+ Tell us about your experiences in the early nineties when you organised parties in Lichtenberg Youth clubs how did that come about?

I was 15 years old and Paul Kalkbrenner and me, we organized our first parties in the East Berlin ghettos where we grew up. In the beginning we had to play with pop chart DJ’s and hip hop DJ´s during the same night, but after some months our sound became more and more successful and we began to run the whole night, actually “evening”, cause these youth clubs opened every Friday and Saturday from 8 pm till midnight. We didn’t have enough records to play so sometimes we played one track 3 times! After these parties we went to the “real” clubs like bunker Walfisch or e-werk to see and dance to our dj-idols.

+ You are quite the prolific remixer, how do you go about tackling a project from when you first get approached to the final mix-down?

I always try to find the mood of the original track and reproduce this mood. For me it’s not the point to use melodies the same way, it’s more interesting to play with the feeling of the original. I general I prefer doing a remix for not too clubby tracks. It’s more interesting to play with the instruments or vocals and set it up in my personal club version, instead of having just one minimal hook and percussions.

+ Although you are very closely connected to the German techno network which other labels and artists have informed your music from the rest of Europe and beyond?

There are many more but off the top of my head Dial, Kompakt, Freude am Tanzen and Dynamic.

+ This year marks ten years for Bpitch, having worked alongside Bpitch for a while now where do you see the label developing for the next ten years?

I still see us as a very eclectic label. We express electronic music in so many different ways, especially on albums. We always tried to set the focus on more than just 12″ club tunes. For every one of us it would be too boring to do that. I listen to so many other different music styles. I am sure we shall continue this way.

+ What plans do you have for future releases, collaborations, and a follow up to 2008’s Mango?

I finished a track for our 10th anniversary and a new single is almost done, a few remixes as well. And I will definitely start with a new album soon.

+ You were born and raised in Paris, what would you say are the most fascinating differences in clubbing and electronic music between the French capital and Berlin, where you now reside?

The first main difference are the parties are almost endless in Berlin , In Paris after 4:AM , people have to go back home.
Most of the club scene in Berlin goes deeper conceptually, for example Berghain , there are no mirrors, pictures are forbidden, forget what you look like…A Serious Concept , A Serious Team …

There is not really after parties in Paris. People are younger in the clubs in Paris.
More privacy, More freedom in Berlin . Techno Culture is different . Culture in itself is different.
I invite everyone to visit Berlin , however I wouldn’t say that one is better than the other.
For example , I played the 22th august at a Social club for Get the Curse a very talented promoter , It was really nice , I had lot of fun , I found a fresh energy in this club, in this party, something I couldn’t find or maybe I would not be looking for in Berlin .

Same for Rex Club , when I played there a few months ago with Ellen Allien and Okain . Big Party!
But no damn after party… I remember also the Scream party in Elysee, Montmartre it ahs been over 4 years since something like that, Weird, crazy and totally original.

+ The Dimuschi Parties you set up with Paul Ritch in Paris sound amazing, tell us a little more about them…

Dimuschi is a concept from Laurent Baylet and Patrick Bamberger, We met each other by a communal friend, Sandra. They did the last one 3 weeks ago and I guess they are working on something new. They look for a different place for each party.

I played the one under the Alexander III bridge (next to Champs Elysee) , with my friends Paul Ritch and Okain . The after party was on their friends boat right opposite, on the Seine. 50 people joined the after party, the last veterans. No police this day, I remember there was a football match on television or something …

The night was really special, something that doesn’t happen so often in Paris .

+ What attracted you to sign for BPitch Control?

Bpitch Control is a big label. I was looking for a label with whom I could build a close relation with, to work and stay with for a while. I met Kiki first and Ellen and Sascha Funke and we became closer.

Bpitch control is really a part of Berlin , when I arrived here in Berlin, 18th may 2007, right from Paris, I was really seduced by the city, excited to deeper understand the culture, and to work with real Berliners . It was hard to know where to go as a young artist. Finally we decided to work together, they accepted me, and now they support me to go on this way.

One thing really strong with BPC is this multi music style; it gives me freedom for my future project. Thinking about the concept of my first album, bpitch give me many inspirations, like Berlin !

+ When constructing a track for the floor, where does your primary sensibility lie? in the making of rhythm or melody?

About this question, I would like to answer short. The beat make the people moving their ass, the melodies make them dream.

+ What do the words minimal techno mean to Thomas Muller in 2009 and beyond?

