With the new No Dough red EP out for promo & in the clubs, its release is imminent and the guys at No Dough HQ thought “what better time to introduce one of our new No Dough members!” Sven Jozwiak speaks up about his sound, inspirations, studio gear and musch more...
Sven is working his ass off this year with records out all over place and he pretty much sums up the peak time No Dough Red sound in his work and his work with Empro. Check out the interview below!
1. Tell us a little bit about your sound, where your taking your music right now? Hmm...That's a tough question... I'm a real musician, I am into everything...all the different styles and sounds, the most important thing is that the music moves me, touches my soul. At the moment I am still learning how to make the music I want to make, I still have a lot to learn musically and technically, but I have a lot of great friends who are helping me keep on developing. For me it's still a long progress of learning how to create the sound I want to make....
2. What's your background? How did you get into Music? I've been listening to music all my life. Of course, not always electronic, when I was young there was always music playing be it on the radio, vinyl records or the good old cassette (tape). Well when I look back to the start of my own obsession with music, I think it was probably a certain tape (that I don't own any more unfortunately). I got hold of it on my uncle's birthday when I was 9 or 10, the music on it was like nothing I had heard before until then. It was a recording of some unknown artist whose sound was so new and unexplored for me. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of interesting music beyond that of Dieter Bohlen's.
3. What do you find exciting at the moment? Oh so much, when it comes to production I'm more and more focussing on classical instruments as well as productions like Arbol Aspectual by Alberto Pascuall with really (scary) frequencies likec squeaking doors. I really like stuff like this.
4. What are you working on at the moment? What can we look forward to in the future? I've got a lot of projects actually out this year, under my name and my other projects. We have a track named "Membran" which I made with my studio partners Mert Yalciner and Empro, this is coming out on Qt Records. This track in particular is the only time we have all actually worked together. I also produce regularly with Empro, when we work together we have a harder edged sound like our Pangaea's secret track featuring the screams of some dinosaur. I also have a track out now under S.M.E.R.T. (one of my other guises) on a Various Artists EP named "Drums & Roses", This is on a small but fine label called "Blue tunes" and the track is called Do-Do-Ex,( named after the sounds that Merts kids make and my own recent split from my (ex) girlfriend..."Do-Do & Ex"!)
I also have many other releases. I am a busy guy ha ha, and have recently started working on my first album for which most of the sounds were taken from the world outside and around me, so I have made my first recording for this. If it takes 3 or 4 years to get it right, it's not a problem there's no rush for me. As to me as a musician striving for that certain sound and becoming at peace with my own past is important, I hope now with this album I can reach that goal of creating the tracks that live up to my own idea's!
5. The worlds filled with throw-away records nowadays...pick 2 records you couldn't throw away? The first record that I've ever bought was MonoLake - Gravity. Unfortunately, it got lost when I lent it to a "former" friend, so I need to buy that one again he he. My second pick would be Peace Orchestra, a project by Kruder & Dorfmeister, or their other album Reset - amazing records from 1999 or 2002. It was a really great piece of work, timeless in fact. So well produced and to me these albums are better than a great story. I could write an absolutely huge list of records I love, but that's for another time.
6. What's the most important kit or software in your studio? I started out about 4 almost 5 years in a little room experimenting with Propellerheads' Reason. Then I quickly switched to Cubase because it opened up so many new opportunities in sound for me... but lately I have been using Ableton more than anything else because the work flow is much better. I use little kits. I like everything to hand separately and I love to jam out tracks live. We use a lot of hardware equipment like Korg and MFB. Lately I have also been recording a lot of live percussion or sounds found in the woods, maybe even some pan-flute!
7. Any tips for young producers looking to get a distinctive sound like yours? I see myself as a producer, I didn't know about music before I started making tracks, I didn't know how to read or write sheet music or anything like that. But in recent years had the opportunity to be able to publish some great stuff on some great labels. I work by ear, listening carefully deciding what chord sounds good, what's harmonic or dis-harmonic to me. It's always best to listen, and trust in what sounds good to you. Sometimes it's good to know the basics but when I think back, It's good to be inspired by other artist's but I definitely try to do things that are not being done.
If you try to emulate others too much this can be an obstacle, so I try to make sure my work does not sound like anyone else's. For young producers it's very important to ask yourself what the meaning of the track to you is, and also when you're jamming in the studio... RECORD everything! If you do that, then maybe you will find a few minutes that are perfect even if you have no idea how you did it. So my biggest piece of advice is to JAM JAM JAM .. sounds like a bit strange but I have experienced in recent years whilst jamming with friends and colleagues the most amazing things being created. Magic moments where several people are pursuing a musical idea, develop it and create something simply magical. I can't often find the best word to talk about my music, but if someone asks me a question I try to answer as best as I can.
Interview - 
