NASHVILLE |‘Reflections’ Q&A
Q: Talk about the lyrical themes on Reflections and how they were influenced by your trip to India.
Well, the title of the song inspired by my trip to India is “Like a Friend.” Basically, we are all kind of adjusted to the fact that we know people who have a little more than others and we call it the so-called civilized world but, when I went to India, I realized and saw something but I sort of couldn’t believe that something like this actually existed. These people were so poor that it was basically too hard for me just to take. So, actually when I was in India, I contacted the German Embassy and asked about connections and contacts: where we can help, what should we do? What is the most that they need? And they came back with a few contacts and since then we got in contact with a charity organization called Ankasha, which is basically providing food and education to the kids in the slums over there. It’s 2.3 million in Bombay alone, just kids in the slums. It’s something which completely broke me in my understanding of how this world works. Since then, we support this organization heavily and the other thing, of course, is it had an impact on me as an artist and when I came back I wrote this musical piece. Actually, I came to record something different first of all, then I explained to her (Jan Johnson), “this is how I feel about it–this is what I experienced–and I would like to write something about it.” So we went into the studio and started writing the lyrics together, recording it and then finishing it off the next day. It goes, ‘beware of the world, beware of your conscious and you can hold them like a friend.’ Basically give them just a little bit of yourself and it’s going to make their world better: it’s only 50 U.S. dollars a year per kid. This is not much money and you can help a lot. There are other tracks like “Time Of Our Lives,” where lyrically we did put opposite ideas next to each other (“A time to scream, a time for silence/A time for truth against the lie”). When someone actually listens to the song and tries to see how opposite ideas work in this life, they can try to make something better in the world.
Q: Which song was inspired by your watching “Schindler’s List”?
“Never Forget.”
Q: Some people in your country (Germany) would think you are pushing the envelope. What would you say to them?
I would say to them that this has nothing to do about us being German and you guys being American. This is about humankind and this is about what some people are able to do on this planet and this is something we should never ever forget and we should always fight against those extremists, we should always fight against dictatorships and we should always fight those weird kind of weapon believers.
Q: What figure, dead or alive, do you most identify with?
I don’t really know because the people I admire I’m always sort of far away from identifying myself with.
Q: What is very important for you to have while out on the road?
For me it is very important to have beds that raise head and feet for comfort. I tend to spend a lot of time standing up doing what I do, and it can get very tiring. Sometimes I have to have back to back shows so for me it is very important to count on a healthy sleep to recover.
Q: Who do you admire?
I wouldn’t say so much direct names. It’s more the sort of groups that I admire like people who work for Amnesty International or who put their own lives at risk to help others. People like this have existed since the beginning of humankind and this is actually something that gives me hope; these people I admire, and the teachers who actually go into slums of India and teach the kids to read.
Q: Describe the high you get from playing music all over the world.
It’s difficult because the amazing thing for me is how music is a kind of communication tool; it is so amazing that you can actually communicate with a crowd through the music and they all have a completely different cultural background but it still works. I’m German and I grew up in East Berlin which was communist, and the Japanese people grew up in their own world and have a very different understanding of how things work. Still they find something in electronic music they can all can relate to, and that’s the great thing about electronic music. Obviously for me, as an artist, I love this music so much that when people actually understand why I love it so much, that gives me a buzz.
Q: Have you had an embarrassing moment going through customs in your world travels?
To be really honest, customs is not so tricky — it’s more Immigrations. Whenever, and I really say whenever, I travel to the U.S. before 9/11 it was the same. It is ridiculous; The thing is, I have a working visa so I’m approved beforehand by U.S. authorities. I don’t know what it is; every time I come into the country, as a foreigner, and I even have a visa, you get treated like an intruder. I don’t really know why this is because I don’t really think I do anything bad when I come to the U.S. I understand there has to be security regulations and everything but at least the majority of the people coming to the U.S. are either visitors who want to see the great things about this place or they are people who have come, like me, as an artist who likes to bring a little bit from my kind of culture. Sometimes it’s actually rough. Last time I flew into Houston, they made me miss two connection flights by keeping everyone waiting and this is strange; they’re not friendly at all. I mean if you wait two hours in line and have a ten-hour flight beforehand, the last thing you want to have is someone screaming at you.
