided to produce our own music and use Mikes label Fachwerk as its platform. Mike was resident at Tresor and he started the label with the first four releases. Sascha and I had the chance to release our music with him, our favourite stuff. We soon realised that people like Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann liked the sound of Fachwerk and more gigs followed. 

So you discovered your niche?

Yes. It was us growing up. You can play wherever you want in Berlin, but if you decide you want to live off music you need money, but also the time to produce. So many people say to me ‘oh it's so cool you get to see Oslo and places like that’. It's nice, but its also hard to travel so much. I’m starting to realise more and more it’s not a vacation, but I’m very happy to be doing this.

Sure. The jetlag, timezones and after-parties.

Yeah. The after-parties. People ask you the same questions every gig. What equipment you use, blah blah blah. Its not a question of what you use, it’s the way you use it.

So DJing came before production?

Yeah definitely. Mike began producing very early, when he was about 18. Producing didn’t interest me when I was younger. I would watch Mike turn all these knobs and press all these buttons, but I wasn’t really into it. Later on I started to produce my own stuff because I think if you have an intense relationship with music and DJing, you will come to a point where you want to create your own music.

Absolutely. So, how do you know Reno Wurzbacher?

Reno? That was him just on the phone before (laughs).

Your last night at Panoramabar was with him.

Yes it was a Fachwerk-Colombage night, but not an official one because Mike was there as MD2. Sascha played and so did Reno. It was Reno’s first time there and he was so happy. He was a little bit ‘ooh’ (laughs). He's a very good house DJ. We met about eight years ago in a small club, we were playing the same party...what was it called again? Ahh, the Birthday Club, it’s a small place in Friedrichshain. That’s where we first met and we have been friends since.

So Mike played as MD2. How does that differ from his Mike Dehnert sets?

It’s more experimental. He decided to play the first set. You know his productions and they're...heavy' sometimes. As MD2 he tries to play a little bit more groovy house stuff, because he really likes that - we all do. But Reno is the 'housiest' one out of all of us. That's what we were actually talking about on the phone. The next Colombage is mastered and we talked about the name of the next release. There will be a track from Reno, two tracks from Mike and one from me.

Yes, going back to that Sonotown podcast, it really did remind me of that Colombage sound. Like you said before "raw house grooves and modern groovy techno stuff". 

We didn’t want to release it on Fachwerk because Fachwerk is Fachwerk, Colombage should be a little bit more housey. The track from me is quite slow, it’s around 120 BPM and it’s...very ‘raw’ (laughs). Yeah, very deep with a funky bassline. I don't know if you could really play it in a techno set, maybe at the beginning - or a warm-up set?

So Sascha is the “gentleman” of the group?

(laughs) The gentleman? You read the interview with Resident Advisor? Yeah Sascha's the gentleman. Sometimes Mike and I have our differences and Sascha stands between us and..

He's like the moderator?

Yeah yeah. He's not really a 'gentleman', he’s more...friendly? He’s not that expressive when he plays, but sometimes he plays really hard. At Panoramabar he played a really nice house set, he usually plays a little more straight up techno. 

How would you say your productions differ from Mike or Sascha's?

The difference is that I'm a little bit more funky. I mean, Mike's tracks are also funky but...hm that's a good question. How to answer this? I guess I’m the housiest techno producer of all of us, maybe. Not all my tracks are, but sometimes I try to make things a bit more soulful. It's soulful techno in my opinion. Sascha can be a bit more...it's difficult to explain (laughs).

How important was having “Keppra” on Ben Klock's Berghain mix CD?

It was very important for me. I was very surprised that Ben asked me to do an exclusive track for his Berghain mix. Len Faki used Raumgestaltung for his Berghain 03 mix and that was my entry into playing Berghain. So when Ben asked me I was very happy. It was very important for me because people say - promoters particularly - that they want to promote their parties with 'Ostgut Ton' as well as Fachwerk next to my name. They (Ostgut Ton) have a strong name in techno. It also helped me build my relationship with Ben. At the moment I'm producing a track for his next Fabric mix, he asked me for another exclusive track. Ben can be very demanding and he’s not so easily satisfied.

Ben has a very high standard?

