RA.250 Heinrich Mueller

http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=250

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  Quote

The Drexciyan producer records his first ever mix.

 

There's a comment on Discogs that describes Drexciya as "America's answer to Kraftwerk," which might just be the most succinct way of putting it. Between 1992 and 2002 Heinrich Mueller (who was then referred to by his given name, Gerald Donald) and James Stinson recorded some of the most advanced and influential electro/techno ever to come out of Detroit. And they were certainly the most enigmatic. Even at the point of Stinson's untimely passing in 2002, next to nothing was known about the group—they seldom spoke to the press, were never photographed and never performed live. Mueller went on to form, or continue with, a number of other projects, exploring a vast range of sonic textures and concepts in doing so. Dopplereffekt, Der Zyklus and Arpanet are just a few of these names, while the most recent of these, Zwischenwelt, are on the cusp of releasing the otherworldly Paranormale Aktivitat long-player.

 

The group is made up of vocalist Beta Evers and producers Susana Correia and Penélope Martin, the latter of whom has collaborated with Mueller on this, his first ever mix. We say the word "mix" but don't go expecting a slick DJ set. This is Mueller and Martin exploring the entire "interworld" and presenting it based on its most important facet: the music.

What have you been up to recently?

Mueller: Investigating new technologies and developing concepts for future works, all these things functions in a unified manner. They feedback to one another.

Martin: Zwischenwelt's album production. We all worked really hard for this project, can't wait to see the album out. Also I have been concentrated on ArD2, a project I share with the Spanish producer Ekis. We just finished a new EP and shot a video for one of the tracks of the new EP. Nowadays I'm researching a lot, building the concept for a new project I want to start very soon.

How and where was the mix recorded?

Martin: My lips are sealed on this one; all I can tell you is that the mix was created in the "Interworld."

Mueller: Unsealing lips slightly. The assembly of this data was really a universal effort; building and exchanging ideas on its production. So there was no particular point in space/time where it was recorded, it was a theory and practice situation. It was truly a group and universal effort. We all were working toward the "Interworld" concept.

Can you tell us a little bit more about the idea behind the mix?

Mueller: The primary purpose of this music data assembly is to demonstrate the latest musical developments I'm involved with in addition to other musical workers. So in summary, it is a promotional demonstrator of music technologies.

Martin: The idea was to demonstrate various new music concepts. We brought together music from other projects of Zwischenwelt's members and mixed it with some of the tracks we will find on the Paranormale Aktivitat album.

Can you tell us about the production process behind the Paranormale Aktivitat. We understand it was mostly created via the Internet?

Martin: Yes, we used the internet to organize the work; a lot of conferences where we all four shared new tracks, ideas and made the concept stronger. The Zwischenwelt LP took quite a long time to complete. I got involved in the project in May 2007. Along those years I had to travel to Germany twice, for real time sessions—a great experience where we all share ideas under the same ceiling.

What are you up to next?

Mueller: At this time as stated previously, looking forward to new technologies and concepts, maybe some possible interactivity with other musical scientists to share ideas. Looking forward to Dopplereffekt live transmissions in Frankfurt and London.

Martin: I'm setting up the foundations for new projects, researching and preparing rhythms and ideas. We are working on a live set for ArD2 as well as new tracks. Also I am looking forward to a more personal with no collaborations, just me as Penélope Martin.

Tracklist

Voice of Relativity

Dopplereffekt - Mirror Symmetry

ArD2 - Sabotage

Beta Evers - Confusion

ArD2 - Utopia

Gedankenexperiment - Conclusion

Urban Tribe - Carbon 14

Paka - Solitude:

