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Playground Records launches a very special compilation to celebrate nine years of life. A musical journey shared with dear friends, which expresses the living history of the label from its origins to the present day. From the first illegal raves in Buenos Aires, to becoming an international platform for artists based in Barcelona. It has gone through a long process of learning, growth and consolidation. Today, with a wide catalog of more than 40 references, Playground has a solid story to tell, always selecting an eclectic approach and betting on diversity in its '9 Years Compilation'.
This compilation faithfully expresses the history of the label, but above all our present, always with an eye on the future. Among the 15 carefully selected new original tracks is "Love Terrorist", composed by powerhouses Local Suicide and Franz Matthews. We have had the pleasure of talking with them about this work and future projects, and this has been the result.
Hi guys, It’s a pleasure to have you on board. You started the year with a lot of new things, how was this beginning?
FM : The beginning has been going fire on my side, with the release of my EP “The Question”, an electronic track based on a guided meditation that I wrote with happiness coach Jonathan Lehmann. For this EP I’ve had the chance to work on a stunning music video, and to get remixes from artists I really admire: Aera, The Organism and Milio (from the duo Tunnelvisions). I’ve put a lot of work on this reléase over the last years, and it’s also a special one for me, as it blends spirituality with electronic music, two very important things for me. So, I was really happy to finally see it coming out and get such nice traction from all around the world! Then, a couple of weeks later, our single ‘Love Terrorist’ with Local Suicide came out, and… that’s what we’re here to talk about!
LS: We started this year with two releases with Skelesys: the ‘You Are Mine‘ EP w/ The KVB and Autumns remixes out January 14th via London label Snap, Crackle & Pop and the 'No Evidence’ EP w/ Anatolian Weapons, Intergalactic Gary and Facets remixes that will be out March 4th via NYC label Samo.
Our track 'Light it Up’ with Wiener Planquadrat was also released in January on New Day Everyday, as well as our remix with the guys for Ali X & Fausto’s 'Take It Outside'. We also did a remix with Lott for the 'New Era‘ EP of Boys’ Shorts out February 25th via our own label Iptamenos Discos.
And last but not least we just announced our debut album 'Eros Anikate‘ on Iptamenos Discos with the release of the first single 'High Buildings w/ Lee Stevens’.
Clubs are still closed in Germany, but we got the chance to play in Wroclaw and in Tel Aviv, and really enjoyed travelling and finally getting to play again.
Which is your sensation? Do you think that this year we will finally return to normality or will we continue to navigate in the uncertainty of recent years?
FM : Uncertainty will stay for sure, I think this bloody virus is just the beginning of the new “normality” we’re going to have to live with from now on unfortunately, but I’m also very positive that we went through the main part of the covid shitshow yet, and that the sky is going to clear up over the next months, as now almost everybody is vaccinated and the symptoms have become milder. I’m very happy to see the clubs opening up again in Germany, France, and I’m pretty sure we’re all going to have an amazing summer, considering all everybody’s gone through these last couple of years.
LS: We see it exactly the same way and are optimistic about the future, but no-one can predict what’s gonna happen next fall…
When was the first time you met and how did you end up collaborating together?
FM : We first met about 6 years ago, through our common friend Sam Berdah (Days Of Being Wild, Club Bizarre, The Wall Mastering) who came to play at Local Suicide’s T.O.F.U. party series at Bohnengold, we then realized that we were living in the same Street in Berlin, which is already a good starting point for developing a friendship ;) A few months later we started jamming on some music together, and, in one single evening, we wrote the first ideas of our two first singles/EP : Meditation and Tutan Jamon, which we then released on Eskimo Recordings, as I had already been working with this great label on my side-project Languages.
How did the idea of collaborating again in this case for the Playground compilation come about?
FM : I think we were all very happy about how nicely our first collaboration worked out in every sense, so it came out pretty naturally that we wanted to make a little brother/sister to our “Meditation / Tutan Jamon” EP. We started again working on two new tracks, and ‘Love Terrorist’ got finished first, approximatively at the same time where Dina and Max were in talks with Playground Records to potentially release something on their 9 years birthday compilation, so we sent them the demo, Playground loved it, we finished the track, and the rest is history ;)
Why ‘Love Terrorist’?