2009, the year of the crisis ? In contrast, globally this years minimal brought to techno more air , more breath . I remember the sets of Jeff Mills, Carl Cox, Dave Clark, and many more 5 years ago it was super fast, short transition, cut on the X-fader , cut bass , boum bim boum bim boum, reverse scratch on the vinyl , bass on , arms up !

These days minimal techno uses big sub sounds for feel, you can ear the groove of the bassline under the rest of the drum. The FX processing has more time to push the people, it’s a kind of progressive music much more than the techno.

I think the minimal concept brought to every style of electronic music one new aesthetic ; It’s the reaction against the synthesizer from the nineties .

What this word means to me, it just seems to be the music I produce; I’m not a hard activist of minimal techno. First, because it’s just an evolution and second, because, these days everything moves so fast. We can easily get confused.

Whatever, I strongly believe in electronic music, I like to create music without any solid musical instrument , just direct from my mind , virtual to virtual , my mind to there mind by sound waves . I LOVE IT. I like to create the music from beginning to the end, to understand what happens at every step in the process of building a track. DJ Koze and Riccardo Villalobos for example have a particular aesthetic that remembers Cubism . Their sounds are not always balanced; sometimes it’s purposefully too bright. It doesn’t follow the classic mixing rule that I once learned in my sound engineering school. Electronic music is still young, I’m happy to be an actor of this movement !

+ What was it like growing up in Helsinki and how did the place impact on your approach to music?

Helsinki, and Finland in particular, is a place of extremities. cold and dark winters and warm and bright summers for example. In Winter you tend to get into things that you can do at home, like music for example, and in summer you come out of your cave and want to celebrate and share it with everyone, the Vikings used to call Finns “the crazy, dancing folk”.

Since I’ve been in Berlin, I think I am still inspired by the darkness and melancholy, but also, strangely, I try to express it through a positive energy. Extremities!

+ You studied Architecture in Berlin circa 1994, do you personally feel any close synergy between the buildings of a city and its music?

Techno is technologic music and architecture is a very technology based art. I see very much in common in the thinking and also the creative process. I am also always very inspired by a room where I play, trying to create sonic architecture that fits to the atmosphere. I am not so much inspired by the architecture of a city within my music though, rather every day things…

+ Away from Berlin you have a strong reputation for a being a truly a global DJ, in your experience where have you enjoyed playing most?

There are so many places that have unique regional qualities. I would be lying if I wouldn’t say Berlin is my number one, as there is a very special club culture in terms of opening times and interest in music and clubs like Panorama bar and Watergate. But there are also so many places that have a special energy even when you might not expect it. For instance when you arrive after a long travel in terms of connecting flights and 2.5 hours drive and you find this amazing crowd knowing about what you do and giving their everything! I had so many good times in Mexico, Spain, Italy, France, U.K, Brazil, Germany, Finland and the list goes on…

+ Your most recent album Kaiku seems a more introspective, contemplative affair than previous releases, do you see this as an inevitable step towards maturing as an artist? Leaving the club for the headspace perhaps?

I am certainly not leaving the clubs, that’s why we are taking care of the remixes for the album’s singles, but for me an album has to tell a story and be much more than just a collection of club tracks. Even in a club context, I am interested in things that do a bit more than just force you to jump up and down. Also my first album tried to work along the same lines, but I would call “Kaiku” more mature as this time I succeeded a bit better in my vision, I’d say.

+What’s upcoming for Kiki, do you want to concentrate on Dj’ing/ mixes like the Boogie Bytes series, or is their another full length album underway?

First of all, we have loads of remixes coming from the album, first one being “Immortal” with Anja Schneider, Holger Zilske, subb-an and myself on duties. The third single is also being planned at the moment. And, there is a bpitch control compilation coming out in the beginning of next year, the first single will be a split by Sascha Funke and me. Their are also lots of remixes I’ve done for other people coming out one by one plus all the touring of course! I’ve just moved to a new studio as we speak and I’m pretty sure it will inspire me to come up with lots of things in the future… stay tuned!

Those good folks at Numbers are throwing a party in Glasgow this weekend to celebrate the launch of Hudson Mohawke’s forthcoming “Butter” album.

We have managed to grab a pair of tickets for this, and are kind enough to be giving it away to one lucky person. To win, simply e-mail info@bleep.com and tell us why or explain why you like butter… Honestly, just tell us why you like it.

