Stuttgart-based DJ and producer Bjørnson has been fostering his talent for raw and hypnotic techno for over a decade and is now fast becoming one of the stand-out names among a fresh surge of underground stars. With a growing discography of quality cuts to his name, as well as countless performances alongside electronic music’s elite, Bjørnson’s elevation to global recognition is imminent and well deserved.
Now, he is dropping a banger on KD RAW. Check out his interview below.
Connect with Bjørnson on Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook | Website
Thanks for talking to us… how has 2022 been for you so far?
Thanks for having me. Since I decided in 2020, after completing the Electronic Music Producer Course at the SINEE Institute, to make music my first priority in life, 2022 has been the most exciting year so far.
After several releases in 2021 on smaller labels, I released a track on Natura Viva Music in January, which was a big thing for me. In addition, in February I was selected for the mentoring program by Leticia van Riel (LvR Management: ANNA, Wehbba, Victor Ruiz, Mama Abdulhadi, Bart Skills) for “upcoming artists”. This program has changed a lot. Through mentors like Jon Sax (Liaison Artists), Victor de la Serna (Elrow) or Jon Berry from Kompakt, I have learned many essential things that are needed for achieving one’s goals.
That’s how it happened that I dared to send a track to the guys from Kaiserdisco. The track was not originally intended as a demo. The boys searched for unreleased promos for the set they were planning to record for Adam Beyer’s Drumcode radio show on their Instagram Story. I had just finished “Excess” and I thought… “I have nothing to lose, so let’s do this”.
A week or two later I was very amazed when I got a message from the two via Instagram asking if the track was still available. Thereupon, I was a bit overwhelmed because KD Raw and Kaiserdisco tracks have always played a big role in my sets for years.
On top, the guys from Joyhauser got in touch with me after the track was played on the Drumcode Radio Show. On Friday afternoon before the Awakenings Easter weekend started, they asked, whether I could send them my track to play it out over the weekend. For me, that felt really unreal.
I’m completely happy that it turned out like this.
The best things in life happen unexpectedly. So in 2022, a lot has already changed. I am highly motivated to achieve my goals.
How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges?
I’ve always been very musical. I probably inherited that from my mother, who used to play in an orchestra. There was always playing some music somewhere in our house. I think my mom is one of the biggest ABBA fans. That’s why I got my first name…Björn :).
As a young boy, I had a little drum, which I loved to play – to the chagrin of my parents. But as they recognized that I have a good sense of rhythm, they sent me to drum lessons when I was six years old. I attended classes until I was 18 years old. During this time I additionally played in an orchestra, in a band and in other smaller music projects.
I had my first contact with electronic music after I bought a PA-Soundsystem from my cousin. During this time I listened to Sunshine Live Radio (the most famous German radio station for electronic music) all night long and recorded the live shows.
Back then it was still a lot of trance. It really catches me when I visited the Street Parade in Zurich for the first time in 2006 or 2007. I was amazed by the power of techno music and how it can unite so many different people. I was fascinated by how one person managed to inspire so many people.
At that very moment, I decided to learn to DJ. I already had a PA system, so only two turntables and a mixer were needed. My parents weren’t thrilled that I was putting my life savings into DJ gear from now on, but I was so enthusiastic about it, that I wouldn’t have changed my decision. I exercised together with a friend. Always with the same three or four records. Buying records in stores on the Internet wasn’t that popular yet, so in the early days, when we had saved a bit of money, we went to Stuttgart for buying some records.
We did everything learning by doing and we had a lot of fun doing it.
Once I was given a chance to show my skills of DJ-ing in a club located in a town next to my hometown. That went very well, so it developed relatively quickly into a residency, which I then held for eight years. During this time I shared the stage with many well-known DJs in the scene, such as Sam Paganini, Marika Rossa, Felix Kröcher, AKA AKA, Brian Sanhaji or DJ Emerson.