Dopplereffekt - Myon Neutrino

Dopplereffekt - Sterilization

Der Zyklus - Polar Coordinates

Dopplereffekt - Scientist

Zwischenwelt - Remote Viewer

Dopplereffekt - Plastiphilia

Zwischenwelt - Shadow Being

Der Zyklus - Formenverwandler

Zwischenwelt - Telemetric

Dopplereffekt - Speak and Spell

Dopplereffekt - Satellites

Der Zyklus - Biometric Systems

Urban Tribe - Amygdala

ArD2 - Drug of a Nation

Zwischenwelt - Premonition

Der Zyklus - Biometric ID

Zwischenwelt - Enigmata

Zwischenwelt - Multiplexsistence

Arpanet - Universe Oscillation

Beta Evers - Only for My Satisfaction

Dopplereffekt - Non Vanishing Harmonic Spinor

Zwischenwelt - Clairvoyant

Neuroleptica - Tardive Dyskinesia

Zwischenwelt - Shadow Being

Dopplereffekt - Anti Neutrino

Zerkalo - I Know More

Arpanet - Grossvater Paradoxen

Dopplereffekt - Z^0 Boson

crazy crazy good. cannot wait for the rephlex release

direct link

right click save as

http://is.gd/JcCk2l

ArD2 - Utopia, if I got the track right (the one with slow evolving pads/chords) sounds brilliant, hope for a release.

i really really like dopplereffekt's music, i am a big fan however whenever i read interviews with any of them i get kind of turned off by their forced german futuristic technology schtick. anybody else find it slightly unnecessary? but by all means if your appreciation for them only increases because of this image they project i'm all for hearing why.

  On 3/15/2011 at 7:42 PM, Awepittance said:

i really really like dopplereffekt's music, i am a big fan however whenever i read interviews with any of them i get kind of turned off by their forced german futuristic technology schtick. anybody else find it slightly unnecessary? but by all means if your appreciation for them only increases because of this image they project i'm all for hearing why.

It's neither here nor there for me. If that's how he wants to present it that is fine with me. I try not to do much in the way of finding out details behind the music itself. I like to try and keep it in it's own space. This means i enjoy it more. I think the upshot of him presenting it this way is that it's quite forgetable. I know i read the piece that came out in the wire, must be what a couple of years ago now? I don't remember any of it at all. So, i think in this slightly rambling post the point is that emphasis seems to rest solely on the music itself. Which is the way it should be.

  On 3/15/2011 at 8:06 PM, Aces said:

  On 3/15/2011 at 7:42 PM, Awepittance said:

i really really like dopplereffekt's music, i am a big fan however whenever i read interviews with any of them i get kind of turned off by their forced german futuristic technology schtick. anybody else find it slightly unnecessary? but by all means if your appreciation for them only increases because of this image they project i'm all for hearing why.

 

It's neither here nor there for me. If that's how he wants to present it that is fine with me. I try not to do much in the way of finding out details behind the music itself. I like to try and keep it in it's own space. This means i enjoy it more. I think the upshot of him presenting it this way is that it's quite forgetable. I know i read the piece that came out in the wire, must be what a couple of years ago now? I don't remember any of it at all. So, i think in this slightly rambling post the point is that emphasis seems to rest solely on the music itself. Which is the way it should be.

I never quite understood why it's been part of MULTIPLE aliases and projects of his. The Gestapo reference kind of weirds me out too.

I've always liked the Drexciya imagery and concept far more: More mysterious, unique, and less pretentious. It was like a journey through James Stinson's imagination. The fact that it wasn't referencing existing sci-fi was pretty novel too, probably part of its appeal.

There a Gerald Donald mix on the Red Bull Academy site as well, I think it's all Dopplereffekt tracks though.

i think he's playing a character. the whole futur/german/scientist thing really works (for me) with artworks, videos during live shows. i've caught them live recently (dopplereffekt) & it was brillant, loads of new songs, killer sound. the interviews are clearly not the most intersting part of the project :-) kraftwerk are pretty boring on interview from what i remember.

edit: here's another mix he did and a strange one at that, since it has commentary on top of it.

  On 3/15/2011 at 10:31 PM, k h o v said:

i think he's playing a character. the whole futur/german/scientist thing really works (for me) with artworks, videos during live shows. i've caught them live recently (dopplereffekt) & it was brillant, loads of new songs, killer sound. the interviews are clearly not the most intersting part of the project :-) kraftwerk are pretty boring on interview from what i remember.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wUt1fIymB4

Best interview ever. Donald will never reach the absurd German standard of succinct and dry answers.

ah ah, i remember that, a true youtube jewel !!

  On 3/15/2011 at 7:42 PM, Awepittance said:

i really really like dopplereffekt's music, i am a big fan however whenever i read interviews with any of them i get kind of turned off by their forced german futuristic technology schtick. anybody else find it slightly unnecessary? but by all means if your appreciation for them only increases because of this image they project i'm all for hearing why.