We like Nosaj Thing… a lot. We have been supporting “Drift” as one of our favourite albums of the year since we first heard it… Now he is on tour and we are getting quite excited about it…

Nosaj Thing Visual Show Compilation Test Shoot from Adam Guzman on Vimeo.

coming to a town near you…. We are selling tickets for the London show. Check his Myspace for more details of the others.
Photos by David Lang.

Those guys at Soundcrash have put together another stellar line-up of bass-heavy music featuring Bleep favourites Harmonic 313 and Daedelus. The event will be at London’s Village Underground.To win a pair of tickets, simply e-mail info@bleep.com and state the name of Harmonic 313’s latest full length album is…

Click on the photos to see the 3D panoramic photography.

Once again, a massive thank you to Joby at Anti-Limited for doing these photos.

This week see some Warp artists rocking parties on both sides of the pond. We have managed to grab a pair of tickets for both shows.

At Matter on the 26th, London will be a “Warehouse Project” with Aphex Twin DJing, Leila doing a live show, with support from Luke Vibert, Wisp, and DJ Rephlex Records. To win a pair of tickets to this, simply e-mail info@bleep.com and state what Aphex Twin’s real name is…

In New York on the 1st October, Tim Exile closes his North America Tour at the prestigous Santos Party House. To win a pair of tickets, simply e-mail info@bleep.com and state what Tim Exile’s latest album is called…

Shafiq has done a lot. One-third of the brilliant Sa-Ra Creative Partners, he has learnt to cut-n-scratch with Afrika Bambaata, worked with electro don Egyptian Lover, dropped his talents into Ice T’s Rhyme Syndicate, been signed on to a major label by Kanye West before being dropped just before the release of their album and written songs for the likes of Erykah Badu. More recently, he has released his new solo album which is out now. We decided to catch up with Shafiq and talk about how he sees the current state of the music industry.

What was your thinking to do a solo album? Was being a trio with the rest of Sa-Ra Creative Partners restrictive for your personal music output?
Actually, SRCP inspired this. there is just so much music we have. As artists, we can only really put out an album a year. An album can only have up to 16 tracks really. It’s a shame that only 16 songs a year can come out. By default, for 3 individuals, we need to work on extra projects.

What’s been the main differences between working on your own and working with a group?
The process of making this album was similar. We (SRCP) normally go through a filtering system where someone would write a song and we would add or change parts of it… with this, it was just me. It is still the same process but where I don’t have to bounce it off the other people but just with myself. I had to trust myself more.

So what happened with you being dropped from Kanye West’s label G.O.O.D.?
It’s simple really. Sony Music totally cut the urban department. The only people they kept on the roster was like Beyonce and John Legend. Kanye was in a position where he could try and move on with the label or give everyone back their masters. Kanye actually helped us by setting us free and letting us get out of the project…. but it also hindered us. People were hesitant to then work with SRCP. People still didnt really believe in us, even with Kanye signing us. Everyone was standing on the side and waiting to see what Kanye would do with us.

Has that left a sour taste in your mouth after that experience with major labels?
It goes back to what i was saying about only being able to put out 16 songs a year when you go through a record label. The majors are so methodical in how they put out records, you might not get your shot. So dealing with them as an artists can be a frustrating process.

In this day and age: dealing with digital downloads, the internet, blogs, myspace… independent (and prolific) artists such as Sa-Ra or a Madlib can use the internet nowadays to outlet their music. The major labels are now forced to sign whole writing or production teams… whole companies are being brought into 360 deals so they can more money off artists rather just off record sales.

So for a company like Sa-Ra, we don’t necessarily have to deal with a major label. We have more flexibility.

Who influences you?
From Monk to Punk.

We all started in hip-hop roots. Back then it wasn’t hip-hop music, it was just hip-hop. Hip-hop was Michael Jackson, hip-hop was Led Zepellin, David Bowie, Parliament, Prince… we just used to play it in our hip-hop culture, so it became hip-hop.

If you are part of the beat digging generation and you’ve been collecting records (like us) since the 80s, and it’s 2009 now, then you have come across so many different types of music that it is impossible to not be influenced by the music that you’ve come across. The mind is like a tape recorder and it never stops taping. On the conscious and the sub-conscious.

The Warp / Bleep shop is now closed after a brilliant 3 days! If you missed out on our temporary stop, you can still have a look. Just click on the above images to take a virtual tour of our shop…

Thanks to Joby Catto at Anti Limited, for putting together these pieces. Joby Catto is a photographer and designer that specialises in 360° panoramic photography, 3D visualisation, and design.