Welcome at Tanzgemeinschaft. Please introduce yourself.
Hi! My artist moniker is LackOfAffekt, I’m a musical artist from London. I primarily make music that sits somewhere between progressive house & melodic techno (Deep Trance? I don’t know with genres anymore haha). London has been a great place to exist as an artist, there are always great events big & small to go check out, and good people to meet up with.
I got my start in music earlier than I can remember, I have a family member who used to record himself and his band on reel to reels (I’m often reminded of the time I almost shoved my fingers in them ahah..) and so they all would allow me to play with their instruments and gear. Years later I had moved on to play and record bass guitar in some studios as a session player for a few years, then eventually found electronic music and dropped everything to start my producing solo projects!
Connect with LackOfAffekt on Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram | Website
How would you describe your sound and style as LackOfAffekt?
So, to go further in depth, my sound lies somewhere in the realms of melodic techno and progressive house, its dark and sometimes quite aggressive, with haunting melodies, a lot of ambience, cinematic pads and chord progressions. I take most of my influence from soundtracks, video game scores, piano music etc.
What triggers the idea for you to begin a new project?
Almost always a melody, or some kind of chord progression. Trying to start with just drums or a baseline usually doesn’t work out for me. If I do come up with some cool drums or bass, they’re often later recycled into other projects that do have a melody or chord progression.
Do you have a recent release to showcase? Tell us all about it and something about the process behind it.
I’ve only released once this year, a collaborative project with my friend Antua Hale, we were both very proud of how we brought our sounds together in that EP, and clearly spaced-out records felt the same way. Look out for us joining together again in the future!
What other releases have you planned for this year that you can tell us about? Like when and on which label?
I have quite a few more collaborative projects in the works, so that will likely be most of what will be going on this year for me, before returning to solo work toward the winter/next year.
However, I feel my most notable planned release is for Tanzgemeinschaft’s very own “Hier Kommt Die Parade vol. 5” in which I teamed up with another good friend Dj Riveritch from Canada. This is about the closest to my ideal sound I think I have gotten in all of the productions I’ve worked on so far. And I’m incredibly honoured and excited for it to be hosted on your VA compilation!
For the readers, you can pre-order the whole album on Beatport, and it will be released on June 14th everywhere. (if you pre-order, don’t forget to go back and download it, ahah)
When searching for a label, what is it that you are looking for? What do you expect from a record label?
I expect a label to be at least close to as invested as I am, 1 Instagram post, or just a week of reminding people it exists doesn’t cut it for me. We spend months producing music, and it’s close to our hearts.
Equally as important is that the label specialises in a sound close to my own, and shares a similar vision.
What is one thing that would make your musical career as LackOfAffekt more successful? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Lots and lots of cash hahaha, it sounds obvious but, if I were a nepo baby, or if I win the lottery someday, I’d be looking to set this project up as a legitimate business. That would look like throwing events and parties, setting up to sell services, sample packs and merch, and potentially classes or workshops, something like that. There’s potential that I’d start my own label, but that I’m not so sure of.
In the next 5 years I’m hoping to get abroad to meet some of the great people I’ve met through this project (and hopefully new ones). I’d like to go to the Amsterdam and Berlin Dance events primarily. Other than that, I just want to keep making friends, improving my craft, and honing in on my ideal sound.
Which characteristics of other artists do you find annoying? Which encourages you to move on?
Arrogance. It’s not a trait I particularly like in general.
Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?
Hans Zimmer and Koji Kondo are the ones who had the most impact on my life. So many iconic scores!
As for my current tastes, here are my 5 favourite artists/bands that I listen to the absolute most:
- Whirl, Kalmer (melodic techno)
- Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm (Piano, assorted)
- Spiritbox (Death metal)
And when it comes to your field, producing, are there any particular ideas or pioneers that you go back to frequently or who really influence your thinking about the work you do?
Not really. I just try to express myself in the clearest way possible, attempt to be true to myself, and that’s about it.
Thank you.
