Insider Interview with German electro house duo Digitalism

by Lily Moayeri

There is something basic and straightforward about naming your band after a style of music. No confusion, no cross-pollination of genres, even the pigeonhole is a comfortable one. German electro house duo Digitalism is the beneficiary of such labeling. Jens “Jence” Moelle and Ismail “Isi” Tufekci are equally known for their remixes as they are for their two artist albums, Idealism and I Love You, Dude. From the White Stripes and Cut Copy to the Klaxons, Depeche Mode, and the Cure, getting “Digitified” is a badge of honor. On its latest offering, a contribution to the longstanding and well regarded DJ Kicks series, Digitalism combines its knack for remixes, (two done exclusively for this mix), its deft production skills, (there are six brand new Digitalism tracks exclusive to this mix), and its unerring track selection, (choice cuts from Alex Gopher, Hiroki Esashika, the Rapture, among others), for a sharply defined collection of high-quality floor-friendly cuts. Moelle elaborates on the creation of Digitalism—DJ Kicks for us.

SoundCtrl – What equipment did you use to record the DJ Kicks mix?
Jence – It was a proper DJ set up, what we usually use in the clubs: Pioneer CDJ-2000s and a Pioneer DJM-800 mixer, on which we recorded parts of the mix and tried out stuff beforehand, and Ableton Live 8.2, which served as the final editor. We recorded the parts into our studio computer and then did little tweaks and pasted the whole thing together, made it cohesive and added EQs [using Ableton]. With something as big and important as a DJ Kicks mix, you have to make sure you go over it again and make it one big, long piece of music. Ideally we would have used a couple of 12”s too, but at the time of compiling the mix we were on the road so we had to request the mastered WAV files.

SC – How did you decide on the selections for this mix? What were trying to put across with your choices?
Jence –We chose to go for a historic/portfolio-esque approach. We started writing down all the tracks, labels, and artists that we play over and over again the last decade. We then added new music by friends and our own, then started kicking things out of it until we were down to about 90 minutes of music. We also made sure that there would be enough different music on it to show our musical spectrum, which ranges from techno, house, and disco via electroclash and new wave to indie. For us, it’s important to create a mix that would life you to peaks and drop you down to mellow parts that let you take a breath. This mix is pretty much an essence of our DJ sets and the music that orbits the Digitalism universe.

SC – What is your ideal DJ set-up in a venue?
Jence – We play with several CDJ-2000s and a DJM-800 mixer. Of course good monitoring is appreciated—not old trashed rock ‘n’ roll ones. Recently we played a gig where the monitors were half a second behind so we had to do it old school like in the bedroom 12 years ago with just the headphones on.

SC – Coolest piece of DJ equipment?
Jence – CDJs. The Pioneer CDJ-2000s have a good sound—even warped—and are really versatile. We use them in the studio sometimes to perform live things with new material from a USB stick.

SC – Favorite headphones?
Isi – Technics RP-DJ1210
Jence – Sennheiser HD 25-1 II

SC – Favorite instrument? And is there an app or software you know of that sounds just as good?
Jence – Roland TR-808. It’s the ultimate bass drum. You can sample it, but that will render it down to a certain bit-depth and digital distortion. You have to hear that through a live PA. Actually, astoundingly enough, the simple, built-in Logic Ultrabeat is quite good with similar sound controls.

SC – Coolest app you’ve seen in the past six months?
Jence – Lemur Liine (controller for a number of music and visual software), Jasuto Pro (modular synthesizer), Moog Animoog (polyphonic synthesizer).

SC – First album you ever bought? What was the format?
Jence – Snap! The Madman’s Return on CD in 1991 probably.
Isi – Can’t remember exactly but the first single purchase was Zhane “Hey Mr. DJ” on CD.

SC – Best piece of music-related advice you ever got?
Jence – Only trust your ears.