As one of the pioneers of schranz, HardtraX has been pushing the boundaries of the genre for over two decades with his signature dark and raw sound. From his early productions in 1997 to playing international gigs and co-founding the influential Dark Force Recordings label, he has continuously evolved his craft while staying true to the underground scene.
With the highly anticipated release of his new album, Pavement Nosedive, HardtraX is once again set to make waves in the techno world. In this interview with Kruger, he opens up about his creative process, influences, and what’s next for him.
What first inspired you to get into techno music? Was there a particular artist or track that sparked your passion?
This is too hard to nail down. I cannot pinpoint a single, particular techno track that has led to me getting involved in the music. As a matter of fact, it was the extensive media coverage about the back then new techno rave phenomenon in Germany which drew me to this fascinating music as a kid. In the early 90’s it would not have been easy to escape the omnipresent TV-documentaries, nightly techno radio shows, newspaper and magazine articles etc. which were all about the new rave movement. Techno music was just about everywhere around you and all over the country.
Around 1992/1993 I was still a little boy, but I started buying techno and house tapes and CDs, listened to FM radio shows showcasing techno music and watched all the documentaries that, like stated before, were just very hard to avoid on popular media. My fascination for techno mainly derived from the unconventional nature of the genre, just breaking boundaries and using sounds people had never heard before.
Who are some of your biggest influences, both within and outside the techno scene?
The very early tunes of the harder techno styles in the very early to mid-90’s have most definitely had a huge impact on me.
Are there any non-electronic genres or artists that influence your style?
Pretty much everything around you can be an inspiration and an influence. Your life, your emotions, your worries, your struggles, things you love or hate, written words, paintings, movies, funny moments, sad losses, best friends… Just about anything and it does not matter whether it is something beautiful and great or a horrible thing that made you feel blue. Music is always there for you and music reflects life. Why? Well, because music IS life. I never really listen much to non-electronic music at all, so the impact on me is really, really limited. Instead I draw inspirations from just about anything in life with pretty random results sometimes, but hey… I guess this is art and art is free, right?
When producing a track, where do you usually start?
At home. No, seriously… I do not have a specific starting point actually. At times I start with the lead synth, sometimes with a kickdrum, a bassline, percussions or just with vocals and then build a track around that. It is very much varied and depends on whatever crosses my mind first. Often I start by constructing the mid-section of the track, but I may also start producing a track right at its beginning or commence with a break and continue from there. It depends.
Do you have any favourite gear, software, or tools that are essential to your production process?
After I made the switch from Protracker 3 on the Amiga to PC-based systems in the new millennium, Fruity Loops by Image-Line became essential to me. I was not too fond of FL Studio at first, which is the DAW that emerged from Fruity Loops, but later versions were actually really good and I still stick with the software. The Akai Fire controller is a helpful piece of kit to use with FL Studio, too. Nowadays I would actually love to collect old grooveboxes which I drooled over as a teenager in the 90’s, but I think it just would not make too much sense. I lack the space anyway and I am moving away from hardware, as I plan to get rid of my remaining gear. The truth many producers do not wish to hear is that software has become so powerful and accurate, that it not only renders a lot of expensive hardware devices obsolete, but software also offers more flexibility in many use-cases and nowadays it can actually even sound a lot more precise. In the end it really does not matter what you produce your music on, as long as you stay creative and enjoy what you do.
What’s the most challenging part of creating a track for you? And what’s the most rewarding part?
The most challenging bit is always not to become too impatient. I always want to complete tracks pretty quick (and I manage to do so reasonably well I think), because the next idea is often already on my mind. Finally getting your tune ready and subsequently feeling very satisfied about how your ideas translated into sound is always a great reward. People messaging you about how they feel about the track and recognising that the feeling you tried to bring across actually translated to your listeners… Well, this is most likely the ultimate reward. Each track is always something very personal that is based on your own (sometimes crazy) ideas, inspirations and emotions. When people contact you, enthusiastically revealing how they felt the exact same way about your music you felt when you created your track, you have got a magic moment.
