Tolouse Low Trax

Ok, this time it's really special for us. Hopefully for you too. We are more than proud to present you an interview with Detlef Weinrich and an exclusive mix by him. He's the man behind the turntables at the Salon Des Amateurs over here in Düsseldorf, member of the succesful band Kreidler and also producing his own stuff under the alias Tolouse Low Trax. We have spent so many Saturday nights losing ourselves to the music played at the salon, staring at the turntables with dim eyes and trying to make out the names on the labels. Listening to "Savant Dance" captures quite well the musical experience at this place. It's especially the variety of different styles and genres that makes this mix appear very modern without losing a certain coherence. We were also able to meet Detlef and talk about his story, his productions, Düsseldorf, the Salon and so on. We even ended up philosophying about the state of music today and its problems...So here's the result of a nice meeting on a Wednesday evening with some tea and beer, a crappy voice-recorder, but the right music in the background:

Your name Tolouse Low Track is an allusion to painter Henri de Toulouse Lautrec. Why did you choose this pseudonyme?

In 2002 during the „Hell-Gruen“ art competition here in Düsseldorf I did a live gig in a former bar of mine called „Baron“, which I ran with a friend called Aron, who somehow played with this Tolouse thing before. Cause I needed a name since this was actually my first solo project, I just took Tolouse Low Track. Being honest I don't really know much about him except that he liked visiting brothels.

The pseudonym alludes more to my own music than to my DJ activity but I use it therefore as well.

Are you from Düsseldorf?

No, I'm from Southern Germany, near Swiss border.

Since when are you living in Düsseldorf?

1992

Did you start with Kreidler then?

No, I first started studying sculpture at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1993 where I then met Stefan Schneider who brought me to Kreidler, first just for DJing, because I played a lot black poetry records at that time, which well fitted to the Kreidler gigs. Later then I became a full band-member. In fact that didn't really agree with my studies which maybe explains that I didn't finish it.

Did you immediately have success?

Actually yeah. Of course we started playing small gigs but our first tape was already published on some Parisian label. Then Spex Magazine came and we glided into this post-rock discussion and everybody was like „You're from Düsseldorf, you're Krautrock!“. Later Klaus Dinger did something with us so that our fame-grade increased really fast; Especially in Japan. When I went there with my art-course I discovered real supporters clubs and found us in lots of magazines, which was somehow weird to me cause I didn't know Krautrock at all at that time...“Neu“ was neu to me.

Does Kreidler still exist?

Yes, we just started doing sessions...drums, bass, samplers, keyboards, almost no editing. But there are still a lot of questionmarks. Don't know yet if we can publish on our old label for example.We'll see.

You let of steam with your solo-project the last years?

Definitely. There was this record on Amontillado (Boarding to Rio), a tour with Goethe Institute and Stefan Schneider in Siberia and some smaller concerts. Couldn't advance it as ambitioned as I wanted to since Salon requires a lot of my time but I definitely need that...making music.

When did Salon des Amateurs open?

In 2004.

Did you plan DJing here?

Yes of course. DJjing and having a voice in the musical choice. That was clear when it opened.

Did you play those cosmic records right from the beginning?

No. That developed during the last 1 and a half year...with its full consequence. I rather knew the cosmic stuff from my youth. If you're living near Swiss border you went clubbing in Basel and Zurich and that's where cosmic was played. Or also in Northern Italy.

In every Swiss record store you could buy those Loda and Baldelli tapes which I found so great. It was so strange music, so different. But I first really started busying myself with it two years ago.

When I did the first cosmic evening here, when I really called it like that, there were about 5 people here. One was from Bavaria and he was the only one who knew it

You’re friends with Beppe Loda, how did this come about?

I think I just wrote him. I had many of his tapes and became interested in the tracks as such.

How would you describe Salon audience? People who are interested in the music, or just the hedonistic party crowd?

I think it's always a mixture. Of course you sometimes wish that people are more interested in the music. I'm always happy when there are 4,5 people who ask me what I'm playing right now on a Wednesday evening. But it's not always like that, I think it can't be. Therefore Düsseldorf is too small.

When it comes to age it's getting really interesting. We have the full spectrum here I think and that's what we always wanted, that's what makes a club good in my opinion. There are the older people who rather know this Sky or Klaus Schulze record and the young ones come and ask what it is whereas the older ones are happy it's played...I find it beautiful.

When did you actually start going to the SALON?

Well, one of the first nights I remember was the BLACK DEVIL gig. The show was simply amazing!

