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INTERVIEW: _studio416 x Até
- Chromatic Club
- hace 5 días
- 5 Min. de lectura
Actualizado: hace 1 día
Born from a deep collaboration between sonic explorers _studio416 and vocalist Até, Feuer Lust Licht is a genre-fluid journey that blurs the lines between techno, trip hop, and experimental textures. Over the course of 2.5 years, this Berlin-based trio sculpted a body of work that’s as emotionally charged as it is rhythmically complex. We sat down with Henne, Svenne, and Até to uncover the layered creative process behind the album—from late-night studio sessions in Marzahn to the unexpected moment when they realized they weren't just collaborators—they had become a band.
Feuer Lust Licht is a richly layered, genre-fluid album. Can you walk us through your creative process—how do these kinds of sonic textures come to life in the studio?
Henne:
At studio416, we have a clear division of roles in production. In 90% of cases, Svenne starts by producing basic loops with a few beats and sound ideas; that's his thing. Fridays are always our studio day together. We listen to what we've created together and decide where it's worth going deeper. Out of five basic loops, usually only one remains. This loop is then developed; there is a lot of experimentation, sounds are layered, beats are cut and reassembled. I would call it creative chaos. In the end, a song fragment emerges from the basic loop, which is then saved and left to rest. After some time has passed (this can be days, but also weeks... like storing wine), we listen to the song fragments. If a few of these fragments manage to CLICK, then they are the candidates to be developed into finished songs. Just like the songs by studio416 x Até. Some of the songs on FEUER LUST LICHT existed as fragments years before they became a finished song with Até's voice.
How did the combination of long-form storytelling from the 90s techno era and Até’s emotive vocal approach shape the structure and flow of the album?
Henne:
Svenne and I are children of the 80s (childhood) and 90s (teenager). It's the music we grew up with. This certainly has a huge influence on our basic musical understanding. Até is the FIRE behind the production of this album. With her fresh and younger perspective on music, she naturally shows us paths we'd never considered before.
Was there a specific moment during production when you felt the album’s concept “clicked” into place? What was it?
Até:
We were just having fun, making one track after the other. We had zero expectations of this collaboration until we realized the amount of tracks we created. That was the moment we knew. It’s not just a collaboration, we are a band!
Henne:
At first, we (Svenne and I) were skeptical whether things would work out between us because...we'd experimented with other singers before, and ultimately, nothing came of it. Our style of music production takes time. In the case of FEUER LUST LICHT, it took 2.5 years. You need a lot of trust, and in my opinion, you also have to build a certain relationship to pull off a project like this.
After Até came to our studio for the third time and we had recorded good vocals on three song fragments, we told Até that we needed some time to make something out of everything we'd recorded, to bring structure to it. That took at least half a year, with us communicating very little to nothing. After we saw each other again after a long time, heard the results, celebrated them, and seamlessly began the next vocal recording, it became clear to me...this is more than just fun; something that works is developing here.
Svenne:
When we recorded our little studio live session for our videos and we played all the tracks in a row, it felt like a band to me. It felt so good that I thought, wow, there's more to it than just producing a few tracks with Até. We had so many cool moments together and a wonderful time on those days, even though some of the days were exhausting. For me, that was the moment when the album started to come to life.
How do you balance improvisation and structure when building tracks that blur boundaries between genres like trip hop, techno, and experimental?
Henne:
We never intended to adopt specific styles; it just happened. It's definitely the three of us' different ideas that flowed into the songs during the production process, for example, sounds or beats that one or the other of us particularly liked and wanted to keep. It wasn't always easy, but in the end, it produced exactly what FEUER LUST LICHT is now.
Many of the tracks—like “Reaction 303” or “Mono Machine”—seem to explore specific sonic identities. Do you begin with a concept or let the sound evolve organically?
Henne:
As already mentioned, Svenne and I are children of the 80s and 90s. This musical background is, of course, always present in our songs. Kraftwerk and Massiv Attack are huge idols and role models for me, and I naturally like to incorporate these influences into our productions.
Svenne:
In the beginning, I personally don't have a concept and we experiment a lot with sounds and rhythms. I'm sure I'm also influenced by Kraftwerk and Deichkind, which then find their way into the production. There are also moments of experimental improvisation where the sounds continue to develop. Only when the sounds and rhythms fit together and we can feel the sketch, then we have an idea of which direction the song take.
What role did your physical environment—like the Marzahn studio—play in shaping the mood and direction of the album?
Henne:
Our studio is our escape room. It's a very special place for me personally. When I walk through the studio door, it's as if I've vanished through a portal into another world. My personality also changes in this space. So, I would say that this environment is a key pillar of the overall concept of _studio416 x Até. Without this space, this album wouldn't exist.
Svenne:
The three of us like to describe ourselves as a team who have embarked on a journey through the musical universe together. Our studio is the command center of our little spaceship. There it's possible to be anything. In this pleasant atmosphere, a certain distribution of roles emerged, with me taking the place of helmsman. Henne is the captain, and Até is our navigator. So, I can say for myself that without our studio, we would never have embarked on this journey together.
How do you know when a track is truly finished, especially when working in such exploratory and textural territory?
Henne:
A song is only finished when it's released. Otherwise, the song is just a sculpture that's constantly being fine-tuned. For example, we had to set ourselves certain deadlines, such as mastering. By this date, at least versions of the songs MUST exist that we're happy with. But until then, everything is open and can be questioned.
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