Interview: Alex Under

Basé à Madrid, Alex Under fait partie de cette scène espagnole trop masquée qui devient pourtant essentielle dans le mouvement techno international. En plus de prestations lives remarquées à la qualité constante, d’albums et de maxis toujours en haut des charts, ce producteur ne fait pas semblant de bosser, puisqu’il a créé la structure CMYK, puis co-fondé Apnea, Bemysheep, Cyclical Tracks ou Net28, structure qui nous amène à cette interview. Entre trance, techno, house et minimale, il offre la seconde sortie CD du label, sujet central de cette interview, aux émotions véhiculées par des artistes confirmés ou espoirs de la scène comme Tadeo, Damian Schwartz, Grünbox ou Brendon Moeller.

TheClubbing.com: What is Net28 ? Could you introduce the crew behind the label?
Alex Under: After some natural changes, NET28 is established as a record platform that includes, record labels and booking agency. It includes (beside itself as a record label) 4 other labels and 10 A-class artists in the booking roster, such as Damian Schwartz, Tadeo, Jonas Kopp, Kasper, Grunböx etc.

TheClubbing.com: When and where did it begin?
Alex Under: Everything started in CMYKmusik shop, my record store in Madrid. There we all met, and we all had the same thoughts, feelings and needs about our music, our city and the music world at large.

TheClubbing.com: Most of the artists are Spanish (Tadeo, Kasper, Damian Schwartz…). Is it a wish to put this scene forward, or only a coincidence…?
Alex Under: Sure, of course it was a wish, and it came true. I’m not saying we deserve all the credit, but things has changed a lot for Spanish producers and labels, since we built up the platform.

TheClubbing.com: What about your other labels? What is the purpose of each?
Alex Under: CMYKmusik, Apnea, Cyclical Tracks and Mupa, were born with a clearly marked concept, and it has been developed even more with the time, each label has a very strong personality, that does not means all the releases are similar in each label, but they all have a taste that allows to associate them to the label imprint.

TheClubbing.com: Do you think that digital will kill the vinyl in several years?
Alex Under: I’m hearing this question since immemorial times, and it could have been right then, but now is just wrong. Vinyl couldn’t be killed, because is already dead, at least the vinyl we all know, that vinyl the labels were selling in thousands. The same vinyl I used to receive at my record shop in boxes, and people knew when the boxes were coming and they were waiting at the door in the morning as a junkie waits for another piece of dope. The vinyl you had listened sometime while someone was playing and you spent years after finding it or that vinyl that you know you will never ever find on sale. That is what is already dead, not the vinyl itself, not the piece of black plastic but all the world surrounding it.

TheClubbing.com: Do you play every Net 28’s releases in a party? How do you decide to sign someone for Net 28?
Alex Under: I always play livesets, mostly my music, but I sometimes include tracks or edits from our labels, lately I’m playing lots of Grunböx´s and Alessio Mereu´s. I’m really into their music right now, sometimes you don’t know what makes your soul wake up and your brain focus on what you are listening when checking up demos, but you can feel it from the very first beat.
I guess it could be several things, but “personality” is the parameter that includes all the rest.

TheClubbing.com: What is the concept of the new compilation? Is it a « best of »?
Alex Under: The yearly NET 28 compilations started last year with 1, they are about gather what’s happening in the label, what is doing who, who is doing what, and what’s the global feeling of the label for that year. Therefore, our NET 28 compilation 2 shows clearly our intentions for this year, a bit less dark and dense than last year compilation 1, and as always with plenty of personality and human touch.

TheClubbing.com: Is your flight-case only filled with house and techno stuff? What is the most important thing in the DJing exercise according to you?
Alex Under: My flight case is home fully covered of spider web, it has been a long time since I don’t take it, I’ve been playing the liveset since 5 years ago. The most important thing is people go home happy after the party, how to achieve that? That’s a story apart.

TheClubbing.com: What about your projects in a near future? A new album?
Alex Under: Yes sure, the new album is already done, and almost ready to be downloaded, it’s gonna be just online and for free. I’m creating a digital foundation where new music is gonna be uploaded from time to time, and the opening release is my new album. (http://www.lamaquinadebolas.com)

Thanks to Alex under and Melissa Maouris for this interview