Oh yeah, the show was totally rad! I was very proud that I got the guys to play here. That night was extraordinary; it was really a big highlight for me. It was also quite expensive for us, but we got aid money from the “institute francaise”, because they support us financially once in a year. Then you can do such a night.

Also the music you were playing before and afterwards really amazed us. That was about the time when we started to wonder where all this beautiful music played here was coming from.

That’s quite interesting because the spectrum is really diversified. There’s plenty of stuff to discover. You can always find new incredible records. It’s really open minded. And as a DJ there is so much stuff you can play out. It’s only about the quality of the music and that’s totally lovely. Maybe you should leave that “cosmic” term aside because the people don’t like to hear it at the moment. But I think that it’s a kind of music that you never can write off!

In your opinion...why was Düsseldorf always such an important music-city?

I was asked that a lot in interviews with Kreidler: „Is there a typical Düsseldorf sound?“ Neu was asked that a lot and Kraftwerk, too.

I think it's an advantage that the town is a bit provincial. You can create your own cosmos, sound without any input from outside all the time. It's a process from inside, based on cooperation I would say.

I think Akademie and Ratinger Hof also played an important role at that time. Akademie was more dynamic than nowadays for example. And without Ratinger Hof many artists wouldn't have developed the way they did. It was like a social place who absorbed people.

By the way to me it was always clear that if I'm opening a bar it should be like Ratinger Hof...translated to our time of course.

It's often like that, a bar, club or record store, which we don't have here at all, just a place that educates people musically in the long-distance. This often was the base for a regional musical scene.

It's really sad that there's nothing to go out here besides salon anymore or, as you said, not one good record store in a town like Düsseldorf.

Definitely is. And the city praises itself with exhibitions like „Zurück zu Beton“ where our mayor delivers a speech and says how great „Ratinger Hof“ was (laughter on both sides)...it was actually him or rather the city who paid the Salon. There is this anecdote that he walked through SoHo in New York and saw all those artist bars and decided that Düsseldorf needs that, too. He was here once when we opened...

What are your favourite places here?

Mhm...that's difficult. I don't go out here at all...My Wednesday and Saturday evenings suffice.
I like going to exhibitions...but my favourite place is home I think. I like being there.

Do you prefer playing on Wednesday because you can spin everything you want and your records don't have to be danceable?

No actually not. I like both nights, Wednesdays and Saturdays. I mean I'm playing what want anyway; especially at Saturday nights. I think I got quiet a well feeling for how far I can go and what I can play in order to not lose the people

I remember when you played Herbie Hancock's Rockit on 33 at peak. It was so slow but people really liked it. What directs you doing your set?

Well, there are some rules of course. You know that you should play some newer stuff like, wouldn't say Lindstrom but all those edits, in the beginning. They are produced for that, for working in a club. Mostly the sound pattern is much phatter.

Then you go over to disco where you know this is always working somehow. But I try to work against that cause it's too much these days and therefore somehow boring. Also when people like Lovefingers and Lee Douglas or also Tako came...in the end they always ended up at disco when it came to dancing. That's why I loved the last Beppe Loda gig so much. When he played this Italo records of course, but then also went in a New Wave direction. He wants to get away from that disco stuff because he means that it's played everywhere.

I think it should change with the time. When you know there was a lot of disco this month you should try to have an emphasis on something else the next month. „With what“ is not easy to answer. Maybe just getting more wavey, and more electronic...should have more changes...maybe a little bit from the beginning of the nineties.

Which DJ that was here did you like most?

I think Peak Nick. Was a great evening. No I have to correct myself: I think the best evening was with Gwen Jamois from Black Devil. That was super interesting and the maximum you could go here.

The one who played with 4 decks?

Yes, exactly. People really liked it. At some point they danced to everything that came on...he made blatant interruptions...that night was exceptional. He played music I never heard before...much musique concrete, much electronic...just incredible. He deals with vinyls. Do you know his website? Its www.iueke.com. Unbelievable stuff and horrendous prices.

You said you liked playing danceable records...

Of course I do. I also like dropping big hits from time to time. I don't want to be always obscure. You need a recognizability value. Many people who don't know anything about the music recognize me, my style in DJing. The right mixture is important, you need to spoil your audience once in a while with little hits for example. That's really important because almost everything is about emotionality.

I think that's what everyone was missing during the last years in electronic music and techno...well not everyone but many. It's somehow like in the 80's where DJing was really different, where you served a wider spectrum and people drove up to 100 kilometres for a club like „Totentanz“ in Basel.

Your own productions also sound quite different from today’s dance productions.

