Darko Esser (a.k.a. Tripeo) is joined by Cadans on his centenary release as a label head, with an EP entitled Schmutz, which is due for release later this month.
Esser is the Dutch DJ and producer responsible for Wolfskuil Records and the Tripeo label series. He has recently announced that his upcoming Schmutz EP will be the 100th vinyl he has put out (his own production, or other artists through his labels), which will also mark the beginning of a new collaborative series via the Tripeo imprint. First up, fellow Dutchman Jeroen Snik (a.k.a. Cadans), who many will know for his drum and bass productions as Icicle, joins Esser in the studio, for a techno-oriented three-tracker. Snik is not a new face at the label, having provided a remix of “Anipintiros #1” last year.
Schmutz will be available to buy on April 29, and can be pre-ordered at Redeye. You can stream one of the three tracks below, and read an interview with the two producers.
How do you find working collaboratively? Did you find it different between you two than with others?
Cadans: I’ve done many collaborations, across many genres—working with other people, you take yourself out of your comfort zone, and that’s where you can learn a lot, whether it’s just sharing straightforward techniques or the general approach someone takes to producing. Musically it’s a bit of a deviation from my more regular output, but that made it very interesting for me personally. I think what was great about this session with Tripeo was how easy everything was. It was a fluent process and we had a lot of fun. It’s really not a given that when you sit down with someone you can finish a track in two days, let alone three.
Tripeo: I like collaborations, especially with friends, as I always learn a lot from their workflow and approach. It was the first time we went in the studio together and I was surprised how organic the whole process was. It was like we had been doing it for years. Jeroen is a very quick worker and extremely meticulous when it comes down to mixdowns. He knows his studio (which is where we worked) inside out, and it was a very inspiring and educative experience for me.
“Schmutz” means “dirt,” right? Why did you choose that title?
Cadans: It’s probably a little bit of our dutch humour. The fact that we reference dirt is totally related to the types of hardware and software saturation, and the distortion that we used on all three cuts. I think the tracks are very musical, but with a dirty edge.
Tripeo: That’s correct, and in German it sounds exactly like its meaning. It was the first word that came to mind when we finished the first track. We used a lot of distortion on the whole EP. It’s kind of a joke.
This is the beginning of a new collaborations series for Tripeo. How are you selecting the artists for this series?
Tripeo: It’s pretty simple concept—just me and a couple of good friends having fun with noises and frequencies. I get the best results that way, by just fucking around and having some laughs. Those tunes tend to sound the most spontaneous.
You have reached your 100th vinyl releases now, Darko. How do you feel about
this?
Tripeo: I didn’t realize it was coming up, until I started counting late last year. It feels like a milestone, and I never thought I would last this long with the labels, let alone release 100 records on vinyl with so many great artists. I wanted to do something special and this collab with Cadans seemed perfect for it. Good times are best shared with friends!
Do you have any idea who your next collaboration will be?
Tripeo: There’s a few in the works, but I can’t say anything more yet!
