With their storming remix of Cause4Concern’s Never Acid Again still ringing loudly in our ears AND two tracks on this week’s brand new Bad Taste Volume 5 compilation, we thought it high time we sent the German D&B duo Neonlight a bunch of questions. It turns out they had a lot to say. And a lot to mix…. Yup, they’ve done us an EXCLUSIVE guest mix with tunes that have not been aired anywhere else!
How are things at Neonlight HQ?
Jakob: “First of all it has been very hot and sunny over the last weeks and we can witness that a lot in the studio. We might invest in an air conditioner first before buying any new equipment!”
Tobi: “All in all we are very pleased with everything what is happening around Neonlight at the moment. We are playing a lot of Dj gigs currently and the latest releases on Cause4Concern Recordings”
What’s the D&B scene like in Leipzig?
Tobi: “The scene here is quite small and familiar but we do really like that. There are weekly and monthly events which support the local DJs and from time to time international acts. For instance acts like Rockwell, S.P.Y. or Lenzman and Riya played here in the past months…”
How is the German D&B scene in general?
Jakob: “The German scene in general isn´t that strong like years ago. The big raves with thousands of people and huge line ups have shrunk to a manageable number of events. Now everything it is a bit small-dimensioned. The local scenes are quite busy and the growing amount of new DJs and crews is a positive thing. Not to forget Phace & Misanthrop and Neosignal. That encouraged the sound we love to produce.”
In your bio you say you’re two very different personalities…
Tobi: “Jakob as a family man and a daddy. He really loves gardening! In the way of producing he is totally different to me as well. With his high level of musical education he works with a varying focus on things. But this is really helpful for the process of producing a track.”
Jakob: “Totally! When you go out in Leipzig the chance to run across him in a club or bar is much higher. Tobi is also the part that connects Neonlight to the scene. He does all the social networking to get into touch with labels, artist and mainly with our growing fan base. He is to 100% up to date with what is going with new tunes and trends.It is definitely good to be diverse in this way; if one of us gets stuck, the other one will easily continue.
You make some seriously EVIL music… what inspires this?
Jakob: “I wouldn’t say we do EVIL music. WE DID…years ago! I’d say it’s music with a high level of energy. We like to have a little touch of roughness combined with strong athmospheric sound elements in our tracks. I get my inspiration from movies through to computer games and music of different genres like rock, funk and jazz.”
Which producers inspire you in general?
Tobi: “We always keep our ears open. Guys like Mefjus, Aeph, Insideinfo and Audio get our full attention. Apart from drum & bass, I´m really into electrohouse at the moment. I love the positive vibe and the catchy melodies and hooks.”
Jakob: “I get my major inspiration from non-drum & bass music. I’m a big fan of Sting and Pink Floyd!”
Let’s chat releases. Tell me about the Never Acid Again remix… Your first on C4C?
Tobi: “Yes, it is indeed. We got in touch with Optiv in 2010 after he listened to another remix we did at that time. He was one of the first big names who has been supporting us. Some weeks later he gave us the chance to remix one of his solo tunes Run It Red. He was pleased with the result and we finally got a full release on his label Redlight. A bit later we asked him if it would be possible to do a remix for C4C and eventually we got a mail with a download link for the stems of “Never Acid Again” inside. The flip to that remix is a collaboration we did with the guys SH1 and Wintermute from Leipzig. Perpetuum Mobile is more an experimental track that took a long time to finish because we had so many ideas!”
Tell us about your forthcoming releases…
Jakob: “Quite a few… We have two tracks coming up on Bad Taste Volume 5 which is out this week. Both are collaborations. Reminiscence is our second piece with SH1 and Wintermute. Space Truckers was done with Aeph.
Another forthcoming collaboration we did with the Russian producer Receptor for Breed 12 Inches. It’s called 800-Pound Gorilla and it’s part of the the mix we’ve done for you. It’s a world exclusive! We’ve also done a remix we for the legendary Black Sun Empire, Eraser, it’s part of their new album which is planned to be released in September.”
Tobi: “Another project is a four track EP we have been working on for the last weeks and which presumably will be released on Lifted Music after summer. All these tracks are our own productions. After all the collaborations and remixes we’ve done lately, the time has come to focus on a bigger only-Neonlight project called Computer Music.”
Jakob: “We are also writing the music and designing the sound FX for an independent computer game with our friend Wintermute.”
Finally, please tell us a bit about this exclusive Drum&BassArena mix…
Tobi: “It’s a hybrid of tunes by ourselves you might hear for the very first time and tracks from most of our buddies we appreciate and support in our DJ sets. Turn up the volume and enjoy!”
Download Neonlight’s Exclusive Drum&BassArena Mix!
Tracklist:
01 Black Sun Empire – Eraser [Neonlight Remix] (BSE Dub)
02 Jade – Lazer Tag [Neonlight Remix] (Lifted Dub)
03 Loadstar – Bomber (Ram)
04 Noisia & The Upbeats – Dustup (Vision)
05 Nymfo & Black Sun Empire – Battlefish (Commercial Suicide)
06 Neonlight, sH1 & Wintermute – Perpetuum Mobile (C4C)
07 Enei – No Fear ft. Riya [SpectraSoul Remix] (Critical)
08 Mefjus & Neonlight – Hot Glue VIP (Eatbrain)
09 Culture Shock – Troglodyte (Ram)
10 Aeph & Neonlight – Space Truckers (Bad Taste Dub)
11 Task Horizon – Sadistic Safari (Dissected Culture Dub)
12 Audio & InsideInfo – Vein Drain (Virus Dub)
13 The Upbeats & Noisia – Blindfold (Non Vouge)
14 Optiv & BTK – Whatever [Mefjus Remix] (Dutty Audio Dub)
15 Optiv – Krakpot [Jade Remix] (C2D Dub)
16 Telekinesis – Sicko (Dub)
17 Memtrix – Slipper (Breed12Inches Dub)
18 Neonlight & Receptor – 800-Pound Gorilla (Breed12Inches Dub)
19 Cause4Concern – Never Acid Again [Neonlight Remix] (C4C)