Well…I’m also playing some own productions here from time to time, and I think they’re working quite well. But they are surely not as straight as a, let’s say Lindström track. But I’m not interested in that kind of sound. I mean there are lots of productions that you play out only to fill gaps or create a certain mood. But these are often things which you don’t like that much; you think they are ok. The whole production of these newer things sounds really boring to me. Lots of the sounds and melodies are rip-offs from old tracks. And they are made on computers, you can hear that. It sounds incredibly good, but it actually sounds much “too good” for me.

And with my own stuff, I intentionally try to work against that overproduction. That’s a bit the idea behind it. Like in the eighties when the whole thing started. There are many records which are so great because of their “underproduction”, because they were made at home. Many Italo productions actually sound bad in a sense: The frequencies don’t fit, the vocals are much too loud, the piano’s too loud, or the bass line’s too mouldy. But that’s why they have a totally different effect, that’s why they are so interesting. And I like to work with these things. Because you ask yourself: How can you oppose that whole perfection in music today at all? It brought up this whole computer policy with all the software. You mostly can’t do it wrong. It always sounds good, but it always sounds like plug-ins too. There are few artists like UNIT 4 who produces all his stuff completely with analogue technology. All the other stuff…you can hear that it was made with a computer. It has a certain sound which can be recognized easily. There are often clichéd elements. And that’s not what it is about.

I try to create my own kind of afro electro in a sense. It’s very beat-oriented and percussive, but I try to work only with MPC and synthesizers, it just sounds different.

As a DJ, where do you get your records from? Do you go out for digging?

Yes, a little bit, but not that extremely. When I’m somewhere else I always look out for records. Beside that I often use eBay. At the moment I calmed down a bit, I’ve become more patient. At the beginning I always wanted to get things immediately. I spent a lot of money…then I started to realize that I actually paid too much, because the prices are enormous in this field. But when you can’t wait for a record…The problem is that you can’t find those records in this region. There’s not a single record shop here in Düsseldorf or also in Cologne where you could find such things…you have to go to Belgium or Netherlands…also concerning the newer stuff. It takes such a long time before these things arrive in Düsseldorf. I’d like to have more new stuff, too. You don’t want to play the old records all the time. Sometimes you’re fed up with them and you’d like to have more new great records. But on the other hand there aren’t many new productions that totally get you. They’re just ok mostly.

You’ve played that STUDIO record quite often recently, haven’t you?

Oh I dug that one up again now. I’ve played it a bit some time ago and rediscovered a track now which sounds pretty good to me played at 45rpm.

Are there some other current records you like?

There’s this new 12”…wait a second! It’s the new project by PILOOSKI. I quite like it. Record is called RING MODULATION. It’s really good…

Oh and what just came to my mind is that we got FRANZ LITIWENKO doing a live set here on the 5th of April. He was involved in the cosmic scene right from the beginning. He was playing in Innsbruck and Tyrol, North Italy and that corner. He works a lot with the computer, making lots of edits and mixing short elements of the tracks and so on. But it sounds incredibly good. He also invited me to play in Innsbruck. We’re organizing a nostalgic cosmic night there in an old classic cosmic disco. I’ll be doing a semi-live set with MPC, edits and that kind of stuff.

The guy of QUIET VILLAGE, Joel Martin, he was also playing here only with CDs. That night was special too. But it was also very British in a sense. I expected it to be much more on the obscure side, that he would play more exceptional records. But it was very downbeat and relaxed, very British as I would say. The music was rather accessible, there was no record which totally surprised you although he has this kind of music! But I think that it was so because he played here for the first time and expected it to be a usual club night so he thought he better played it safe.

I think it’s quite normal that he decided to play rather this kind of stuff when he gets booked for a Saturday night in a club.

Yes, for sure. They all don’t expect it to develop like it does here usually. I-F did the same. After playing here he said to me, shit I should have brought totally different records.

Ok well, I’m gonna spin some records now!



We also asked for some current favourites and this is what he gave to us:

Voice of Taurus - Hello World
Savant - Stationary Dance
Vertigo - You
Michael Bundt - Future Street No.7
Epidaurus - Mitternachtstraum
John Carpenter - The Duke Arrives
I.A.O - Places Of Soul
The Sparks - Kiss Me (On 45)
Tolouse Low Trax - Two Time Measure
Kaoru Inoue - The Secret Field



And here's finally the mix:

Tolouse Low Trax - Savant Dance

A second one called Eternal Streets Mix will follow soon. So if you like Savant Dance and I guess you will, check it out soon.