German producer Koelle has made a beautiful return to the spotlight on remix duty for Canadian indie act HOKI, who had a breakout year in 2019. The Montreal duo excel at crafting ballads teeming with rawness and an almost haunting vulnerability. ‘King Of Hearts’ is their debut EP out on May 8th. It comes in the form of two stellar original tracks with remixes from Koelle and Martin Roth.
Known for scintillating melodic cuts on the likes of Anjunadeep, Needwant, and Ton Töpferei, Koelle is right at home reworking the entrancing vocal track ‘Eve’. Catching up with the Ingolstadt artist, he shared an insight into his remix work, his new reality, and his upcoming releases.
Electronic Groove: Thanks for joining us today Chris. Tell us, what was the quarantine experience been like for you?
Koelle: Thanks for the invite. I think the quarantine so far was a little bit from everything, a little scary to the beginning, then also relaxing to be home with my family, also interesting to spend more time quietly. Sometimes also hard to miss friends and colleagues, and challenging to deal with these new rules of daily life and an inner process of adaption and reflection.
EG: How does it differ from a normal week for Koelle?
Koelle: I used to meet other people to work together. Also, my cello teacher and I play together on Skype, which was a funny experience because of a 1-second latency. We tried to play Vivaldi concerts as a duo with a 1-second latency and it sounded really weird.
EG: Have you taken the time to learn any new skills or added any changes that will stay in your routine moving forward?
Koelle: I’m having a meditation practice every day to keep my mind quiet. It has helped me to deal with all the emotions and also anxious thoughts during these times and reconnect with a deeper place.
EG: Has it changed your planned approach to life and music for the rest of 2020?
Koelle: Of course! All gigs are canceled, I never had a year without any plans… it’s strange not to know where or when you can go back to play music for people… the adventure is on the hold. This is the scary part! But I guess at the moment we have to surrender to the change and see what the world will look like.
“I feel we must put some effort into this now and support live streaming and connecting with others online, helping each other in needs, and also we will have fight for our freedom with open hearts and creativity, we must stand up for our culture and rights”
EG: How do you think the electronic music scene will adjust in reaction to this crisis?
Koelle: I am a bit worried at the moment regarding if the club scene will recover. It is such an important thing that this subculture doesn’t die, but then somehow I know from a deeper place: we all need music as soul food, to dance and celebrate changes out mindset on a deeper level. This love for music will make possible that the scene recovers. I can imagine that we have learned so much from this, how important and precious it is to share the passion for music and the freedom we all find in the scene. I feel we must put some effort into this now and support live streaming and connecting with others online, helping each other in needs, and also we will have fight for our freedom with open hearts and creativity, we must stand up for our culture and rights.
EG: You have a new remix of HOKI ‘Eve’ out now. Can you walk us through your creative process on this one?
Koelle: I heard the vocals and the chord samples and instantly knew what I wanted to do with it… I saw it directly in front of my inner eyes. It clicked 🙂
EG: You have remixed an eclectic list of artists, ranging in styles and genres. What do you look for in a potentially remix-able track?
Koelle: It depends, I like to work with artists that I know, sometimes I also like challenging projects. It always depends on the material. I ask the artist to send over the stems and I see if it clicks… It is very intuitive.
EG: What other creative projects are you working on currently?
Koelle: There is one more remix, for my good friend Nils Hoffmann. The rest of my upcoming material are original tracks.
EG: Do you have any original material in the pipeline over the next few months?
Koelle: In May, there will be lots of original releases. I have an EP on Songspire Records beginning of May, another track for Poesie Records and Eternal Nights. So I think in this month I have around 5 new tracks in the pipeline.
Stream and buy Koelle’s new remix of ‘Eve’ here.
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