GS: Smash TV Interview

Smash TV Interview

Smash TV speak with Guerilla Sounds about their partnership, live set and future projects…

Smash TV have not only been gyrating dance floors in Berlin, but all across Europe, whether it is with their energetic DJ sets, their fully loaded live performances or their records being played out by countless DJs.
Kai and Holger are Smash TV. Two friends who started releasing music on Ellen Allien’s Bpitch label before joining their current home, the Get Physical label, where they have enjoyed releasing some of their finest music such as ”Steroids To Heaven”, ”After All These Years” and our personal favourite, ”Baby Got Me Open”, as well as remixes for Adultnapper & Mr C’s ”Anti Sailing” and ”Buddies” by M.A.N.D.E.A.R.

Smash TV – Baby Got Me Open /// Get Physical

Seeing them DJ in Berlin, you can see that they have a good following of people that go mad for the music Smash TV plays, especially because they play with some truly interesting music and, when in the right environment, they infuse their sets with plenty of energy. One example would be the party they organised at the beginning of December at Renate, Berlin, which had the intimate main room full of music lovers giving it their all.

Guerilla Sounds has had the pleasure of speaking with Kai and Holger about their music, partnership and Live set…

How did you first get into music?
Kai: “Firstly I started at the age of 7 with guitar lessons, then switching to jazz when I was fifthteen… then getting into electronic music when I met Holger during University. I contributed some stuff to his first album and then we started working together properly.”
Holger: “I bought my first real synth at the age of 15 after a few years of keyboard lessons. I was so amazed by the idea to create my own sounds on an instrument instead of playing the mostly boring presets of an electric piano.

Why Smash TV?
Smash TV: “Because we used to be and sometimes still are the most addictive TV junkies in the world.”

Do you think that most people should smash their TV?
Kai: “I admire people who don’t watch TV. You know some people, especially among the artists, say to me… ”I haven’t watched TV for eight years now”. But unfortunately I can say every week. I love media and art and I love a lot of shitty TV shows as well as good ones.”
Guerilla Sounds: “A good balance then!?”
Kai: “Yeah, erh… I don’t know.”

What do you think has been the most important thing that has happened to Smash TV in the last year?
Kai: “I think that we actually started to work with the Get Physical team and become part of the family.”

Smash TV – Steroids To Heaven /// Get Physical

Have you noticed a change in your style, from when you first started with music to now?
Holger: “Sure we noticed that and it’s totally fine for us. We want to do creative and inspiring electronic music that sounds interesting for our ears and hopefully for the audience too.”
“To reach this goal we just naturally change the sound.”
“What s important for us is that we don’t sound random. There has to be a red line in the tracks, something that makes it a ‘Smash TV’ track.”

It’s been said that there are more DJs in Berlin than there are people, would you say that’s a fair statement?
Kai: “In Berlin we say that if you throw a stone behind your back, you’ll either hit a DJ or a Punk… Or both, which is probably the most likely. Everybody and his uncle is coming to Berlin and of course everybody who is DJing. But I think it’s good.”

How do you think the digital world has effected music?
Holger: “I think that the digital world has some major effects on music. There’s a lot to complain about but also a lot more possibilities.”
“For sure there’s still or maybe even more good music on the market than before but it gets harder and harder to find it.”
“Something really good nowadays is that you get a really direct feedback for your work and it’s easy to stay in contact with all the people you like.”

Smash TV – After All These Years /// Get Physical

Since you still play a lot of vinyl material, do you have a favourite place to buy records?
Kai: “Yeah, Melting Point in Berlin. They often have a really good selection of music.”
Holger: “I mainly go to Space Hall and Hardwax Record Store.”

Since we missed your ‘second best live performance ever’ at the Get Physical label party at Watergate. Explain firstly a bit about the set up of your live performance and how it works, and also how that performance at Get Physical was?
Smash TV: “Our setup consists of 2 notebooks, several midi controllers, drum machines, NI maschine, harmonizer and microphone all going into a 24 channel mixing desk.”
“This setup enables us to have maximum control of our music.”
“The Get Physical – Watergate party was so much fun because on the waterfloor you are really close to the crowd. We just felt like in the middle of the party.”

Seeing you both playing together at Oye Records and Renate, you can see there is a real syncronisation between the both of you and that you really work well together. Is there anything in particular that you feel helps this?
Smash TV: “A descent portion of disrespect for the each other.”:-)
“No, no, seriously, after many years of working together in the techno cave we developed a telepathic connection that allows us to know the next 3 tracks the other one is about to play.”

Smash TV – Guerilla Winter Mix

What do you have planned for the near future?
Smash TV: “There’s a lot of music coming out in the next few months…”
“There’s the remixes of our “Steroids To Heaven” EP featuring Hector, Pol On, Kiki and a remix by us..”
“We did a new EP for Get Physical called “Matthew Pervert/Please”, which will be out in February.”
“Furthermore we did a remix for Noze’s “When Tiger Smoked”, as well as a remix for Ruede Hagelstein on Bar 25 Records and a remix for Alland Byallos label: Bad Animal.”
“But the biggest project is the work on our new album for Get Physical which is planned to be out in the Autumn.”
“Another thing we are really looking forward to is to present our new Live Set in North America especially at the Winter Music Conference.”

With an already, well established status that Smash TV seems to have and an array of work being released in the coming months, plus their Live Set looking to become more of a regular parts of what they do, it seems only fair to say that Smash TV will be more likely to Smash Dancefloors in 2012.