To start out I would like to go back in time and ask a little bit about how you got involved with
Techno and music production in the first place. I have read that you were into EBM and things
evolved from there. How did you discover the type of electronic music you were into and what
artists or sounds shaped you as a producer?
Around the age of 10 I started to listen to Depeche Mode a lot. That lead to Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb and
after that I bought an album by Front Line Assembly. It only took another couple months and EBM was
my favorite music and most of the music I bought was related to that scene. In the mid 90´s EBM started
to sound different and it was getting harder and harder to find music in that scene that I enjoyed. So I
went to check out other genres and ended up listening to Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards Of Canada and
related. Sleeparchive was very much inspired by the music of Mika Vainio and Plastikman but I was not
much into Techno at this time. Of course I got in contact with Techno because from the mid 90’s I bought
99% of the music I listened to at Hard Wax, but I never liked Techno much when it was played in the
shop. Maybe I was never in the shop when they played Regis or Jeff Mills, but all this I discovered after I
started doing music under the name Sleeparchive because people told me to check these artists because
I might like it.
Berlin must have been super exciting in the 90s. Do you have any fond memories of events from
that era? Perhaps from Tresor – where you’ve also released some of your work?
I was not into Techno in the 90´s and I still do not enjoy much Techno released before 1996. The first
time I have been to a Techno club was the first or second new years eve party at Berghain. That was also
after I released my first record as Sleeparchive. Berghain was the first venue who asked me to play live,
so I thought I should check it out. My connection to Tresor came much much later. I have never been to
the old Tresor but when I have to think about a venue I enjoy the most these days when I am in Berlin it
would be Tresor.
Where does the name Sleeparchive come from and how did you decide on starting your (selftitled)
label? Given that you almost exclusively release your own work, was it full creative control you
after?
The idea for the name came from a friend. But I can’t remember how she came up with that word. I only
remember that I instantly liked the sound of the word and how it looks written. When I started the label, it
was not because I wanted to release other people’s music, only my own. I find it very boring to release
music by people who already released music on other labels or have other labels they work often with.
Some of my friends do fantastic music, but nothing that would fit the Sleeparchive label.
Your releases are mostly presented as super minimal, stamped, no frills – no info type deals. This
ties in nicely with the raw/heavy but very minimalistic loopy concept of your music. Can you talk a
little bit about the aesthetic of the label and how it changed or remained over time?
I did not expect to sell many records when I pressed the first 500 copies from the „Elephant Island EP“. A
blank cover with a stamp was just the best way to save money. Of course I enjoy simple things and if I
would do printed covers they most likely would look similar but the main reason for how it looked was to
save money.
How did you come to the decision to cease operations of the Sleeparchive label and subsequently
restart releases, e.g. on your ARCHIVED series? What is the official status of Sleeparchive as a
record label today? Discogs still lists Hard Wax as your distributor. Are you still active with it?
My relation with the shop ended when I stopped working there and moved to Copenhagen. The last 2-3
years I worked in the shop I also did not buy much music from them and my records also did not sell well anymore. For around 2 months I recorded many many tracks after a 2-3 year break. Some of them ended
up on the „Trust“ album. But because I had many more left, I asked a distribution in Berlin if they might be
interested in doing a little series of records. They said yes and so all of the tracks which did not end up on
the album ended up on the Archived series of records instead.
Technokunst’s DJs are particularly interested in vinyl releases as we all play vinyl. Do you intend
to keep pushing vinyl records?
No. Record sales are to slow these days and I don’t like to wait for a finished product for 6 month or
longer. I really much enjoy to finish a track on a Saturday morning and put it up online the same day. And
I don’t have to worry if someone buys it or not.
Given that you’ve started producing in the 90s I bet there is heavy reliance on using hardware.
Has your workflow changed by much over the course of the years? Would you ID some of your
favourite gear for production?
The first Sleeparchive releases I did with Propellerhead Reason and at that time I did the percussions
with Rebirth. In the last 10 years I do all my sounds with the Roland SH-101 and arrange everything in
Ableton Live. I also use the drums (909, 808 and so on) you get with Ableton Live.
I was never much interested in synths. Working on a computer I enjoy more… Not only because the
studio does not need much space but also because i can take the studio with me wherever I go. But I
don’t like 100 open windows when I work, so I don’t use any plug-in.
Do you ever DJ or are you purely into playing your own stems live?
I DJ’d a little while, but also with Ableton Live. But it did not take too long to realize that I don’t enjoy
playing other peoples music, so I stopped this. I have more fun jamming around with the hundreds of
loops I collected over the years.
How did things change when you became a dad? How easy do you find navigating parenthood
with gigs and production? Do you ever bring your little one on your events?
No, I would never bring my kid to a gig. Kids in that age should sleep at night. Our kid is also more into
guitar music and a bit bored by the the kind of Techno I do. I also have a regular day job these days, so
there is not much time to make music because I also started reading again. But over the years I lost the
interest in doing arranged music anyways. Most of the time I record little loops and if I find time on the
weekends or evenings I jam with them to see what fits in case I get booked somewhere.
Are you exploring music production in areas other than Techno, or are you purely into this genre
for now?
Its very rare that I listen to techno at the moment and if it is always the same 10 records by Regis or
Stanislav Tolkachev. Most of the time i listen to Indie guitar music and very quiet contemporary classic /
jazz related music. But I can find in mostly every genre of music something I like. Except metal music,
which I did not like when I was a kid and still I haven’t found anything I enjoy in the genre.
