Local Suicide

"Worrying is like trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum"

Who is Local Suicide? Why that name?

A Berlin based DJ /producer duo and couple consisting of Brax Moody from Munich and Vamparela from Thessaloniki.

The name has a big story. Brax Moody used to write Local Suzie on his skateboards. It was the name of his imaginary race horse. When we formed a band with another friend of ours, we decided to take that name. In the end the band only lasted for a few months and one live performance.

When it was dismantled we decided to keep a similar name so that we don’t have to change our MySpace account (who would have thought that myspace would then die within a few years- duh!), Vamparela always liked the word - and the band - Suicide (which is similar to Suzie) and that’s how we came up with the name.

It might sound scary, but for us it’s all about getting rid of all your problems and worries and just getting lost in the music, living in the moment. Unfortunately many people are taking the name literally and this has cost us a few gigs all over the world. The people who meet us personally though, know that we might like the darkness, but we are usually super positive and happy people. We are thinking about changing the name at some point though to avoid any further misunderstandings as we don‘t want to offend anyone.

How and when have you got interest of the music? And electronic music?

We both started doing radio shows when we were teenagers in local radio stations in our hometowns. We were more into indie, rock and hip hop, but also loved electronic music, like The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers. For us music wasn’t divided into genres, it was just good music. I guess these are the perks of the MTV generation, you would watch Nirvana, Dr Dre, Madonna, Guns n Roses and Jaydee and it somehow all made sense. You were like: “Yeah, great music.”

What was the first idea about did you build the sound of Local Suicide? Has that sound changed a lot over recent years? What is your music criterion?

We have been DJing together for almost 8 years and our sound has gone through many stages from electro to minimal techno to deep house to italo disco to what we play now. We don’t really try to follow any trends, we just play what we like the most at the moment.

We are both true music lovers and are very open to just about everything, so are happy to take in any influences arise and incorporate them in our sound.

There's so much personality in all of your music as well. How would you define your music?

Thank you! It’s something between slow techno, new wave, acid and post disco. We call it technodisco.

Tell me about your first ever set, do you still remember it vividly?

We both started DJing when we were very young. But our first DJ gig together as Local Suicide was at Kaffee Burger in Berlin. It was a Saturday night, the place was packed and it was so much fun that we thought that we need to do this more often. After a while we stopped playing as Vamparela and Brax Moody and Local Suicide was born.

Do you often get in the studio with clear ideas and everything well tied or leave something for improvisation and inspiration at the moment?

We’re always improvising! Not really planning anything at all, just going with the flow.

You frequently bring songs together that in theory should never cross paths, yet you always pull it off. How does the process begin? What are your initial thoughts?

Our secret is that we don’t really care about tags and genres, we don’t care if something is hyped or not, we just follow our musical taste and trust it 100%.

What are your musical influences?

We listen to almost everything. From new wave to techno, from italo to acid house, from indie to rock n roll, post rock, rap, world music & jazz. It’s all a part of us!

What about advice you would give to your younger selves?

“Worrying is like trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.”

Do you think your sound represents a sector of the British, French or German population? And if so, what would be your age, interests, gender and, in general, their obsessions?

It probably represents 27-43 year old Berlin residents, who are open to everything and love music as a whole.

How has techno and the Berlin scene changed since then?

Vamparela has been living in Berlin since 10,5 years, Brax Moody since 9,5 years. It is safe to say that Berlin is a totally different city right now. It is changing day by day, the party scene used to be more authentic and underground, the prices way lower, the attitude more genuine.

We are trying to keep the original Berlin feeling in our own party series though: T.O.F.U. (Too Old For Understatement), the bi-weekly party series at Bohnengold, which we are running with our friend Sean Patrick since 1,5 years and have had guests for the likes of Rex The Dog, Khidja, C.A.R., Rodion, Zombies In Miami, Sid Le Rock, Munk, Autarkic, DC Salas and many more.

