Tiefschwarz Rules:
dreaming large, breaking rules, accepting "It is what it is"
Words: Amanda Connon-Unda
In Klublife Magazine July/August 2005.
So, what is Tiefschwarz the tech-house production and DJ duo of brothers from Germany all about? Basti says, "Schwartz: that's my last name. We have existed for 10 years, and Tief means deep  -  deep into the kinds of things we are doing; music and DJing and lifestyle. We chose a German name because everyone else was choosing English names for international recognition". Basti continued, "We're really into creating funny names", which is further evidenced in the choice of Tiefschwarz' latest single, ISSST with lyrics preaching, "It is what it is what it is". Furthermore, Tiefschwarz exudes a philosophy of always looking toward the new. "The last ten years were such a great time, and we're just looking forward." Before forming their production duo in 1996, the two brothers, Ali and Basti had already been successful DJs for over a decade, and they changed from producing house music toward more tech-house influenced sounds. After returning from Miami's Winter Music Conference before a gig in Toronto at a Geometry night at Boa-Redux Nightclub, Basti explained his current perception of why the change in musical direction was necessary, "I just came from Miami and saw all of the guys whom I met 5 years ago, and yet nothing happened. I am sorry for that. I love this music, like Masters At Work stuff. But it's really important for music to change - that's the creative process. If you're stuck that's not good for music. I recognize that a lot of successful DJs or producers stuck with a certain style, maybe because they were frightened for the future. I'm not; I want to break loose all the time. I got a little bored with traditional house music because I needed a change. And then I got more into the electronic scene and it's a new step, with new baselines, new grooves, and it's refreshing".
With the hot new sounds in Tiefschwarz productions, such as the hit remix of Spectrum's Kind of New,Tiefschwarz' productions became more in the spotlight. To create their sounds Basti explains they used audio logic and two studios, "There's a little bit of outboard stuff, a lot of inside audio logic plug-ins and keyboards, and in the engineer studio we have a lot of compressors and filters and analogue outboard stuff." However, the Tiefschwarz studio set-up still exudes their minimal aesthetic with quality over quantity: "The Tiefschwarz studio is really simple because I prefer not too many instruments. But for engineering it's quite expensive and you need really good quality."
While Berlin is the Tiefschwarz brothers' home, they have started a residency called ISSST (after their latest single) at Key nightclub in London. Basti clarified, "London is our second home. We have a lot of friends there. Maybe we are supposed to live in England but it's too expensive!"  Tiefschwarz usually played at Fabric in London, but says at the smaller Key, "you can play different styles and send people on a trip. We have another two residencies. One is at a new club, Weekend, on the 12th floor with a view of Berlin. It's really amazing when the sun comes up. The second is in Frankfurt Offenbach, at Robert Johnson by Playhouse Records, a club owned by Ata from Alter Ego. The clubs are really amazing".
Moving from their hometown to Berlin three years ago was really important for Tiefschwarz, "We wanted to produce a new album and have new influences. It was like coming home. It was great to live in the eastern part of Berlin because the mixture is so fresh; rebuilding the old part with the new. We have a studio complex in a big house together with Jazzanova, Amon Tobin, Martini Brothers, Steve Bug, and Richie Hawtin and Dixon are around the corner. It's a cool hang out." Basti proclaims that as a current techno Mecca Berlin lives up to its reputation, "So many people are moving. There's a lot of fashion, art, and history, and this makes the city really incredible. It's one of the hottest spots. The people love to celebrate and there are a lot of clubs, restaurants, bars, everything..."
As for the new Tiefschwarz album which comes out at the end of this summer on Fine Records, Basti elaborates, "The album is really open. It is going from right to left, from up to down. We have Matt Safer (from The Rapture) on it with a rocky guitar track. The band Chikinki from England is on it, with a rock electronics song. The first single is Wait and See; it's like a hat-banging rave stadium thing. Then we have some girl techno tracks." To which I asked what Basti characterized as such. He said, "It's not too hard, it's electronic, but you can shake your ass with a little bit of flavor. Then we have Tracy Thorn from Everything but the Girl, and Eric D. Clarke from last year's Blow single, and we had some old-school flavored tracks like 808 state or new groove stuff. It's a big mixture."
These are the things that dreams are made of, as the Tiefschwarz brothers are touring constantly in between their 3 residencies in London and Berlin, and the new album is completed and ready for release, Basti says, "My big dream is to play live, because I am a drummer and I think to have Tiefschwarz live as a band would be great. I love to play at festivals and to play live is easier than DJing. You are not playing too late, and not 8 hours, and you can sleep the whole night." Basti as one half of Tiefschwarz is totally free-spirited, "I don't know what is going to happen next year. Maybe we are going to produce heavy metal. There are no rules." Basti advises, "What's important is do what you're feeling and not to think too much. Do it. Breaking rules is good."