German DJ Helena Hauff mixes Tresor’s Kern series’ fifth instalment, following Objekt in 2016 and DJ Stingray in 2017. Visceral, chaotic and experimental, the mix features a handful of previously unreleased tracks from Umwelt, Machino, Morah, Galaxian and L.F.T. “I wanted it to be quite fast and aggressive, mainly because I haven’t recorded a mix like that in a while,” Hauff says “and I was in a mood for it.”
Helena Hauff rose from Hamburg’s Golden Pudel to the international ranks of the underground and became revered for her industrial harshnesses and hard-edged electro-techno, delivered through stirring vinyl-only sets. “I learned on vinyl, and part of my love for DJing was an obsession with turntables. I love the feel and sound of it,” she says. “I probably have technical issues 70 percent of the time. But I’m so emotionally attached to my records that I just can’t stop. Also, I feel like it’s a nice skill to have and I don’t want it to die out in a way,” she adds.
Hauff’s self-willed obsession with vinyl is one of the reasons Kern Vol.5 is the longest mix she has ever recorded. “It turned out really difficult to fit all the unreleased tracks into one mix,” she says. But finding ways in self- imposed restrictions is what charges Hauff’s work with the sense of unabashed experimentation. “In a way, the unreleased tracks dictated the way and forced me into a certain sound and structure within the mix.”
Hauff’s mix for Berlin’s Tresor is being released at the time when the nights out have been replaced with nights in, computer screens doubling as a sonic portal. Even though some venues have been opening up and illicit raves have started to happen against Covid-19 regulations (from outdoor rave at Hasenheide Park in Berlin to hidden beach parties in Portugal), most of the venues remain shut. Can virtual raves be a viable alternative to live performance? “No, it fucking can’t,” Hauff says. “We need clubs and festivals, we need to be with people and socialise, we need to stay awake till 9 in the morning and wake up in a wet tent and puke our guts out after too much warm beer.” Something to look forward to.
Hauff’s self-willed obsession with vinyl is one of the reasons Kern Vol.5 is the longest mix she has ever recorded. “It turned out really difficult to fit all the unreleased tracks into one mix,” she says. But finding ways in self- imposed restrictions is what charges Hauff’s work with the sense of unabashed experimentation. “In a way, the unreleased tracks dictated the way and forced me into a certain sound and structure within the mix.”
Hauff’s mix for Berlin’s Tresor is being released at the time when the nights out have been replaced with nights in, computer screens doubling as a sonic portal. Even though some venues have been opening up and illicit raves have started to happen against Covid-19 regulations (from outdoor rave at Hasenheide Park in Berlin to hidden beach parties in Portugal), most of the venues remain shut. Can virtual raves be a viable alternative to live performance? “No, it fucking can’t,” Hauff says. “We need clubs and festivals, we need to be with people and socialise, we need to stay awake till 9 in the morning and wake up in a wet tent and puke our guts out after too much warm beer.” Something to look forward to.
You have been referred to as a ‘figurehead for a noisy, neo-gothic imperative in techno.’
It’s flattering that someone refers to me as a figurehead of whatever but I don’t see myself as that. I’m just continuing to explore a sound and an idea that have been invented (mainly in Detroit and Chicago, again influenced by other things that came before) thirty years ago. I like noisy stuff and gothic stuff, but I like a lot of other things too. I wouldn’t wanna put a label on what I do besides basic terminology like techno/electro/acid.
You have studied fine arts, physics and systematic music science. Does your academic background in any way affect or influence your music or your approach to making music?
(Laughs) I really wouldn’t say I’ve got an academic background. I dropped out of uni so quickly I hadn’t even learned anything. And what I had learned, I’d quickly forgotten. I’m still interested in science and art but on a more basic level. I’m generally quite a rational person but my approach to music-making is more intuitive and emotional.
Tell us a little about the process of mixing Tresor’s Kern series’ fifth instalment, following Objekt in 2016 and DJ Stingray in 2017. Did you construct the mix around a certain theme or sonic concept?
