As Fred again.. and The Blessed Madonna testified on their beloved lockdown anthem: we've lost dancing.
Or, at the very least, we did for awhile there. Now, as the world begins to open up again, the once-doomed nightclub is coming back to life – and, by proxy, dance music itself. Berlin-based DJ and producer Hannes Bieger has seen this unfurl before his very eyes across a busy 2022, and he could not be happier to have audiences moving before him once again.
“There have been so many highlights,” he says. “Playing Cityfox Live in New York and Ultra Miami was amazing. So was my Berlin record release at Ritter Butzke. Nordstern in Basel is a dream venue I always wanted to play – it’s probably the best sounding club I have ever played in. I returned to The Bow in Buenos Aires, this time as the sole headliner, and played this incredible jam-packed venue which I’ll never forget. I also opened for the French band Indochine in France’s second largest stadium in Marseille, in front of 60,000 people. I played on my beloved island of Stromboli under an active volcano, I had a blast at Origins festival in Marrakech… so many highlights this year so far, and I’ve probably left out a few.”
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Bieger’s sets are a unique prospect, as the veteran engineer and producer brings a distinctly human element by playing live synthesizer along with his mixes. It’s a distinctive trait that has been honed over years of live performance, and one that Bieger is still finding ways of retooling, adapting and evolving. “There are so many ways of setting up an electronic live act,” he says. “I basically play with Ableton Live on the software side of things, but I also bring a lot of hardware, including a DSI Prophet-6 synth and a Moog Sub 37 – I can’t leave the house without at least one Moog instrument.”
Bieger is quick to emphasise, however, that there are currently no radical changes afoot in his live shows – at least, not yet. “During the first lockdown in 2020, I actually had to move my studio and build a completely new one from scratch,” he explains. “It would’ve been a very difficult, time-consuming task even under normal circumstances. My live setup largely remains the same as the one I put together in the summer of 2018, when I started touring again after a long break from putting myself out there as an artist in my own right. I am thinking about a few potential changes, though. I’d love to include a Moog DFAM, for example – perhaps I’ll do that soon.”
Anyone who follows Bieger on Instagram will be well aware of the man’s jaw-dropping collection of gear, synthesizers, boards, mixers and hardware that takes up his aforementioned studio. Even though he’s only been in there a short period, the space feels well and truly lived in – and Bieger is always hard at work within its walls whenever he’s not on tour. “I’ve been collecting for many years, and I managed to acquire a few coveted units when they were still somewhat affordable,” he says.
“Vintage synth prices have gone through the roof lately – it’s insane! My latest additions include a Moog Model 10, which is an incredible modular instrument, and a Knifonium, one of the rarest and most special synths ever made. There are only around 30 of them, and a handful of them belonged to Hans Zimmer. It’s entirely tube-based, which is super special. It’s beautifully made with a wooden harpsichord keyboard, and it sounds absolutely gorgeous.”
Away from touring, Bieger has spent much of 2022 at work on a slew of remixes. Among them are old friends and more established names within the scene such as Timo Maas, Stephan Bodzin and Giorgia Anguili, as well as a handful of up-and-coming artists Bieger is very excited about. To him, he sees the remix as “such an important part” of the dance music scene – to the degree that he puts just as much time and care into a remix as he would an original composition.
“Both start with finding the inspiration,” he says. “That could either be from something I have come up with on my own, or something fascinating I heard in the original track. I don’t have a general approach or a formula – sometimes I use very little audio from the original; sometimes quite a lot, sometimes none at all. I pretty much always create my own drums and grooves, though, as this is such an important aspect of electronic club music.”
Soon, Bieger will arrive in Australia for his first-ever tour of the country. Although it’s his maiden voyage, both here and to New Zealand, the prolific producer notes that both countries have a reputation that precedes themselves. “I always wanted to go, but somehow it never happened,” he says. “Of course, I have many friends who have toured there a lot, and over the years I’ve worked with bunch of Australian artists as a studio engineer – sometimes very closely. I definitely have an idea of what to expect, although I can’t wait to finally experience everything myself. I’m also fascinated by wildlife and nature in general, and that’s a very exciting aspect. I hope I have time to see and do as many things as I can!”
Hannes Bieger will play Bourke Street Courtyard on September 4 with Fur Coat, Steve Ward, Brian Fantana and Ebony Willis supporting. Buy tickets here.
