Techno DJ Chris Liebing on projects away from the dance floor and his new, surprisingly dark electro pop album “Another Day (feat. Ralf Hildentüte)”

Mr. Liebing, in the 90s and early 2000s you were at the forefront of the important Frankfurt techno movement. How is the musical radiance of Frankfurt today?

This isn’t nearly as glamorous as it used to be. The city’s layout and vibe have stifled creativity, making everything far too expensive. There are no longer any important techno labels in Frankfurt, Berlin has attracted a lot, and for me, too, Frankfurt has lost a lot of importance as far as music is concerned. The last time I played was in Frankfurt at the Cocoon Club. He’s been closed for almost ten years.

How is that for you personally, you are from Frankfurt.

Strictly speaking, I’m from Gießen. I moved to Frankfurt in 1996, later the city was my children’s home and a major airport for many years. But the children have now also moved and I have been living in Switzerland for the most part for a year. Nevertheless, Frankfurt is somehow still home to me to a certain extent. I also currently have an apartment here.

Was your new album made in this apartment? After all, it’s called “Another Day (feat. Ralf Hildentüte)”. And Herr Hildentüte, he’s from Frankfurt too.

No, the album was mainly made in Ralf’s studio, and it’s true, Ralf Hildentüte is also from Frankfurt. Basically, I have to emphasize that the album wouldn’t even exist in this form without Ralf. Sometimes I feel a bit uncomfortable that my name is even on it. I’m not a musician myself in the classical sense and I can’t play an instrument at all. I provide the stylistic input and the idea of ​​which direction it should go. The majority of the composition and production, that was Ralf. So you can actually say that the album is a Frankfurt album.

“Another Day” is certainly an unusual experience for die-hard fans of Chris’ techno favourite. Then it’s not the tight techno you know as a DJ, but a very technoid and dark electropop album with vocals and song structures.

I completely freed myself from the expectations that my fans have of me in the production of “Another Day”. The previous album “Burn Slow” already tended in this direction, but I didn’t dare to include vocals there. But since my fans hardly noticed the previous album, I felt pressure and developed the necessary self-confidence to let “Another Day” be what it is now. I also produce a lot of techno in the pure sense. But that will be released on my own label CLR and not on Mute like “Another Day” is now.

Did the Mute label managers know what was coming and how little Chris Liebing it was in its purest form?

Of course, and Mute label founder Daniel Miller also gave me a lot of encouragement to release the album that way. He also had a strong influence on the choice of musicians on the album. It was a great and intensive collaboration with Ralf and Daniel, who by the way has always been one of my greatest heroes. Daniel is effectively the executive producer of the album. I have to keep pinching myself to work with him. After that, Daniel Miller is none other than the discoverer of Depeche Mode, one of my absolute favorite bands.

In recent years, it’s absolutely not uncommon for artists originally from techno to migrate to other genres. Mostly because techno is perceived as dead in a certain way and allegedly no new impulses come from the clubs. Is that the case here too?

I don’t see it as if there are no new impulses coming from the clubs. I’m on the road as a DJ all over the world and play in small locations as well as at big festivals. I think it’s up to me as an artist not only to perceive these impulses, but also to set them. I learn something new at every gig, see new details, how the music and the audience evolve. My performance also develops and always represents something new.

So why did “Another Day” turn out the way it is now?

I’ve always wanted to do projects away from the dance floor and capture a different atmosphere. With Mute as a platform I have this opportunity and I have found maximum freedom and support from Daniel Miller. Of course I will also produce club mixes of the songs and I would also like to tour with the album as a live act.

How will you involve the singers? Are they all coming with you on tour?

No, that will probably not always be possible. I plan to include them via the accompanying visuals, but that’s still a work in progress. I still have a bit of time until the start of the tour in summer 2022, but I will be working on the remixes over the winter.

Then again with the support of Ralf Hildentüte?

I’ll do the part, Ralf has enough to do with his own projects, mostly music for TV and film. He also really had to carve out time for the album.

It all sounds like you’ve always wanted to make an album with more song structure, but didn’t really dare. Did you have to take criticism from the fans for the previous album “Burn Slow”?

No I have not. It would have been criticized if it had become commercial. I don’t see this danger with “Another Day” either. But yeah, basically I’ve always found this kind of music, which I see in the tradition of Depeche Mode, Peter Gabriel and The Cure, fascinating. Very early on, in my first productions and also in my first club, I tried to use samples from The Cure and make edits of Depeche Mode songs. At the time, however, both of these only worked to a limited extent. Maybe now is the right time for that.

What was your first club? Was he in Frankfurt?

No, that was the Red Brick in Giessen. From 1991 I had my first successful engagement as a DJ and played what was heard in discos back then. In January 1994 I took over the club entirely, mainly because I was then able to book myself as a techno DJ. Nobody wanted that back then, so I kind of built my own club. Economically, the shop was a disaster for me, I paid off debts for a long time. I only became successful when I started with the Frankfurt label EYE-Q Records in 1995 and then played with DJ Good Groove at the Omen. Incidentally, at EYE-Q Records I also met Ralf Hildentüte, who produced his highly acclaimed project “Earth Nation” at the time. The Omen was my DJ school, so to speak, and has shaped my idea of ​​techno to this day. But as a child of the 80s, the pre-techno sound never let go of me either. I’m all the happier now with “Another Day” because I think it combines the two worlds together and that too on the label that influenced me in the 80s and even most later.

Interview: Arne Loffel