I asked some of my favourite producers for unreleased tracks for the compilation first and built the mix around the material that I got. I wanted it to be quite fast and aggressive, mainly because I haven’t recorded a mix like that in a while and I was in a mood for it.
There is a sense of experimentation within the set boundaries in your work. “I like limitations. I make things hard for me on purpose almost,” you have said. Were there any specific self-imposed limitations and frameworks you worked within for Kern Vol.5?
I mixed it on vinyl. So I had to get the unreleased tracks pressed as dubplates before I could start. It was all a really long process and even more so, it turned out really difficult to fit all the unreleased tracks into one mix as I hadn’t paid much attention to the bpm of each one beforehand (laughs). I was just like, that’s the material I’ve gotta work with, that’s it. In a way, the unreleased tracks dictated the way and forced me into a certain sound and structure within the mix.
You started out at Hamburg’s reputable Golden Pudel. How would you say your sound has transformed or evolved from your days at the Pudel to Kern Vol.5?
I still play a lot of the records that I bought ten years ago but there’s also a lot of stuff that I don’t play now. Not so much because I don’t like it anymore (well, some of it is actually crap) but because I feel like I have developed my own musical identity through the years and some tracks just don’t fit. But I’m constantly trying to find new music and include new genres into my sets. I didn’t play any drum and bass when I first started DJing, but a few years ago I started to get really into that as well. But I don’t play much house these days, which I used to do.
A few years ago, you mentioned that you hate “clean over-produced music” and that “only the really clean stuff gets really big.” Do you think this has changed? Are people more open to messier, exploratory underground sounds?
That’s probably a misunderstanding. I don’t mind clean sounds at all, it just really depends on the song. I really like quite scientific and almost sterile sounds in electro, for example. But I always preferred the more organic and rough side of house. I feel like my DJ sets live from the mix of the two sides. I think rougher sounds and clean ones can complement each other in a very interesting way. But yes, when it comes to popularity I guess the clean, maybe over-produced stuff gets more attention and will always have a more mainstream appeal.
What is your reasoning behind doing vinyl-only sets?
Well, I learned on vinyl and part of my love for DJing was an obsession with turntables. I love the feel and sound of it. I also really can’t remember names at all, I think I would really struggle finding my tracks digitally. I should start playing on CDJs, you get into so much trouble playing vinyl. I probably have technical issues 70 percent of the time. But I’m so emotionally attached to my records that I just can’t stop. Also, I feel like it’s a nice skill to have and I don’t want it to die out in a way.
Which one is your favourite track from Kern Vol.5 and why?
Don’t have a favourite one. I think they’re all great (laughs)!
Despite the fact that we have seen the limelight shifted on women DJs in underground techno, the male bias arguably prevails; Why do you think the gender politics persevere in underground techno, which is inherently ‘anti-establishment’?
I really don’t know. I guess things don’t usually change that quickly. The structures in society are so deeply ingrained it probably takes more than just having a higher percentage of female DJs. It might be interesting to see how male DJs feel like in this industry and what they think we can do to promote change. But I’m optimistic. I feel like it has changed for the better already. I feel like I get more respect for my work and I hear the old ‘girls can’t DJ’ bullshit less and less. Maybe we have to be patient, listen, learn, keep on promoting equality and change will come, hopefully…
Measures taken to avoid the spread of Covid-19 have essentially cancelled making plans outside the confines of our houses, which has accelerated the phenomenon of virtual raving. Having participated in Boiler Room’s fundraising isolation series, do you think virtual streaming performance can be a viable alternative to live performance?
No, it fucking can’t. Virtual streaming is really boring, I mean really. It’s fun for a change and we had no choice, BUT we need clubs and festivals, we need to be with people and socialise, we need to stay awake till 9 in the morning and wake up in a wet tent and puke our guts out after too much warm beer. It’s live, it’s rave, we need that to be happy!
What do you think the ‘new normality’ of the world will sound like post-pandemic?
Really itching to find out!