Meanwhile, I was only slightly involved in producing. That just started during the pandemic, as the club, unfortunately, didn’t survive and there weren’t any regular gigs. So I decided to focus more on producing. That was and is my biggest challenge so far. There are a lot of DJs in the region where I live. Victor Ruiz once told me, “Everyone is a DJ these days.“. And that’s completely true. The clubs and promoters already have their residents and support acts, and for what reason it is not easy for me to get gigs.
That’s why I decided to achieve my goals by producing and standing out from the crowd. And of course, I hope that the release on KD Raw will help to increase the number of gigs.
Which artists do you listen to, and draw inspiration from?
It may seem weird, but my four favourite artists are all from Brazil. I play tracks by ANNA, Wehbba, Victor Ruiz and Alex Stein in each of my sets.
Their sound is constantly changing. It’s not based on the big room sound we all know, but the tracks always work on the big stages. I’m fascinated by that and how these artists treat others. Except for Wehbba, I’ve already met everyone in person and they are just down-to-earth. They like talking to you and are happy to help. I am in regular contact with Victor and Alex. I send them the tracks I finish and they give me detailed feedback. If they like the tracks they play them out. That helps me tremendously.
And the most important thing is, it makes you feel respected as an artist.
Tell us about your latest single Excess on KD RAW – was there any specific inspiration for this banger?
I produced “Excess” after completing Wehbba’s “How I made – Masterclass”.
In the beginning, I didn’t really know where I wanted to go and of course tutorials like this helped. I’m a big fan of the typical Drumcode sound we all know. But I also like the more hypnotic tracks, such as those by Truncate or Marc Broom. So I tried to find a way to combine both sides. Raw and hypnotic, but also with a break and a drop that gives you real energy.
And the vocal “Excess” – well that’s easy. At the time, Corona was no longer such a big issue in Germany either, so I felt it was time to really escalate again.
For you, what are some of the ingredients to a techno track that stands out from the crowd?
There are definitely a lot of opinions. I believe that nowadays when masses of tutorials and master classes have made it easier and producing music is also relatively “cheap” due to “in-the-box producing”, the elements used in a track don’t matter that much. But I think it matters how they are used.
There are so many “How to sound like…” videos on YouTube. Everyone can easily look up how to produce a sound with an “Analog-Synth” from Ableton, or a “Diva” like Stephan Bodzin gets out of the Moog Sub37. At least approximately ;-). That’s a good thing! That also helped me a lot. But that’s exactly why I think it’s even more important how these sounds and elements are used.
Let’s take one of my current favourite tracks, for example, Dystopia by Rebuke.
The hook synth isn’t really anything new. But how he used it gave me goosebumps the first time I heard the track on Adam Beyer’s Awakenings Easter Set.
What is your current studio setup? Do you have any specific bits of gear or plugins that you find yourself returning to time after time?
At the moment, most of what I produce is created “in the box”. For a while, I also had several hardware devices such as the Behringer Crave, the Model-D, or several small devices from Korg. But there were just too many options and it hindered me more than it helped me. Maybe I’ll come back to the gear when I’m a bit more experienced.
But at the moment I feel better if I limit myself a bit. Otherwise, I work a lot with Ableton Stock PlugIns. The wavetable is my go-to synth. I know him the best and I get results very fast. A few weeks ago I got myself a “Diva” and I’m dealing with it intensively. But also with the Vital-Synth. A powerful software synth with endless modulation possibilities. And that for free.
And on every track, you can find a Pro-Q by Farbfilter. When it comes to mixing, I like to use the Gulfoss and the Trackspacer. Two absolute lifesavers.
Can we expect more music from you this year?
There are still some demos on the way, so let’s see what’s going to happen. I spend as much time in the studio as possible to improve my routine even further. And there are still a few labels on my list that I would like to release on. But the focus should go more towards gigs in the near future.
Finally, please can you recommend one piece of music that has especially resonated with you in the last few months… Thx!
This is definitely the track “Beirut” by Victor Ruiz. It’s fascinating how he always manages to combine his beautiful, melodic synths with driving beats.
I love it.
Thanks for having me!
Thank you.
