As one of the key members of Diynamic Music since his first big hit back in 2008, Martin Stimming has gone onto to push the sound he loves so much through new boundaries. A truly pioneering producer, his technique sees him record and tweak most of his own sounds helping him to give a truly original interpretation of house music. His release and remix schedule have seen him work alongside a who's who of labels and producers that include Claude Von Stroke, Marc Romboy, Sascha Funke & Robert Babicz; over and above his amazing work within the Diynamic Music remit. Here he sits down with MEOKO to talk about some of the aspects of his career in more detail. Scroll down to check out his exclusive live mix on the MEOKO mix series...
Hi Stimming, thanks for taking the time to speak with us! How are you doing, and what have you been up to recently?
Hey there, thanks for letting me do this! I´m fine, I just moved my studio 3 weeks ago and right now I´m starting to work again, slowly. So unfortunately I didnt do any new music, apart from little sketches which I made on an TeenageEngineering OP-1 - this little fascinating synth/production tool made my day during travelling very often!
We really enjoyed your most recent self-titled album… were you wary about introducing lyrics at first?
Well, I wouldn’t say I was wary, but I thought a lot about them. The topic on "die mächtigen", where I blame the modern finance "industry", was something I had in mind for more than half a year; when I found the right instrumental pattern I knew I had to do it. I still remember some hotel rooms where I just laid down and thought about the lyrics.
I’d like to talk a little about the ‘found sounds’ and field recordings used in your music, which is one of the aspects which really define you as an artist. How do you approach using these sounds? Do you try to record certain sounds for a specific track, or perhaps have a sound bank that you go to for inspiration?
Both - music mostly and unfortunately doesn’t work exactly the way you have it in your mind... No plan survives the incident on the reality, which needs a maker to change plans very often. For example I paid an instrument store in Hamburg some euros to let me record all the weird new-age instruments they have, but there were people inside talking, so I couldn´t use the sounds the way I wanted. Maybe I didn’t pay enough ;)...but I like found sounds that much because they are so unique.
Another of your defining qualities seems to be the way in which you manage to load emotion into literally every element: each hit and each note is brought to life, strengthening the overall atmosphere. How do you manage to do this so effectively?
I found out very early that its important for me to love every single sound I use. That’s why I create so many sounds by myself - the more effort it took me the more I like the sound. Of course I needed to find a balance, there´s no sense in working two days on a simple hihat, but once you step further in creating your own sounds, the more unique it gets.
Another thing - I´m probably still my best listener. Once I have a loop ready it can happen that I listen to a single 2 bar loop for many hours, to find out what I like about it and what not. Every disturbing signal gets thrown out with no mercy.
You’ve spoken before about each album reflecting on your life at the time of its creation – something that is translated poignantly into the overall tone – a great example being the dark atmospheres of ‘Liquorice’. Is your music always autobiographical, or do you tell stories? Do you become nasty when you drink, or is this a character from the mind of Stimming?
Yes, I become nasty when I drink, that’s why I don’t drink anymore since more than a year.
As well as original productions, you have a lot of remixes under your belt. Do you ever turn down remix requests if you do not see potential in the original?
I do 1 of 5 remix requests, mostly because I don’t hear any potential or reasons to add something.
Do you feel that there is more of a demand for producers to play live nowadays?
I don’t know - playing live exclusively was a natural decision I made 7 years ago. I didn’t want to listen to all those tracks out there and to find the gems.
Afterwards it feels like the right decision, even if it’s very difficult. Mostly because there´s no straight forward formula, like two cdjs and a mixer - you have to find out everything by yourself.
DIYnamic are hosting a night at Sankeys Ibiza once again this year. How would you describe the atmosphere at a DIYnamic showcase?
Very nice people, good music, a positive vibe! ;)
What is in your CD player at the moment?
Amon Tobin, Ryuichi Sakamoto, alunageorge (i know, i know ;), and the latest jay-z album is very nice as well.
Finally, what can we expect from Stimming in the future? Is there anything you are focusing your energy on in particular at the moment that we can know about?
I just want to make new tracks so far - I´m using a wacom pen-display for making music now, this still needs some practice to be as fast as before with a mouse…but I don’t want to touch a mouse ever again!
Thank you Stimming!
by James Ellis