I dunno man. I quite like the facade to be honest, music is entertainment after all and it fits in with their spacey, scientific sound. Also it makes it kinda heartwarming when you catch the human moments, for example at Bloc when their kit was being set up, Gerald and (the beautiful) Michaela were having a quick natter on stage with the sound engineers without their facemasks on and it was nice to see them having a laugh with each other.

I'm well into the performance side of it, even if it's not that lively as such.

yeah for sure i mean when most electronic music has no ethos it's good that people out there still have it. it would just be interesting to see an interview without the facade.

Would be great to read an honest interview from him, the red bull one was the closest we got but he had to mangle his voice and it became hard to understand, his interviews in text aren't that much better, I get the Kraftwerk'ian coldness but it's an old act. His music stopped evolving for a while now, same sound palette for years, I don't know how he can do it and not get saturated, same snare, same ah choirs, same bassline patch... in these days where artists get their revenue from live sets he's gambling a lot on that template.

  On 3/16/2011 at 12:30 AM, Awepittance said:

yeah for sure i mean when most electronic music has no ethos it's good that people out there still have it. it would just be interesting to see an interview without the facade.

I remember reading a Stinson interview where he mentioned he was truck driver, and during his drives he would often hash out his ideas for future recordings. Something about that really struck a chord with me. It's a super mysterious project, yet it was refreshing knowing he was just another working class guy, literally one you could of been unknowingly stuck in traffic with while you listened to his music. Who knows, maybe Donald will come around to such reveals of his real personality at some point.

he does seem to have a very interesting past or present(is he still a truck driver?) that alone is worth doing a whole interview about. I guess for me i like being able to associate with an artist on a somewhat equal plain. In my rigid world view i'd almost rather have a band be totally anonymous for as long as possible like Zoviet France or the Residents. But back to my point is i want to know more about his truck driving history, not many electronic musicians or artists come from that background and that world in and of itself is fascinating to me

my advice would be to read some fantastic Liam Gallagher interviews while enjoying the fantastic music of Dopplereffekt.

  On 3/16/2011 at 7:37 AM, Awepittance said:

he does seem to have a very interesting past or present(is he still a truck driver?) that alone is worth doing a whole interview about. I guess for me i like being able to associate with an artist on a somewhat equal plain. In my rigid world view i'd almost rather have a band be totally anonymous for as long as possible like Zoviet France or the Residents. But back to my point is i want to know more about his truck driving history, not many electronic musicians or artists come from that background and that world in and of itself is fascinating to me

Well Stinson passed away, in fact he had health issues that made him move to Atlanta before he died in 2002. I am sad to say was not familiar with the group until years after. He was married and had kids. I too often wonder this with other techno/electronic artists who are more underground or whose work predates the current era of soundcloud and social networking. I don't think reveals destroy anything if the music stands for itself. Burial is a good example. Beyond electronic music, it was a bit anticlimactic when Jandek began performing live, but he's still a very private person.

http://drexciyaresearchlab.blogspot.com/ < all things drexiya, maybe some more info on Donald too, I need peruse it a bit further

  On 3/15/2011 at 8:06 PM, Aces said:

It's neither here nor there for me. If that's how he wants to present it that is fine with me. I try not to do much in the way of finding out details behind the music itself. I like to try and keep it in it's own space. This means i enjoy it more. I think the upshot of him presenting it this way is that it's quite forgetable. I know i read the piece that came out in the wire, must be what a couple of years ago now? I don't remember any of it at all. So, i think in this slightly rambling post the point is that emphasis seems to rest solely on the music itself. Which is the way it should be.

the photographs in the UR interview with mad mike and others in the wire a couple of years back were brilliant. all standing around wearing UR tshirts with handkerchieves over their mouths to preserve anonymity like a bunch of techno badasses. i love the UR image and artwork.

The German/futuristic science stuff is fine by me. It seems to me Donald just wants the interviews to be about the music and how he views it as a scientific process than about his personal life. Thats why I gather he puts the mask on per se. In person, he seemed really socially awkward and nervous around people from what I saw so that may be a reason he puts on an act and acts cold.

