KHAINZ MEETS THE BACKSTAGE ACCESS FOR AN EXCLUSIVE CHAT

Simon Khainz has been putting his unique signature sound on dance music for nearly 20 years. But the easy-going DJ and producer is the first to admit this wasn’t part of a master plan at the beginning.

These days though, Khainz takes his distinctive tech-house groove to all the dance floors across the globe ,every weekend. During the week he can be found in his  studio, adding up his ever-growing list of releases.

A prolific producer, he has released two albums, Module8 and Simple As That, and more than 150 tracks via labels like Yoshitoshi, Katermukke and Great Stuff Recordings.

 

Everything he does reflects his passion for electronic music and respect for the craft. “Technology changes constantly, who knows what it will be in five years,” he says. “What matters is the music. That doesn’t change.” Khainz likes to teach people to make music. He frequently invites fellow artists to his studio to make their own tracks.

 

 While fans may have to wait a while for the next LP, his busy tour schedule ensures they never go too long without a fix of his irresistible beats…and to top it all, he’s been so nice to sit with us for chat: 

TBA: How did it all start for you?

K: When I was about 15 y.o. and my older brother bought 2 turntables and some vinyls.

Back then, I was very skeptical towards electronic music as I came from a totally different genre  but it didn’t take long for me to  fall in love with it (djing and electronic music).
A few years later (1998) I stumbled over Rebirth ( a very limited music program) few months later I purchased  my first version of Cubase (Cubasis back then) and started to produce.

TBA: Who is your biggest inspiration? / Who do you have a lot of respect for? 

K: I have a lot of respect for people that do their own music and have a specific style.
Maceo Plex is one of the producers that still manages to impress me often with of his new releases also Bodzin has quite some influence on me.
From the newer upcoming acts I really like Jiggler and Township Rebellions, they are always able to surprise me with their new music.

As it comes to Djs, James Holden (he played one of the most interesting sets I’ve heard the past couple of years), Sasha, John Digweed.

TBA: What single night out has been the most memorable for you? As a DJ? As an attendee?

K: Very difficult to say after many hundreds nights out. some memorable playings are for sure Rainbow Serpent (Australia), Strawberryfiels (Australia), Playground at Rok Club (My residency in my hometown Lucerne), Noisily Festival (UK), Boom Festival (Portugal),Universo Parallelo (Brazil), Sisyphos (Berlin).

TBA: If you could eternally be stuck in one year’s music scene, which year would it be?

K: Hell no, I like that music evolves, for sure you have better and worse through the years but I’m glad that music evolves and keeps changing.
But the most unforgettable years were 2005/2006, so much timeless music got released in those years, just to name a few:

Gregor Trasher – A Tousand Nights
Petter – Some Polyphony
Thomas Schumacher – Red Purple
Booka Shade – Bodylanguage
Extrawelt – Soopertrack

TBA: What is it that you love about the scene?

K: The Music, the talks, the mess, the order and the good moments and fun times we share!

TBA: What is one track that never gets old for you no matter how many times you hear it?

K: Petter – Some Polyphony

TBA: What  do you personally consider to be the incisive moments in your artistic career?

K: Difficult to say, probably remixing Format:B, Sharam (Deepdish) and many other great artists and releasing my music on established Labels. Sharing my music with people and to see them enjoying and dance to it.

TBA: What are currently your main challenges as a DJ? What is it about DJing, compared to, say, producing your own music, that makes it interesting for you?

K: Producing Music and djing are 2 totally different things, when I produce music I sit alone in my studio (mostly) and don’t have any feedback from the crowd while I’m doing it, so it’s always a surprise to find out  how the new tracks will work on a dancefloor;

When it comes to djing I like the fact that i can play music from other artists I like and I can play what I think fits for the moment.

TBA: What can we expect from you in the near future?

K: A remix to Sharam (Deep Dish) on his imprint Yoshitoshi.
An Ep on Einmusika
A Quivver Edit from a new track on his Change Underground compilation
A remix to Mortagua on Timeless Moment
A remix to Chris Hartwig on Caballero Rec.
A remix to Moosfiebr on Dazed & Confused
A remix to Mikah on Lauter Unfug
A Soundtrack for a videogame
some collabs with friends (SuspectOne, Onur Ozman, Page, Jack & Chuus)
and hopefuly a finished album till end of the year.

TBA: Wow, that’s a lot of new music coming up, we’re thrilled to listen to it all, thanks a lot for your time and see you soon.

K: Thank you for having me!