Robag Wruhme, née Gabor Schablizki, is best known for being the man behind the production output of Wighnomy Brothers, a DJ project shared with Sören Bodner since 1997 that ended at the beginning of 2010. The pair from the German town of Jena, were famous for their high-energy, often intoxicated sets brimming with a distinct brand of leftfield techno and minimal. Their split reportedly resulted from a musical burn-out on Wruhme's part, leading to a short period of laying low and sowing the seeds for the growth of new projects. Since then, Wruhme's haunting and evocative productions have somewhat withdrawn from his earlier dancefloor-centric production, exploring the sounds of jazz, ambient, downtempo and plenty of field recording; sometimes retaining beautifully the minimal sounds of his DJ sets, often discarding with them completely. His releases on Kompakt, Musik Krause, Pampa, and especially his 'Thora Vukk' album on the latter have been met with wide acclaim, with his solo DJ sets now increasingly in demand. Wruhme's 'raving with reason' ethos sets him apart from many of his colleagues, and MEOKO are hugely excited to interview him at such a moment of flux in his career, and right ahead of his upcoming gig in London, to talk about his early band experiments, growing up in East Berlin, and the first time he ever DJed...

Hello Gabor, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Allow us to go back to basics quickly, what first led you to start producing/making music?

I started playing in a three-man band. We stole traffic cones and traffic signs and used them as intruments. We also arranged household devices around us and recorded everything with a tape recorder. We called the project 'Fog Forest' and intended to make avant-gardistic music, though we didn’t even know the meaning of the word avant-garde. We were such greenhorns.

What were your childhood experiences with music growing up in East Germany during the ‘80s?

I was quite young but when I first started taking a keen interest in music it was just before the wall came down. As far as I can remember it was really difficult to get the music I liked. It was barely available in the music stores but somehow I managed to get the music. As an example, back in the days during my summer vacation, a radio station named DT64 did a broadcast of a Depeche Mode concert taking place in the western part of Berlin. They split it into four parts and broadcast one part each week. So I recorded all parts over the four weeks and used the remaining weeks to listen to the whole concert...

Who were your earliest inspirations?

It was my fathers record collection consisting of five records:

Isao Tomita – 'Pictures of an exhibition'
Jean-Michel Jarre - 'Musik Aus Zeit Und Raum'
Vangelis - 'Spiral'
Whitesnake
Bergweihnacht

I didn’t like the last two at all…

At the beginning of 2010, your most famous project, Wighnomy Brothers, ended. What are you enjoying about going solo?

The Wighnomy Brothers along with Sören was just a DJ project. All music productions that were released were all made by myself, so it was not such a big difference. I only had to get used to playing records alone and no longer as a duo – but I fairly enjoy it by now.

From last year, you've been doing increasingly more DJ sets - is this out of personal preference or a career choice?

I really like playing as a DJ! The only annoying thing is travelling, which is part of the job so I have to come to terms with it.

Do you remember the first time you ever DJed? What’s your memory of that moment?

It was at a friends place who managed to get two 1210s. That was a crazy experience. It is still an awesome sight: two 1210s and a mixer between them! To me, it’s always magic to see this constellation and I’m addicted to getting my hands on it. White and black keys have the same effect on me....

From what I’ve read, your ‘The Olgamikks’ album was your third remix album – you chose some really interesting and exciting artists to remix again, why these ones in particular?

Each single remix is important to me and I enjoy them too, but on the other hand you part with lots of your own new ideas. So it is important for me to do a collection of the remixes from time to time. In the case of 'The Olgamikks', I had to arrange a DJ mix so this explains the selection of those tracks...

Having worked under many different monikers and on different projects, what are you focusing on at the moment?

Last year I decided to have some time off and chose not do so many remixes that I was asked to produce. But I offered them the option to ask again the next year and now each one has come back and I just can’t say no!

So, at the moment I’m working on several remixes and I’m trying to convert a particular idea into something special...

What kind of music are you listening to right now, when not producing?

I’m listening to music which is definitely quite different to the music I play in the club during the weekend...

Finally, if you weren’t a musician, what else would you be?

I would be an owner of a car-wash or porn actor!

Robag Wruhme is playing alongside Move D at Exstatic Sounds on Saturday 30th March in East London.
Buy tickets here. 
Visit the event here.