What’s your take on the current state of the techno scene? How has it changed since you started?
A lot of younger people in their early 20’s romanticise the hardtechno/Schranz scene from the early 2000’s which we gradually built up over here in Germany, often telling me that they were born to late and would have wished to have experienced what we did. In really it was much more of a challenge and a struggle than many would believe. While it was a great time without a doubt, I would actually not call the current industrial techno scene worse at all.
Without the slightest doubt, many different things are a lot easier and better now, for example accessibility of technology, structures like agencies and artist managements, easily obtainable informations on any given aspect of DJing and music production, ways to connect directly with fans etc. I would not say that the scene of today is better or worse. It is in fact just different. Both good and bad aspects do repeat though, including the constant phenomenon of many artists just wanting to follow a single artistic direction that is popular at the time, for the sole purpose of pleasing people – which eventually suffocates creativity. When there is less creativity and everything sounds the same, the whole scene shrinks again as people lose interest and turn towards other styles of music. Once they are bored of those (where basically the same thing may happen), the next generation in return gravitates to something similar like they had before as it suddenly sounds “fresh” again and the cycle repeats.
What advice would you give to up-and-coming techno producers and DJs trying to break into the scene?
My most important main advice is not to rush your productions out to the public as quick as you can! This is super important and very much underestimated. Just take your time, set yourself some quality standards and check whether your productions are really on par with the other stuff out there in terms of arrangement, mixdown, mastering, originality etc. I see so many folks doing their own music (thanks to how easy it is nowadays to get started) and rushing all their tunes out the door super fast, so they can chase their dreams of becoming famous and getting booked more frequently. Many of them only create music since merely a year or two and drop tons of sub-par releases on as many equally sub-standard labels with zero quality control as quick as humanly possible, and in my personal opinion this just leads you nowhere. First impression counts, right? So better go with a slower pace instead of flooding the market, release only the music you are absolutely happy and confident with and if you need advice, please do not only turn to people who are your close friends, family or whoever may just say everything you did so far is great anyway. You need honest feedback and constructive criticism in order to improve. Nobody is instantly born a top-notch music producer with years of experience and it takes time to get there. Please do not chase overnight fame and turn this into your main objective, because many times this will lead to complete and utter failure.
What’s next for you in terms of releases, performances, or new ventures?
New EPs and LPs are coming to my label Dark Force Recordings soon, including the next part of the series of “The Worst Of…” retrospective albums, which kicked off with a great selection of classic works created by the label’s co-founder and awesome friend Jackhamma last summer. This time I it is my turn to bring some of my old tunes of the past two decades into the age of digital distribution and since my back-catalogue is so huge (it spans several hundreds of productions in need of digital distribution for the first time), there will be several parts dividing a fraction (!!!) of my tracks onto many different albums in the series with about 20 tracks each. This includes some tracks that have never been available in digital format, tunes that once have been vinyl-only, freshly remastered versions or even a couple of unreleased productions from the past.
Moreover, new music with lyrics by my friend Dunkelkammer is in the works as we plan to release a third album after “Es ist alles wie immer” (Definition Of Hard Techno) and “Es ist doch nicht alles wie immer” (Dark Force Recordings).
Another notable EP of mine coming up this year is “Distorted Perception” which I have been playing out since a year and a half already – and it is finally being released with a very strong remix by my old friend O.B.I.
Speaking of O.B.I., his successful event series “Wir Sind Die Nacht” at the Fusion Club in Münster/Germany sees its next edition in early November with myself as one of rave’s headlines besides Nina Bender, Juliana Yamasaki and many more.
And my work as a sound designer continues as well with the launch of “Hard Mechanical Rhythms Volume 3” amongst several other sample packs coming up soon. Available as always through the industry-leading TLM Audio (which now also offers an exclusive hardware range for fans of modular synth setups).
To put it short, I always make sure I keep myself busy.”
Pavement Nosedive drops on Digital Fragments on October 25th Pre Order: https://www.beatport.com/release/pavement-nosedive/4698842