A juxtaposition often sits at the heart of his tracks, as Fabian sprinkles lush and mischievous melodies over springy, sometimes elastic and other times static rhythms, nodding to organic and minimal house at once. It’s Fabian’s deep-rooted feeling for a sound that fuses these disparate motifs into an irresistible whole as his productions unfold and flourish with intricate details and surprising touches, always united under a tight groove. All of these addictive attributes are equally omnipresent when Fabian helms the booth – with a nonchalance rooted in pure joy that’s perceivable in an instant. Here, again, he intrinsically becomes the storyteller, weaving an authentic narrative while turning the room upside down.
Hot on the heels of his recent ‘Planet D’ EP, label stalwart Fabian Krooss returns to Stil Vor Talent with his anticipated new release, ‘Higher State’. Featuring all of that elementary Krooss-copyrighted sound palette, this new effort finds the Berlin producer exploring further ahead the concepts of minimal trompe-l’oeil and electro-acoustic roguishness that flowed across his previous iterations, resulting in an ever streamlined, pared-to-the-essential quartet of club-ready cuts. Surgically executed and bound to get all booties shaking in a two-mile radius.
We caught up with Fabian to learn more about his new release, the process and inspiration behind it and his arrival to Oliver Koletzki’s Stil vor Talent, and more.
EG: Hello Fabian! It’s a true pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you right now? How’s everything over there?
Fabian Krooss: Hey there! Everything is pretty good, I must say. It has been a tough winter once again for everyone in the music industry, but I’ve escaped the last bit of winter to Mexico and Zanzibar, played a few shows there, and just had a phenomenal time, especially in Zanzibar. And now the sun is shining in Berlin, clubs are open and everything comes to life again. So nice to see! My excitement for the summer is immense.
EG: Congratulations on the release of ‘Higher State’, your new EP on Stil vor Talent! What was the initial reception like?
Fabian Krooss: Thanks! When working on a project for so long, especially during this winter without any gigs and live feedback, I sometimes lose perspective and tend to overthink my work a little too much. But playing these tunes for the first time in Zanzibar and sending the final masters out to friends and DJs I fell in love with them again. Such beautiful memories are connected to them now! And the first feedback on the promo has also been really good. So, I must say I’m quite happy with the initial reception and I’m looking forward to receiving more feedback and just hope this EP puts smiles into people’s faces wherever they hear it.
EG: What was the inspiration behind ‘Higher State’? Is there an underlying concept tying the four tracks together? What does this record mean to you, on a personal scale?
Fabian Krooss: Mostly I start producing without a bigger concept in mind and just produce what I feel like at the moment. Then after finishing a track that I’m happy with I often start another project based on that one to have two tracks that work well together as an EP. So, I basically sent Oliver Koletzki 4 different EPs to choose from but in the end, he picked 4 tracks that I didn’t intend to release together in the first place. I was surprised at the choice at first but after finalizing the EP and trying to bring those tracks together, I have to say I’m happy with the selection of tracks, I think they work well together and display the diversity of my skills and style quite well.
EG: Musically, what can listeners expect from you on ‘Higher State’?
Fabian Krooss: Listeners can expect four uplifting tracks loaded with emotion and energy. In the past, I’ve often found myself releasing tracks but almost never playing them at my gigs as I love to play quite energetic peak time/afterhour sets. So, I’m more and more changing my style to fit the sound that I play, and I think with this EP I’ve found a good way in between. In general, I’d describe my sound as energetic, bouncy, and playful, with a minimalistic and groovy touch to them. I like to surprise and play out of the usual and I feel this EP fits right in there.
Oh, and you can expect an amazing artwork by Chrisse Kunst. I’m super happy with his visual interpretation of the EP and can’t wait to hang the poster in my room! Thank you so much Chrisse!
“I’d describe my sound as energetic, bouncy and playful, with a minimalistic and groovy touch to them. I like to surprise and play out of the usual…”
EG: For how long have you been a producer now? How would you describe your music? Is it the same music you set out to do when you first got started?
Fabian Krooss: I started playing the trumpet when I was 6 years old up until I was 18. Being able to just play a single tone wasn’t enough for me at one point and I started learning the guitar for a couple of years. But somehow this also wasn’t quite “it”. After a year abroad in Australia, I finally started producing in 2014. At first, I fooled around just for fun but after finishing my first track a few months later I was hooked. Most of my free time next to my studies went into music production and I was really dedicated to finding my own sound, creating something out of the usual, and making music that is there to last.