Yes, exactly. A very high standard. We'll see. Maybe he'll mix it in or maybe he won’t.

How have yourself seen develop since the MDRL EP?

Yeah I’m sounding better - definitely, more and more. But sometimes people tell me ‘you should do a track like Raumgestaltung or Simplicity again’. These earlier tracks of mine were more 'techno', but I’ve developed more and more and tried to not have a plan. I produce what I like. I don’t really think too much about what I do, maybe other artists do subconsciously. But yeah, I try to make my own stuff. I like house, I like pop, I like techno. You can hear that in the development of my sound.

How much of you will we see outside of Fachwerk?

I don’t think I’ll start my own label. So many people at the moment are starting labels, I couldn’t imagine doing one now. I won’t be releasing my own album on Fachwerk either, I’m not sure where - maybe on Speedy J’s Electric Deluxe. I have a lot of ideas, but the album isn’t finished.

Now you said before you're influenced by many things from hip-hop to house to...

Funk and soul and and a little bit of jazz.

And have you heard any other good albums or 12's lately?

Yes Mike's last album on Fachwerk. It's a little bit different from his previous productions. There is a little bit of 'pop' in it, but not too much. I really liked Steve Rachmad’s album on Music Man, it's very good. There's a lot of stuff now, so many people are making good techno music at the moment. Yeah, much Respect.

How have you seen Berlin change in the last five to ten years?

Yeah in so many ways. So many people have moved to Berlin. So many artists have moved to Berlin because it is cheaper than other cities. You can rent a studio for not much. Maybe Berlin is becoming more and more ‘the place’ for electronic music.

Yeah, there's no denying it’s the centre for techno music at the moment.

Yeah, but it's not cool for me to play in Berlin too often. I don't like to play that much in Berlin because people abroad seem to appreciate the (Fachwerk) sound more. People in Berlin have so many clubs to choose from and sometimes too much is on. People are spoilt for choice (laughs).

Yeah speaking of other clubs abroad I must check out. I've been told I must go the Culture Box in Copenhagen.

Yeah, it's really cool. The Culture Box is great because it's a small venue. People know how to party and it’s the only club in Copenhagen that know how to book good DJs. People know to expect good things. They come to the club because they can’t always hear music from Fachwerk or whoever anywhere else. That’s the reason we decided to hold regular Fachwerk nights there. Last month all three of us played at the Culture Box. The time before it was just Mike and I. 

So you are really enjoying playing abroad?

A lot of people are starting to see how much fun I have when I DJ. It was funny once in Turin, the guy working the lights said to me ‘you’re a fitness DJ’ and I asked why? He said: ‘because you’re whole set you’ve been shaking your ass’ (laughs). It’s my way of DJing. I have my own party in my head when I play.

Well thanks for your time today Roman, there's just one last question. What is your favourite tea? 

Green Tea.

Words: Nic Tuohey
Pic Credit: Marie Staggat

Mike Dehnert Turns 25

Memorable are the days pre zip file, digital promo and Sendspace, or should I say Megaupload. Buying a long awaited album from your record store was like meeting a new friend. You would catch up a few times and if you got along you would see more of each other, sometimes a love affair would blossom, even flourish, you might still be together, or was it a summer of love?

Some get it with Radiohead, others with Plastikman, me? It’s Mike Dehnert and anything Fachwerk. Dehnert has been crafting his masonite, shuffley-dubbed techno nigh on five years now, with Fachwerk becoming something of an institution. Along with Roman Lindau and Sascha Rydell, the three remain diligent in their Fachwerkian cause - Reno Wurzbacher the only one thus far to infiltrate the trio's steely cage via Fachwerk sub label Colombage.

Mike Dehnert in the studio, as you would expect is a work horse, knocking out nine studio albums and 27 eps in conveyor belt style. Dehnert’s sound is often recognisable within the first bar, whether it be via his trademark flabby kicks, crunched hats, piqued blips or pitched vocals. A DJs wet dream, anything Dehnert is a joy to mix, rinse the faders and ride it out! But the born and bred Berliner is still capable of applying curve to a traditionally linear craftsmanship, examples of this are best heard in "Sondebar" and "Plonger" from the “Oblique” ep on Clone Basement Series. Both are still relatively four-four but tricky nevertheless.