FM : Damn, I was hoping nobody would ever ask this question! Haha. Basically, last winter, I got stuck in a very toxic relationship, which I really struggled to get out of (I think Max and Dina can only confirm ;) ), so when we were working on this track and we thought about the lyrics, it inspired me of creating a sexy, dark and playful conversation between a weak and almost sadomasochistic protagonist who would be stuck in the grips of this ‘love terrorist’, fully embracing her role and also getting aroused when playing with him as her little toy. We then worked on our script with Dina, and came up with this “Romantic Dark Disco Musical” conversation! But of course : “Any resemblance with a fictional or existing person will be considered as purely coincidental. ».
Let’s get nerdy. What hardware and software have you worked with? When you collaborate... what is your work criteria?
FM : I think this track was mainly created with the help of the Elektron Analog Rytm for the sort of “bee sound” and a sequenced Roland Juno 106 for the main bass melody and ending arpeggiated chords, the ending synth lead line is made with the Moog Matriarch, and the rest was then mainly constructed with a mixture of samples and other recorded synth bits. In terms of methodology, we usual start the track altogether and put the main ideas down, then I spend “boring” amounts of time working on the production, we send each other ideas/feedbacks back and forth, and when the track’s arrangement starts making sense, we work on the lyrics. On this specific track, Max also helped me not getting too geeky in terms of snare placement on the track, which would have made the track much harder to play in a club setting!
LS: Ahaha, yes had endless discussions over the snares :D
What can you tell us about the compilation? What artists and tracks have caught your attention?
FM : There’s a lot of artists I love on this compilation, and I think Playground have made a great job of getting all these killer producers together. In the end, the comp is full of gems, but my personal favorite is Oralia by Theus Mago, love its weirdness and production quality.
LS: It’s a massive compilation - as expected by Playground. So many friends and artists we love are on it! We are very happy to be a part of it.
And how about Playground? What can you tell us about the label and its way of working?
FM : I honestly didn’t know Playground that well before we started working together on this comp, but it’s been a pleasure working with Martin so far, the communication has been great, they take their job seriously and with passion, which is very appreciable. And I’m also thinking about spending more time in Barcelona in the near future, so I hope we’ll get to meet in real life soon too!
LS: We love Playground! The music they have been releasing is always top notch and we were already connected to the label since we remixed with Time To Sleep John Parsley’s ‘High Life’ that was released end of 2020 on Playground. So when they asked us to be a part of their 9 year compilation, we didn’t have to think twice. Also we have had the luck to meet the guys in person, when they invited us to play in Barcelona for one of their This Side Up parties, and it was love at first sight. We had an epic time with them, they are the sweetest guys ever and as Matthieu also said business wise they are also ahead of their game. The communication is always perfect, they try the best possible for their releases, invest in promo, stay in touch with the artists involved, share the reports etc. Only love for Playground! And to many many more years of Playground please!
Well, before saying goodbye, we would like you to tell us what things you have prepared for the near future?
FM : In a few weeks I’ll be releasing an EP with the Austrian label / crew of Heimlich, it’s another batch of tracks that blend electronic music with spirituality, that I made in collaboration with my friends Johannes Klingebiel and Semodi, and we also have 2 great remixes from Balam and Random Atlas lined up for this release, so I’m very excited for it to come out very soon. Besides that, I’m about to start working on a Remix for the Barcelona & UK based duo Left of Manila, which will also be out in the next few months. I’m also very much looking forward to the reopening of clubs in order to play more sets, it’s about time to get things kicking again!
LS: We will be releasing our debut album Eros Anikate on May 13th via our own label Iptamenos Discos on vinyl, CD and digitally - already up to pre-order https://localsuicide.bandcamp.com/album/eros-anikate-idi006. We just released the first single ‘High Buildings’ w/ Lee Stevens and have three more singles lined up before the album is out!
We also have a couple of remixes coming out soon: for Yöurr out via Critical Monday, for Burnin Tears feat. Georges Perin out on Luv Shack and our second remix for Alberto Melloni’s Red Siren is coming out also soon on Paradise Palms.
Also we will share soon some exciting news about our side band project Dina Summer with Kalipo and new collaborations with Velax, Skelesys, Time To Sleep, Stereotypes and Wiener Planquadrat.
Gig-wise we already have a busy schedule ahead with gigs in Warsaw, Berlin, Vilnius, Limassol, Vienna, Madrid, Paris, Sibenik, Thessaloniki and hopefully also Mexico and Brazil. Truth be told: can’t wait for clubs to reopen everywhere!
Playground Records