How about the changing music landscape, do you think you have evolved with it?

The small scene we kind of belong to is getting more or and more attention and we are very happy about it! It benefits everyone involved and ourselves as well!

Do you think that we will have a scene in which promoters back to love music, soon?

Not really, social media is killing music. The fact that DJs usually have to produce music to be able to get gigs all over the world, although making music and playing music are two different things is very sad and shows how superficial it all is. Most promoters just book someone who’s in the Top 50 on Beatport, expect more people to attend because of their “success” and their “likes” and “followers” and don’t have a clue what this person is like as a DJ. Unfortunately excellent DJs often stay unnoticed because they don’t produce or because they seem not be popular enough in the online world.

What could you say about:

Curses

Curses for president! An extremely cool dude, who won our hearts from the first minute we met him! Amazing dj and producer as well and therefore we are very happy that we started making music with him!

Tunnel Signs

Great artist, we are playing his tracks all of the time! All time fav: Id1R & Tunnel Signs - Runner

VoX Low

We are crazy about this band, totally love everything they do. So sad that we haven‘t managed to see them live yet.

Gameboyz

Funny trio! We are regularly writing with them since 4 years but only managed to meet up in person once. Love their music & label Melomana. Especially their 2016‘ debut album is killer!

Pardon Moi

It’s the new project of our buddy Thomas Freudenthal and it’s banging just like everything Tommy does!

Luis Costa (Dancetería)

One of the most important music personalities in Barcelona and not only, respect!

LosBikini

We love their productions and dj sets. So happy there is so much good music in the scene coming from Spain!

What are you most hungry for in life?

Music and travelling, visiting new places, meeting interesting people, getting to know other cultures.

What is one deep thought that you have had recently?

Love is all you need, all you need is love.

How many days do you travel out of the year? With so much traveling, what are your secrets for not getting sick?

Last year we played almost 100 gigs, half of which were out of Berlin. We also both have full time day jobs, run two blogs, a party series and are spending a lot of time in the studio so getting a proper rest and chilling is not really part of our lives. But our love for what we do is what keeps us going. We are grateful for everything: to have each other, to be able to share all these travels, bad and good times with each other while doing what we are most passionate about, playing music.

Of course we still get sick every now and then and feel tired or depressed when everything goes wrong while on the road, but in the end it’s part of the deal and it’s all worth it.

What would be your all-time ultimate venue/festival to play at?

We love playing even the smallest venue as long as the vibes are good, but of course how could we complain when we get the opportunity to play at the world best clubs and festivals.

Some festivals would be Sonar and Primavera in Barcelona, Dekmantel in Amsterdam, Festival Forte in Portugal, Glastonbury in the UK, Exit Festival in Serbia, Fusion in Germany, Burning Man and Coachella in the USA, Roskilde in Denmark, Secret Solstice in Iceland, Sziget in Budapest, Weather Festival in Paris, Mutek in Canada, Magnetic Fields in India, The Labyrinth in Japan, BPM in Mexico, Splendour in the Grass in Australia and many many more.

Some clubs we would love to play would be Fabric and Egg in London, Arma 17 and Propaganda in Moscow, Razzmatazz and Nitsa in Barcelona, Baum in Bogota, Robert Johnson in Frankfurt, Output in NYC, Concrete and Rex Club in Paris, Sankeys in Manchester, Womb in Tokyo, DC10 in Ibiza, Warung in Brazil, Salon des Amateurs in Düsseldorf, Lux in Lisbon, Zouk in Singapore, Panorama in Berlin and the list goes on and on and on. We do wanna go everywhere :)

Finally, where Local Suicide is going? What are your upcoming projects?

We have been recently making music with some of our talented friends, so you can expect some exciting releases to follow! The first one will be with Rodion, one of our favourite producers and best friends, more details are soon to come! In the meantime of course we try to travel as much as possible and bring our music to all four corners of the world.