As for his stale sound palette, I fucking love that white noise snare, that ahh vocal synth pad and all of the rest (that delayed knocking sound). I am on board for whatever the fuck he does, because I love it all. While I'd admit that the Drexciyan imagery was more imaginative and cooler in that sense, I am a Science nerd and I find the Technology/Science associations awesome for the fact that it tickles my personal interests.

I for one am glad I was able to see Dopplereffekt live, even if they didn't play their older stuff. While I am a fan of that stuff, it's fucking amazing Electro, I love the new experimental stuff. It was such a spectacle to stand there in a dark room and watch hand twitches. lol

  On 3/16/2011 at 2:32 PM, kaini said:

  On 3/15/2011 at 8:06 PM, Aces said:

It's neither here nor there for me. If that's how he wants to present it that is fine with me. I try not to do much in the way of finding out details behind the music itself. I like to try and keep it in it's own space. This means i enjoy it more. I think the upshot of him presenting it this way is that it's quite forgetable. I know i read the piece that came out in the wire, must be what a couple of years ago now? I don't remember any of it at all. So, i think in this slightly rambling post the point is that emphasis seems to rest solely on the music itself. Which is the way it should be.

 

the photographs in the UR interview with mad mike and others in the wire a couple of years back were brilliant. all standing around wearing UR tshirts with handkerchieves over their mouths to preserve anonymity like a bunch of techno badasses. i love the UR image and artwork.

Agreed, in my opinion though Stinson stands out in that photo.

  On 3/16/2011 at 2:54 PM, Spore said:

The German/futuristic science stuff is fine by me. It seems to me Donald just wants the interviews to be about the music and how he views it as a scientific process than about his personal life. Thats why I gather he puts the mask on per se. In person, he seemed really socially awkward and nervous around people from what I saw so that may be a reason he puts on an act and acts cold.

 

As for his stale sound palette, I fucking love that white noise snare, that ahh vocal synth pad and all of the rest (that delayed knocking sound). I am on board for whatever the fuck he does, because I love it all. While I'd admit that the Drexciyan imagery was more imaginative and cooler in that sense, I am a Science nerd and I find the Technology/Science associations awesome for the fact that it tickles my personal interests.

 

I for one am glad I was able to see Dopplereffekt live, even if they didn't play their older stuff. While I am a fan of that stuff, it's fucking amazing Electro, I love the new experimental stuff. It was such a spectacle to stand there in a dark room and watch hand twitches. lol

 

That's sick that you saw Dopplereffekt live. I don't think Drexciya is better, just stranger and honestly just more personally appealing to me. And fuck, Donald's have of that project anyway! This mix is something else, I've always enjoyed their sound palette and timbres, very distinct but vague enough to associate what you want. Your observation of him in person changes my perspective, thanks for the insight. The work of his and the whole UR crew really is rich and fascinating, it's a shame that so few really know this is what "techno" can be about, but they're there, and they continue to forge ahead and influence.

  On 3/16/2011 at 2:32 PM, kaini said:

  On 3/15/2011 at 8:06 PM, Aces said:

It's neither here nor there for me. If that's how he wants to present it that is fine with me. I try not to do much in the way of finding out details behind the music itself. I like to try and keep it in it's own space. This means i enjoy it more. I think the upshot of him presenting it this way is that it's quite forgetable. I know i read the piece that came out in the wire, must be what a couple of years ago now? I don't remember any of it at all. So, i think in this slightly rambling post the point is that emphasis seems to rest solely on the music itself. Which is the way it should be.

 

the photographs in the UR interview with mad mike and others in the wire a couple of years back were brilliant. all standing around wearing UR tshirts with handkerchieves over their mouths to preserve anonymity like a bunch of techno badasses. i love the UR image and artwork.

Yeah, it was a great of pics and great interviews for sure. Still not very clued up on UR musically though, should really sort that out. Absolutely adore pretty much anything Donald related though.

Offtopic: Great avatar kaini. :)

ah ok i was confused i thought Gerald was the truck driver. i need to brush up on my Detroit water themed techno knowledge

  On 3/16/2011 at 9:42 PM, Aces said:

Offtopic: Great avatar kaini. :)

bilinda is still sexy as fuck