We sat down with German duo Tube & Berger for an in-depth interview.
From a punk band to one of the most in-demand duo in the industry, Tube & Berger have now their tune Heater on top of the Beatport chart.
We have talked about their carrier, their music label as well as new music, dates and their vision about the current music industry.
- Hi guys, it’s a pleasure to have you on our Let’s Talk about series so, let’s start from the beginning. You started producing more than 15 years ago. How the duo was born and why you have decided to produce music?
It actually started with our own punk bands when we were 14/15. Heavy into Grunge; punk and basically Rock music until we had one hell of a night at our first rave! The sounds, the people, the new vibes and some other new things that were hip in the 90ies turned us from Rockers to Ravers within one night. The same goes for the music we made. Guitar and drums got exchanged by a computer but since then we always wanted to bring some kind of organic touch to our electronic music.
- Your first hit came out in 2004!! when Straight Ahead went rapidly on top of Billboard Dance Radio Chart. How the track was born? Do you expect this success? All the sounds feel really alive; have you used analog gear?
Funny that you ask that! Back then we actually saved up our first gig money to step into Düsseldorfs „Skyline“ studios for a session.
What came out was a club record with German lyrics, but was soon licensed by Sony, Kylie Minogue’s songwriter Liz Winstanley got involved, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders sang on it and is probably the coolest person on this planet and it charted in the UK, Australia, and several other countries. No, we didn’t expect this to blow up that much!
- From that moment your style has a little bit changed. You released Imprint of Pleasure on Suara which had an insane success. What brought you to change music style or was it a more “natural“ evolution?
„Natural evolution“ is actually a great way to describe it! Trends come and go and most of them we don’t understand but sometimes we feel it and the productions just flow naturally. Everything is a remix and a copy of a copy of a copy. But sometimes there are these magic moments in the studio. Everyone who makes and writes music knows this feeling, no matter if it’s a hit or any good at all. House is a feeling 😉
- You run your own imprint Kittball. What has been or it is the biggest challenge you faced with the label? With more than 10 years of activity, has the label changed with you?
The label has grown and progressed over the years, but we also had our little crisis and our ups and downs. Gladly, our Kittball family is a dream team. On – as well as backstage. You should also check out our new label ZEHN Records, which we started about a year ago where things sound a little bit darker and mysterious…
- Reading your bio it seems you’ve got the “perfect“ career. Is this true or have you got bad periods with no inspiration and/or periods you didn’t feel to do anything?
Luckily, we can often draw inspiration from each other as we’re together in the studio most of the times. Still, sometimes there’s just fucked up days and we probably had every argument you can imagine in the last 15 years. As said, we’ve had our ups and downs. What helps for us, is to have some fixed days on which we hit the studio no matter what. Just embrace the blank canvas. You never know what happens! So the answer is: Nah, not the perfect career mate – just two dudes living their best life.
- Over the years the mental health issues in the music industry have been brought to light. How do you manage the stress coming from shows, fans requesting new music, etc?
Mostly with the help of our kids and wifeys. They are our biggest supporters and we are their biggest fans. It’s essential to have a base in these hectic days.
- Do you prefer to take a break from touring to produce music or are you able to do everything while traveling? Do you prefer analog or digital gears?
It’s kind of a „Ying Yang“ situation with touring and producing. Touring definitely is one of the highlights of our job (well, not the traveling part) but we also love to produce in our studio in our hometown. So sometimes we get a little homesick especially because we’re not really into mobile production. If we had to choose it would defo be the studio.
- You’ve seen the music industry completely change, I guess, over this decade and more. How has it changed in your eyes?
The way we see it is: The gate is finally open. There’s so many high end/low-cost tools, libraries and sources of inspiration to draw from. Everyone who feels it can do it! We’re hearing upcoming talent on a daily basis with our labels and that’s cool to see. Let’s think positive.
Thanks a lot to Tube & Berger for the interview and for answering our questions; don't forget to follow them on Facebook and Soundcloud.