It took me a while to get the mixes to a level that I was happy with, but I finally managed in 2018 with my first release on Niconé’s Dantze imprint. I would say the overall vibe of my music is still the same and from what I hear from friends and producers, it seems that I’ve found my own style and make music that’s instantly recognizable as my own. Hearing this makes me really happy. But of course, my skills are improving and my taste is developing so you can definitely count on my music not ever sounding the same.
EG: Let’s dive inside your studio for a bit. What does it look like at the moment? Are you more of an analog or a digital person?
Fabian Krooss: I started off working purely digital, but soon my former roommate Midas 104 gave me the Korg Volca Keys as a birthday present, a point of no return I’d say. From this moment onwards I started working more and more analog, with the Prophet 6, Model D, Microfreak, TD-3-MO and Deepmind 6 being in my arsenal right now. Digital synths just can’t quite imitate the analog sound and most importantly also the feel and workflow of analog synths. I still also work digitally though as this also has plenty of advantages. But my bass and lead sounds are mostly analog. While I’m not finding too much time at the moment to produce, I’m looking forward to diving into the countless possibilities that all of this analog gear out there has to offer. A modular synth is high up on my list, once I find the time to dive into that.
EG: How did you get into electronic dance music? What was the trigger? Was there a record or gig that pushed you down the rabbit hole?
Fabian Krooss: Funny that you say “rabbit hole”, actually thought about giving that name to the EP. Anyways, “shame on me”, I must confess I started getting into electronic music with EDM. I went to Tomorrowland in 2013 and 2014, with ‘Levels’ from Avicii being my absolute favorite track at that time. But I quickly realized that electronic music has so much more to offer than this superficial, commercial sound and I quickly felt connected and inspired by more deep house-y, minimalistic music. One of my main inspirations at that time was without a doubt, Frivolous. His music had the biggest impact on me, artistically and personally. My love for music grew bigger and bigger, fueled by my first extended Berlin visits in 2015. Experiencing Berlin’s nightlife has without a doubt been a major trigger for pushing my sound forward. Countless nights at Kater’s Heinz Hopper and Katerkiosk, as well as in the vast realm of Sisyphos have shaped my sound as you know it today. In 2016 I moved to Berlin, and I quickly knew I came here to stay. I heard lots and lots of amazing music over the past years, but soon also felt like there was something missing. A vision of the sound that I want to stand for formed in my head as a lot of music that I heard felt too monotonous and boring to me. It is such a gift to be able to play 4 hours on a floor like Sisyphos’ beach. Places like this push me to the limits, I search for music for days and spend hours over hours to prepare the perfect set, taking the listeners on a journey they didn’t expect that leaves them high, even without taking any drugs (or even higher when already high 😉 ). “You replaced drugs” was such lovely feedback that I received in Zanzibar after one of my gigs at B4. Bringing people to a ‘Higher State’ is what drives my work as an artist and what truly fulfills me.
And to get back to your question, my first gig at Sisyphos’ Strand in 2018 was also definitely one of the highlights of my career and in a way the starting point of my Berlin music career. I live for this vibe, for this like-minded bunch of colorful people, I live for (electronic) music and everything that goes hand in hand with it.
EG: What would you say is the perfect setting to listen to ‘Higher State’? Where would you like to listen to it if you could?
Fabian Krooss: At the Heinz Hopper floor at Kater Blau when the vibe is just right. My favorite dance floor in this world. I’d also like to beam myself back to Zanzibar where I played an after-hours in a bungalow at the beach with several hours of only original tracks of mine. That was also one hell of a great setting, and I loved every second of it.
“I’m happy about every gig that comes in, look forward to playing more and more and getting my music out there”
EG: What else can we expect from Fabian Krooss in the near future? What new milestones are you looking out for in the coming months?
Fabian Krooss: Right now, I’m working a lot in the booking department of Stil vor Talent as nightlife is booming again and there are lots to do. We just launched this year’s edition of the Akasha Festival and I’m very excited to be working on this and all of our other events as well this year. Meanwhile, I’m happy about every gig that comes in and looking forward to playing more and more and getting my music out there. I have several Berlin shows lined up and will celebrate the release of my EP on the 16th of April in Amsterdam with the Gardens of Babylon family at their ‘Wild as the Moon’ party. Once the time is right, I will completely focus on music and I’m sure lots of good things will come. It’s a very exciting time right now and I’ll just let it flow and see what comes next. I have plenty of unfinished projects on my hard drive that I intend to finish soon, so feel free to stay hungry for more.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Fabian! We wish you all the best for the future!
Fabian Krooss: Thanks EG and thanks to everyone that made it all the way down here. Enjoy the EP and see you soon on the dancefloor <3
Fabian Krooss’ ‘Higher State’ EP is out now via Stil vor Talent. Grab your copy here.
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