“I have always said that I go with the flow…” 909originals catches up with Sascha Braemer
Having cut his teeth on Berlin’s rave circuit during the 90s, Sascha Braemer has long been a custodian of deep, underground house music, both through his performances and productions for labels such as Dirtybird, Stil Vor Talent, Systematic and his own WhatIPlay and Hoito imprints.
He recently released the moody Who Died And Made You King EP alongside vocalist Dom Fricot (buy it here), and has upcoming cuts lined up on labels such as Anjunadeep and Deutsche Grammophon, as well as a forthcoming album, 11 Senses, on Systematic.
909originals caught up with him.
With the world returning to some sort of normality, when you look back on the past 18 months, how was it for you? Was it challenging, or a creative period for you?
It was a bit of both worlds. I had a lot of time for my family, which was nice and refreshing, but also finally found a lot of time in the studio. I have actually used the time to update my whole producing process, which was something I was never able to do during the regular touring life.
You recently released a new EP, Who Died And Made You King – from the title and lyrics, it seems like a very personal, reflective track for you?
To be honest, it came from Dom Fricot, as he is an amazing writer – and singer, of course.
Who Died And Made You King was the first collaboration I did with him, but we have produced a couple of more tracks now. The next one, called Bad Behavior, will be out on Anjunadeep mid-August. Then, we also did a collaboration track for my own label, Hoito, called Tension.
You have a series of releases lined up, on labels such as Anjunadeep and Deutsche Grammophon – tell us more?
The track for Anjunadeep is Bad Behavior, and will come out August 18th. I am very excited about the release as personally I am a big fan of the label. With regard to Deutsche Grammophon, I had the honour to do a remix for Erik Satie, which is actually coming out in two different versions later in the year.
Did you find it difficult to produce dancefloor-oriented music with the clubs closed for so long?
Actually no, because it’s my passion and even with clubs closed I can definitely feel the vibe to produce dancefloor-oriented music.
You’ve been releasing music for more than a decade, and DJing since the early 90s. How would you say your musical style has evolved over that time?
I have always said that I go with the flow. You can hear melodic elements in my productions – I would say there are even elements from the 80s, but all with an up-to-date touch of what I enjoy musically. I think you can definitely hear it in all my productions over the last few years.
It’s been a few years since your last album, No Home – we understand another one is on the horizon. How would you describe it?
My upcoming album on Systematic is called 11 Senses, which comprises 11 tracks. It’s ‘brave’ and ‘danceable’, I would say.
No Home was created on the road, a soundtrack of the nomadic life of the international DJ, you could say. Would it be fair to say that the forthcoming album could almost be called ‘At Home’, given the pandemic?
Yes, you’re absolutely right, and I think you can also totally feel it once listening to both albums.
What’s next on the agenda for you?
The Anjunadeep and Deutsche Grammophon releases, as already mentioned above, as well as a remix for Family Piknik from Montpellier and also another EP for my own label Hoito. I am also looking forward to The Island Festival in Obonjan, Croatia, in early September as this is a festival I have been organising with three partners for four years now. It’s always my personal highlight of the year.
[Thanks Sascha for chatting to us. The Who Died And Made You King EP can be purchased here]
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