We surveyed 100 people about what they thought of Berlin duo Survey. They all came back with an unanimous ‘sick’.
We surveyed Survey about what they thought of each other. They came back with a whole bunch of fart remarks.
Read on and see what the chirpy Germans are up to, how they work and what their powerful new EP Object Relations (released next Monday on Protect Audio) sounds like…
Berlin is quite boring, no good parties and music, nightlife is shit in general and the people are shit as well. So all in all not a good place to live…
Survey… How’s life for the pair of you right now?
Hello and thanks for hitting us up. Everything is relaxed here at the moment and the autumn is arriving slowly, so we don’t need to have a bad conscience for staying inside and making beats.
How’s Berlin looking right now, too?
Berlin is quite boring, no good parties and music, nightlife is shit in general and the people are shit as well. So all in all not a good place to live ; )
Ha! Seriously, though… Berlin is usually seen as the sole preserve of proper techno, but the drum & bass scene there is healthy too, right? What’s popping in Berlin D&B-wise?
Yeah it is definitely, there have been many people doing a great job for years – for example the Recycle crew (d&b) who have put on parties for 18 years now. The parties at About:Blank (run by the Audiomassive guys), the Samurai nights at Ohm, the Bassport Parties at Gretchen; the Out of Mind parties at Gretchen, Yaam and Rosis; as well as the Bassport parties, are great. There is definitely a lot to enjoy here. Also we started a new Party called Steam with Liv from Genesis and Mernywernz (Example Media) and we are excited to see where this goes. But for us its just about playing out the music we love and to put on something with our friends. But for sure we are enjoying proper techno nights as well ; )
Let’s talk about the EP. I’ve just googled the term Object Relations and found this. Deep! Did you guys name the EP after this theory?
Basically we are also psychoanalysts consultants in our spare time, pushing the boundaries for psychology and we came across this latest idea when working on this groundbreaking theory.
For Stephan, his earliest memory is being in harmonic choir at the age of 7 and singing the female part of Carmen at the age of 10
And really…
Ok, maybe not… But one day four of us were brainstorming while Hardy was in Saigon, and thought it was an inspired idea that both of us liked that came from the surroundings and distance between us. For example, one of the oldest photos Hardy’s parents took of him is of him sitting on the toilet with headphones and a cassette tape on, and obviously that was a very early experience that has shaped his future love for music.
For Stephan, his earliest memory is being in harmonic choir at the age of 7 and singing the female part of Carmen at the age of 10 ; )
Wow! Run us through the construction… Four very detailed, pristine productions – how long did it take you guys?
We are always searching for the right sound and this is a never-ending journey. We try to be in the studio everyday. It differs from track to track but usually we try to get down a main idea as quick as possible to keep the vibe going and then we concentrate on the mixdown afterwards. For example ‘Inhale’ took us one evening to write and we had a good flow. One of us started the drums, went upstairs to start the cooking, and the other one of us wrote some bass bits etc, so it was a constant back and forth. We inspire each other and that’s a “perfect” session is for us.
Any enlightening technical epiphanies?
Constantly, we are always searching for new techniques and view of production. Also the first time we decided to make music, Stephan finally realised which button turns the computer on ; )
Let’s get some insight into how you work. Two heads are better than one, right? What do both of you bring to the studio table?
We always try to work together and everybody has time to get down he ideas and we respect them. It keeps things interesting to see what the other one has on mind and is inspiring to get the next thing done. For sure we work on ideas separately and come up with them in the studio. But the most important thing is we finish them together.
Do either of you have any annoying studio habits you’d like to come clean about?
Well to be completely honest Hardy loves to create smelly farts and also he cannot sit still. It’s highly irritating.
It’s coming out on October 20. The same date as Invisible 11 which you’re featured on. Pretty big date in your release calendar! Have you guys had any big simultaneous release dates like that in the past? Is it a bit daunting?
No not so far, but we are really happy to have a release on both Noisia’s Invisible label and Protect Audio – they’ve both really supported our work so far. It’s not so daunting as we’ve released on both labels this year and luckily we’ve had success with both labels. Many thanks to Pete (Protect) and the Noisia chaps – thanks for supporting us.
Looking forward, what’s coming up next?
We also have another release forthcoming on Trace’s label Dsci4, which is hugely exciting for us as it’s been a largely influential label for the both of us. It’s part of Spy Technologies 7 LP, and it’s called ‘Endless.’ Then we also have two more tunes coming out on Translation Recordings later this year.
Look back, we’re getting scarily close to the end of 2014. What’s been the highlight of your year so far?
So for Stephan the highlight of his year has been having a break from Hardy’s restless legs for one month while he flew to Vietnam. Hardy equally enjoyed a month break from Stephan’s smelly feet ; )
In all seriousness, we’ve really had an amazing year making music and spending time with people we have a lot of fun with – very difficult to have in Berlin haha!
Survey’s ‘Object Relations’ EP is out October 20 on Protect Audio.
