“The album for me was designed to be listened to as a whole, and I wanted to create an experience that has musical variation while being counteracted by a red line of simplicity and repetition.” The exciting listening experience starts right with La Vaca Cega feat. Mommo G, the first track on Berlin-based artist Paul Traeumer‘s debut album, La Vaca Cega, a song that captivates with its exciting rhythm, piano sounds, a dreamy deep voice, and a developing melodic soundscape. While with this the album starts somewhat quietly, later on, one can hardly sit still, carried by the complexity and energy of the songs, even those who typically aren’t club enthusiasts will feel the urge for a night of dancing.
Paul Traeumer loves to reinvent his sound and has no qualms about experimenting with new sonic elements, drawing new creative energy from change. “The record was conceived during a moment of change, in which La Vaca Cega constitutes an artistic membrane that investigates the blindness of any creative process, and embraces this quest with self-irony, lyricism, freedom of expression.”
We had a more in-depth conversation with the talented producer about his debut album and his own label, the greatest challenges in the music business and how he overcame them, and he shares his biggest dream in life.
Photo courtesy of Paul Traeumer
Hey dear Paul, I find your sound very unique. There is something mystical about it, and I would also say eccentric and experimental. Where do you take your inspiration from? And is music an outlet for your inner world?
Hi and thank you! Inspiration can appear through anything. Of course there are other artists, labels, events, music and movies which inspire. Big concepts like love, politics or death can do that as well. But also the smallest things can trigger creativity sometimes. Be it light light falling into a room, dancing dust, sounds of nature or street talks you snap while walking by.
Tell us about the meaning of the title of your debut album “La Vaca Cega”.
Looking back on that process of creating these pieces, it felt like a search movement and moment, and I wanted to invite listeners on some parallel path of that journey.
“Big concepts like love, politics or death can do that as well. But also the smallest things can trigger creativity sometimes.”
How would you describe the essence of your album, in terms of what it means to you or what you hope your listeners will feel from it?
The album for me was designed to be listened to as a whole, and I wanted to create an experience that has musical variation while being counteracted by a red line of simplicity and repetition. Like looking through a friend’s music collection, there are things along the way that surprise you and while maybe at first irritated, it’s just these songs, that you will start to love most later on.
You released it on your own label Kontrapost. What were your main reasons to found your own label?
It’s a long term project. Club music industry tends to puts artist in genre-boxes and sells you from there. We took kontrapost as a chance, to move freely with our artists and our ideas – creating a space as much for side projects that come with NDW-lyrics and breakbeats, as for deeper, hip-hop and soul influenced approaches, or indie dance. We would love to see the label continue to grow into a safe space for recurring artists, spending time with them along their musical passage – regarding sound design or aesthetics and form.
What were the biggest obstacles when founding it and what has been the biggest learning lesson from the whole process?
Working in the cultural sector, one of the bigget obstacles – especially in the beginning – has been the financial side of the project. As we want to pay our musicians, designers, performance artists and mastering engineers fair fees for their work, we had to step down on paying money for expensive promotional and advertising tools. Looking back, it feels rewarding, that we managed to set up a small but loyal community of listeners, without using tools that sell themselves as must-haves to make it in the industry. I see examples of labels and artists that constantly deliver semi-good work but pay to be seen and played – however, I think in the long run, it already starts to pay off that we choose another way to grow our artist roster and the label’s structure.
“Like looking through a friend’s music collection, there are things along the way that surprise you and while maybe at first irritated, it’s just these songs, that you will start to love most later on.”
What has been your musical path – I read you have a classical training, can you tell us more about that? And what was the first time you felt passion for music in general?
There was always music in the house of my parents. I grew up with funk, soul and house music. At 6 years old, I got my hands somehow on a collection of easy-to-play piano pieces by Nina Simone. I remember being a small boy, watching her concerts on youtube and then beginning to go over the notes over and over again. I wanted to play like her, be like her and sing like her. She was my star really. So I begged my mom until she somehow afforded to send me to an hour of piano classes every week. It was a funny mix of music cultures at home really.
And how did you get into electronic music?
Because my mum always has been a techno fan of the 90s and 2000s. She’d go from time to time to Ibiza for a week of rave, and when she came back, she would be telling me which clubs she liked, which sets she listened to (she was a big carl cox fan back in the days), etc. Thats why the many colours of electronic club music felt pretty normal for me, just like the music that your parents listen to feels comfortable… but it was little later that I discovered that world also for me. I think it was when I was going to Zoom, a former Technoclub in Nuremberg. The experience of a dancefloor can be very strong, and maybe the closest to utopia I can think of – that always carried a strong fascination for me since then.
Your are currently located in Berlin, is it your home town? Or where else are your originally from? And what does home mean to you?
I grew up in small village close to Nuremberg, then later I studied and lived for more than 10 years in Dresden, a city with a small but very vivid club and subcultural scene, that had lots of influence on my music and life in general. For me, home can be anywhere, as long as there is a social context that suits you and it feels like it.
“My biggest dream in life? To do what you love, without losing passion and joy.”
Is Berlin still the place to be as an electronic artist in your eyes or what other places have become more attractive?
I’m neither born nor raised in Berlin, so I’m not the best one to answer this question. However, despite Berlin being in a crazy gentrification-process since decades, I feel it’s still a city where you can find affordable studios, ateliers and creative spaces. In relation to London, Paris or many other major European cities, at least. Also there are always things going on, an interesting fluctuation of people, art and events. But maybe I’d think very differently about all that, if I would have lived in the city since the 90s. Actually, I feel many places could be suitable space to live and be creative. Its all about the circumstances, context and community a place has to offer.
I think it ́s a city where it ́s easy to get lost. How do you keep focused and grounded?
Definitly it’s good to have a circle of people you consider family or friends, that keep you grounded and reflective to what is happening. But it’s long time since I was a party tiger – rather I’m an addict to studio time since I’m 16. So maybe that also kind of helps me to keep focused naturally on music. The studio can be a place of retreat and recharge.
Besides music, what do you really love doing when you have time?
Living on a breathable speed. Visiting friends. Cooking and taking long walks. These are good tools to keep me focused and relaxed.
What is your biggest dream in life?
To do what you love, without losing passion and joy. I’m thankful for being able to make and play music for a living, and I never take it for granted – especially after what happened during the last years.
Thanks so much for your time and good luck with your debut album release!
Thanks so much for having me, all the best!
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