“It’s not always the ‘how?’, but also the ‘why?’”
German musician Alexander Geiger made his name in the mid-’00s with a string of funk-inflected synth pop releases under the name Nass. Following an eight year hiatus, he’s back with a new project, Fahrland, named after the peaceful place near Potsdam he calls home. FM found out more about his debut Fahrland release, Mixtape 1, out now.
When did you first start making music?
“My father is a music lover. At home music was present at all times. He had a massive record collection and introduced me to different styles at a very early age. I believe that’s as important as learning an instrument yourself. Listening to Prince, Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker inspired me to start playing guitar. But it was Kenny Larkin, Robert Hood, Juan Atkins, Derrick May et al who got me into dance music and programming. Although I listened to Kraftwerk, Philip Glass and disco stuff, the whole Chicago and Detroit sound was new. As timeless and free as jazz.
“After high school, I lived with two DJs, Ricky and Boris – the first people I met who actually owned gear and produced stuff. I decided to do the same and got myself probably the most user-unfriendly, but still sophisticated synth, a Kurzweil K2000 with its VAST Synthesis. Crazy synthesiser. I remember the day I got it from a music store in Cologne, set it up and programmed a beat on its internal sequencer – it took ages, but once I got it right, pressed play and listened back? Boom!”
Tell us about your studio...
“My current studio is in my house in Fahrland. I was fed up with the city and moved there in 2016. Over the years I’ve had all sorts of spaces, from basic basements to more sophisticated studio spaces. I did all kinds of construction myself over the years. Now I have a bunch of absorbers, diffusers, bass traps for room treatment. That’s it.
“In the end, a room’s vibe is way more important to me than its acoustics, although I do get nerdy at times, do measurements and try to learn how my room ‘sounds’. I’ve had dozens of synths, analogue and digital, samplers, drum machines, vintage and new. I never tend to keep the stuff. At one point my friends thought I was a gear dealer because of all the synths coming in and out.
“I record countless gigabytes of data, some of which gets used now, some is left for future projects. My attitude to producing shifts periodically. From fully analogue to plain digital, or a hybrid of both. Right now, I work in a ‘less is more’ approach. Hardware, I’ve got a Roland JDXa, a Roland SP 606, Korg Microsampler, Empirical Labs Mike-E, SPL Channel One, RME Babyface Pro, a JRS-34 Ribbon microphone, some guitar pedals, two sets of speakers, KS Digital ADM-22 and Auratones, a few guitars, a bass and a Laboga Tube amp. Softwarewise I use a lot of U-He stuff, Kontakt, Soundtoys, Fabfilter, Eventide.”
What DAW do you use, and why?
“I started with an Atari. Simple MIDI in and out. Then jumped to Cubase. The only reason why I changed over to Ableton was because of playing music live. It’s just more convenient not to jump between programs for studio work and live. In the end, they are all the same.”
What gear could you not do without?
“I don’t want to sound silly, but probably ears. Not from a medical point of view, but a psychological one. The awareness of your creation, translated via your ears, is the most important link between yourself and the music.”
What dream bit of gear would you love?
“Neve BCM 10 for the vibe, SSL 4000G for the punch, and a power plant next door for the bills.”
How do you start a new project?
“Everything I do in music is trial and error, watching others, thinking outside the box and staying true to your feelings. Sounds easy, but its an everyday challenge. Sometimes it’s difficult to find a musical detail worth making a song out of. It may be random jamming on new gear, or just the radio. It’s not always the ‘how’, but also the ‘why’?”
What are you currently working on?
“I’m working on Fahrland @ Night, my own remix compilation of the
MixtapeVol.1. Stripped-down Chicago house and Detroit techno, with a modern twist. I’ll perform that live soon and release it later this year via Kompakt. Also, a score for a German TV documentary about Hawaii. Lastly, I have a project called DJ Oneness, another moniker of mine. My fiancé passed away and that was an experience I processed musically. Not just for myself, but as a tribute to Suus, her family and friends. The most honest work I ever did, I believe.”