Somewhere near Brandenburg, Germany, resides an enigmatic and mysterious producer known as GRUENHEIDE. With a penchant for privacy and anonymity, very little is known about this elusive figure.
With his first release out, his ‘EP 1’ via High Contrast Recording, we sit down with GRUENHEIDE to learn more about his past, his future, views on secrecy, and how to keep afloat during these trying times.
Electronic Groove: Hi! It’s a pleasure to have you down for a chat with us. How have you been? Where are you based right now? How are things looking like over there?
GRUENHEIDE: Hello, thanks for having me, pleasure for me too. Yeah, I am based at a nice place with lots of trees and green grass around me, not too far away from Gruenheide. Grasshoppers knock at my door, and bees sing the song of collecting honey. I am trying to avoid spinning the wheel of complaints as much as possible, even we all live in a difficult time right now. But I have indeed seen better days before the BIG “C” took over. So let’s say…I am OK.
Electronic Groove: There’s a lot we don’t know about you, given this mysterious persona…What were your first interactions with music like? When did you come across electronic music?
GRUENHEIDE: Yeah, you know, I am trying to focus on GRUENHEIDE, not too much on myself as a person; the focus is definitely set to the music. No big stories, no lear jets, fancy things, wrecking hotel rooms, Instagram bombs every day, etc. The message is ‘MUSIC’. Electronic music itself caught me pretty early, at the age of 12. Westbam’s ‘And Party’, Inner City’s ‘Good Life’, and Jean Michel Jarre’s ‘Oxygene’…these are the tracks that really got me into it.
Electronic Groove: Was the notion of electronica hard to grasp or off-putting at first? Or was it love at first sight? Was there an album or song that changed everything for you?
GRUENHEIDE: It was the general vibe that electronica brought me, these sounds coming from synthesizers and electronic gear, brought together into soundscapes. A completely new world opened up for me and really gave me that feeling of ‘this is it!’. I wanted more of it; I wanna do this also myself in any possible way. Those days it was a bit harder to find info and to get into the whole thing. There was no Google, no playlists, streaming platforms, YouTube. So it was kinda adventurous and also sort of a pain in the ass to find the path. But hey, we are here now, all good then.
Electronic Groove: How long did it take you to decide you wanted to stay in the shadows as GRUENHEIDE? Was it pre-meditated before you even started putting music out? Have you gone through this whole thing before under another alias?
GRUENHEIDE: Yeah, I had a long path in music well before this. I know how the ball rolls. And I want GRUENHEIDE uncommitted, neutral. Kinda innocent. I don’t wanna talk about the musical background too much right now, want to leave it pretty much open.
” It was the general vibe that electronica brought me, these sounds coming from synthesizers and electronic gear, brought together into soundscapes“
Electronic Groove: Speaking of anonymity, James Blake was recently quoted as saying: ‘I think that mystery can be a great asset in terms of protecting your own mental health. But I’ve seen examples of people who just try and keep things mysterious because they know that it essentially creates the illusion that there’s something good that they’re protecting’. Where do you stand with this assertion? Is it true that there’s sort of lore to that from the consumer’s point of view?
GRUENHEIDE: I have there my own philosophy, from my own experience. Things are much more exciting and thrilling when you don’t know what is behind it, how it is made, and where it is from. And especially then, there are only two options: I like it, or I don’t like it. It is not influenced by anything around or beside it. You get me? So there is a real 50/50 deal, not affected by anything. Pure choice.
Electronic Groove: Speaking strictly about the music…you’ve got your first EP as GRUENHEIDE coming out now on BeYourself Music. How excited are you? How long did this one take to complete?
GRUENHEIDE: When new music is coming out, for me, it is always exciting. No matter if it is your 1st release or release number 23874534048. The EP itself definitely took a while to complete, as I love details and try to get it perfectly done. So it takes time. Especially I want it to be 100% how I like it, the way I have it in my head.
Electronic Groove: And what’s this one all about? What feelings permeate into your music? Where do you tend to find inspiration?
GRUENHEIDE: Inspiration is sitting everywhere and waits for you to grab it up and turn it into a process combined with creativity. Kinda like items you collect with your sight, hearing, smell, let’s say senses, whatever it is.
Electronic Groove: With the pandemic, and current technological advances, we’ve seen leaps in innovation these past years. How do you envision the future of club music? Will it still be this ‘in-person’ thing or do you think we’ll connect on another plane?
GRUENHEIDE: Pretty good question. To be honest, I have no idea where it will go in the future; there will be more concepts coming up, people will have several more options on how to enjoy music and join virtual events in whatever way. My personal opinion is this: so far, nothing can replace a real gathering of people at any location listening, enjoying, and experiencing music together with their favorite artist. The spirit and vibe which arises there can’t be copied or artificially created by any technology yet. Exclamation mark!
“Inspiration is sitting everywhere and waits for you to grab it up and turn it into a process combined with creativity”
Electronic Groove: What’s in store for GRUENHEIDE for the rest of 2021? What can we look forward to?
GRUENHEIDE: A lot of music is in store with the GRUENHEIDE stamp. Another EP is already finished, and also more single tracks coming up. A lot to expect this year, and also for 2022. Creativity is raining on me, big time.
Electronic Groove: Thank you for sitting down with us! We wish you all the best!
GRUENHEIDE: Thanks again for having me, I wish you all the best too, and all music lovers around. Stay safe! Bye!
GRUENHEIDE’s ‘EP 1’ is out now via High Contrast Recording. Purchase your copy here.
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