Q: What is your driving force? Is there a Paul Van Dyk motto?
Well, my motto would be to stay real and serious and keep your feet on the ground and sort of to know what’s real. For some reason, I’m a complete freak: I really love it when I’m down because there are so many other moments that keep me up. For example, when you’re in front of a crowd and you see their appreciation, you see everything working out musically; it is so great, it gives you so much energy back.
Q: Describe your relationship with your wife Natasha and how it influences your music and work.
It is very, very special – that’s the only thing I can describe it. The first second we saw each other 10 years ago, we fell in love with each other and ever since we’ve been the most important people in each other’s lives. I have an influence on her and she has an influence on me. She listens to a much wider range of music and introduced me to a lot of music I wasn’t even listening to before. She has a big impact on me as a person and on my character overall.
Q: Which song by another artist best represents the soundtrack of your life? Why?
Well, very tricky question. I would say “Unforgettable” (performed by Nat King Cole, written by Irving Gordon). I just love the song. There’s this line in the song, it’s so amazingly written, “Unforgettable, that’s what you are…That’s why, darling, it’s incredible/That someone so unforgettable/Thinks that I am/Unforgettable too.” If there could only be one song, I would choose this one – even though it’s very old.
Q: As an electronic artist, do you feel there are any misconceptions about the musical form or even of yourself?
Sometimes it feels as if some people actually don’t take electronic music for what it is. It is very unique and is in itself is a musical art form that is far more global, intellectual and universal than any other form. It seems to be that sometimes Rock n’ Roll guys think that you press a button and everything comes from the computer. But the real understanding is that the computer is nothing more than a modern two-track machine with many more tracks. You have to play it. You have to be creative, you have to be a musician, and you have to be an artist. There is a definite misconception, because a lot of electronic music is cheesy and slow. But that’s the same as rock music and that’s the same with any kind of music. The other thing is about DJs. There are DJs who play records for entertainment reasons, but there are “Ambitionist DJs” who bring an art form across to other people. This is what I do, and I’m doing it first and foremost for the music and nothing else.
Q: How does the Reflections album stand apart from your previous works?
Well, the previous albums always have been an exam work: after two or three years of learning something, I put out an album. This album is completely different because in the last two years, everything is completely different in this world. Since 9/11, everyday something new is happening and the whole world is in a constant drastic change. On Reflections, every track is a snapshot of an experience that I had that inspired me to write a song about a certain issue. The whole album feels different for me. The last couple of years, especially with my experience in India, have matured me a lot. And the more mature you get, the more self-confident you become. Especially as an artist, I felt much more confident to go as far as working with improv hip-hop guys and an indie rock band, as well as have the lyrics go deeper than other electronic music, like on “Like a Friend” and “Time Of Our Lives.” There is actually meaning and feeling behind it, not just a simple groove or something.
Q: Which tracks are pivotal to the album?
All thirteen (laughs).
Q: If you were reincarnated as something, what would you come back as?
I think a holy cow (laughs).
Q: Name a guilty pleasure.
Chocolate.
Q: What is your favorite thing to do when no one else is around?
Sleep.
Q: Have you ever had a supernatural or eerie experience?
My first time in Mexico, we went to the pyramids and it was very strange. I don’t believe in supernatural weird things, but when I was there it felt like it tickled me all over, like we were connected to some weird source of energy. It was totally amazing; I was blown away and very inspired.
Q: Finish this line: “If we can send a man to the moon, than why can’t we…”
Feed everyone on this planet? Why do we have to have people die because of hunger?
Q: What was your worst day job?
I grew up in a communist country and for summer holiday we had to go to a strange company and do weird stuff. I actually had to sort screws when I was 10-years old for three weeks during my summer holiday.
Q: What is your greatest fear?
That stupid people with stupid phrases will take over the world.
Q: Who would you like to trade places with for one day?
George W. Bush.
Q: What’s your idea of perfect happiness?
It’s tricky because what I experienced in India totally broke my sense of self. So, whenever I am totally happy, I know in the back of my head that something so completely wrong is going on. I think I would define happiness for me as seeing these people happy, too.
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