A stalwart of the techno and tech-house scene, label boss of the ever-popular Kling Klong, a mastering engineer for over 15 years, a gold disc in the UK and worldwide support from techno luminaries such as Josh Wink, Laurent Garnier and Dubfire, it seems that Martin Eyerer has done it all. He’s even released a top-selling sample collection for Riemann. We headed to Martin’s studio to get an insight into his work.
What is the prognosis for the music industry: terminal decline or steady recovery?
For the major labels I’d say the industry is undergoing a steady recovery. The mainstream market has revolutionised in recent years from one that had slowed down significantly into one that is consistently growing. Labels, marketing and sales companies have adapted to this revolution and it seems that more people than ever are listening to and buying music again.
However, for the electronic music scene I personally don’t think it was ever in decline. While there have been massive problems caused by piracy and illegal downloading, I think the digital revolution has opened up dance music to a wider audience than ever, which goes a long way to compensating for lost revenue from piracy.
All the people in Asia and South America who had to pay high customs tax on vinyl records or simply didn’t get a chance to buy the records can now buy them online in an instant – that’s a huge number of people who were previously excluded from purchasing electronic music.
I believe if you make music that is unique both in terms of musicality and production then you can still sell lots of records. And this new and highly competitive market place forces you to make more outstanding and remarkable music.
Does the industry these days dictate that artists need to be both creative artists and businessmen in equal measure?
I don’t think it’s the industry that has dictated the change – it’s more technological advancements forced the industry to change in this way. Barriers to entry into the music industry are lower than ever. Budgets have been squeezed to the point where you have to do things on your own because there isn’t enough money to share with a partner or more, unless you are really successful.
Some people are more adept at mixing music and business – consider producers who are also songwriters, or sound engineers or even mastering guys. Some on the other hand have a very specific skill set and will always need to work with others to fulfill their potential.
As an international touring artist who can regularly find themselves on different continents in the same week, how do you strike a balance between your touring schedule and time in the studio?
This is something I always find challenging, both as a DJ and a producer. I love touring and DJing just as much as sitting in my studio making music. I have periods where I tour solidly (like the last 6 to 8 weeks) and I get to a point where I realise I haven’t made any new music for three months. So after that I come home and sit in my studio for 3 or 4 weeks to focus totally on the making records.
Who’s currently rocking your world as a producer and why?
There’s so many it’s hard to choose! I do a weekly radio show across 12 countries that means I’m lucky enough to hear lots of amazing new music. Of course I love the artists signed to my label – Namito, Hermanez, Rosselot & Allendes, re.you&santé, Alex Flatner and Oliver Klein.
Right now in my DJ sets I’m playing a lot of music by Philip Bader, Guido Schneider & Jens Bond, Homm & Popuviciu and Ray Okpara.
Long term favourites and highly respected producers are my friends Robert Babicz and Stephan Bodzin and also Radioslave.
What one piece of kit or plug-in can you not live without?
Most important to me are my Dynaudio Air 15 Monitors and my room that sounds just perfect.
I love all my kit but I couldn’t be without my Lexicon 480L,Manley VariMu and the Virus TI which is just so versatile. In terms of plug-ins I’d say the Arts Acoustic Reverb is the only plug-in I use as much as my hardware reverbs. Finally, I’d definitely have to take my Native Instrument’s Komplete – that’s one piece of kit I’d take to every desert island you sent me to!
When building a track how do you normally work? Do you start with the drums and build from that?
No, I never start with the drums. I realised making good groove is not the most challenging part of the track for me and if I start with this I easy get to a point where I don’t know how to take the track beyond just a good solid groove. Therefore I have to start with a sample, a vocal, even an idea or topic – something that gives me the vision of where the track is going and not just the beat.
Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? Loud? Do you prefer flat and boring speakers, headphones or big, phat and chunky monitors? Do you reference on multiple systems?
As mentioned I use the Dynaudio Air 15. Having done mastering for over 15 years, I find their clean but phat sound is essential – and they work great in my room.
While producing I sometimes crank up the volume but most of the time I keep it pretty reasonable. At the arrangement stage I keep things pretty low and might even switch to use my Genelec 1029a.
What are the biggest barriers new producers face?
I think it’s being unique – in both creativity and production quality. These days it’s relatively easy to make music – you can buy great samples and put them together to make something OK or good in very little time. But since everyone has access to all these tools, good is no longer good enough – it has to be amazing.
What three pieces of kit / software could you not mix without?
For mixing it’s still my Lexicon 480L but also my custom made 16 channel Neumann stereo summing bus. This is my desk, the heart of my studio when it comes to mixing. All my outboard just makes sense in combination with my 32 RME Ad/Da converters and my Apogee Big Ben. Another machine I could mix without but I don’t want to miss is the mint condition Studer A810 VUK I have. I use it for mastering and it adds that sound only tape compression can.
If you could give one piece of advice to yourself when you started out in music, what would it be?
Learn the basics. Read books, ask people, watch tutorials. Though I am a gear head I know that lots of kit is not what you need to be successful. Even just a computer and some good monitors give you so many possibilities if you have the creative ideas.
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More from Martin Eyerer on his website