Mike Dehnert - Sonderbar [Clone Basement Series]

Mike Dehnert - Plonger [Clone Basement Series]

Some of Dehnert’s more recent works have been criticised for being a bit “samey”  - I’ve even heard “I think Dehnert is about the most boring techno I can imagine,”. Sure, there is an argument to had here, especially if dense, four to the floor, soup thick techno is not your thing, but within the framework* Dehnert sets himself, he couldn’t be more dynamic.

March 30th this year Fachwerk took over Panoramabar along with Reno Wurzbacher and special guest John Tejade. Mike Dehnert performed under his MD2 guise and Roman Lindau was cheekily bracketed as “Ostgut Ton” thanks for his addition to Ben Klock’s Berghain 04 mix. So I pose the question - how many other labels, troupes or ensembles, with comparable techno clout to Fachwerk, have the ability to successfully host both Berghain and Panoramabar? Not many - if any. 

Mike Dehnert aint to bad at producing house music either, albeit with his hallmark oomph. “Discrete” and “Beatmatching” - both “Delsin-Framework” affiliated, as well as “Werkbank” on SIXONESIX and “Lautschrift” on Clone Basement Series, tick all boxes marked house (heck* he even does jazz with “Granulat”). Dehnert’s latest long playing and creatively titled missive “Fachwerk 25”, see's the usually stringent MD experiment with sound design past the usual intro and outro. By applying more synths, other than the techno synonymous "dub chord", Dehnert effectively rounds out a complete album, more so than ever before.

Mike Dehnert - Discrete [Delsin]

Mike Dehnert - Beatmatching [Delsin]

Mike Dehnert - Werkbank [SIXONESIX]

Where Framework was essentially 9 clubs tracks with an intro and outro, Fachwerk 25 shines a light on the Mike Dehnert we have only seen glimpses of. Fachwerk 25 still supplies the heat in Panel, Layer, Grunform, Resize and Fachwerk 25, mirroring Framework’s Teilfolge, Palindrome, Klartext and Framework, but only three tracks on Fachwerk 25 exceed the five minutes. Another five clock in at two minutes or under, suggesting Dehnerts club-centricism has taken a back seat to his sound design.  

“Fraction” is one of Fachwerk 25’s highlights, first off the rank after the intro. Dehnert treads new ground in his use of an upfront and outspoken arpeggiator, almost three dimensional in character, combined with marching snares and an italo nature, it makes for an euphoric listening-dancing experience. Following up is “Modulat” and as the name suggests, could be Dehnert patching and processing an array of modular mechanics, as bleepy sequences lightly reference Karftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre. “Courant” sounds like an enchanted dripping tap, in a dank and dimly lit Berlin basement, as candescent and shimmering waves of synthesis sweep by.

“Typing” is a concoction of filtered toms, delayed klacks, warped vocals and Shed-esque rave stabs. “STH”, an abbreviated version of “Klangwerk” from his digital “Werkstoff” ep, acts as a dubby chord intermission the likes of Basic Channel, DeepChord or Maurizio would applaud. One could suggest “Slim” is a nod to Actress, a track that could easily nestle into Darren Cunnigham's "RIP" album through Dehnert’s use of dusty shakers, phasing electronics and skew-whiff, blobby bass squelches.  Much like Framework with Beatmatching, Dehnert concludes Fachwerk 25 with an upbeat adios, this time to the tune of some fruity and looped up jazz samples in “Granulat”.

Fachwerk Launches New Sub Label Colombage

Colombage is a new division of Fachwerk Records which looks to focus more on the housier side of Fachwerkian techno you would normally expect from the likes of Mike, Sascha and Roman.

Fachwerk's Colombage will stay close to home in terms of its artists with the usual suspects expected to release on the imprint, but it's the name Reno Wurzbacher, a longtime friend of Roman Lindau that will no doubt draw some extra attention to the label and its first release.

Reno Wurzbacher's stripped back and minimal Julischkaa will take up the Colombage 001 A side with Mike Dehnert's deep and driving Mischkaa overlooking the new imprints proceedings on the flip.

Listen to both tacks here