I know we're beginning to sound like a cracked record but the high concentration of German artists pioneering the vanguard of modern house music is astounding. One of those artists to whom we've grown fond since discovering their Star Wash EP (iTunes) are the trio Space Ranger. As the last single before their late 2011 album debut is to be dropped in the coming weeks, we locked Space Ranger in a windowless room and forced them to spill on all things house (note Patricia does not condone methods of torture). We've often wondered as to whether the Space Ranger sound is the future of house. Of course these are only starry-eyed speculations, but if they are anything to go by, the future is looking bright.
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Patricia Never Leaves TheHouse on Space Ranger
Patricia: Wow 2010 has been and continues to be anamazing year for you guys, how long have you been collaborating as a trio under the Space Ranger title?
Space Rangers: Well we started the Space Ranger project in 2009 when we finished a couple of new tracks. Actually we planned to release one or two 12s” under this name. At that time we didn’t expect that it gained such momentum!
Patricia: It’s weird to think you’ve probably been DJing since (maybe) before we were born, what pseudonyms (other names) did you work under before?
Space Rangers: Ok, now I’m disclosing the secret ;) We were producing Dublex Inc. since 1998. We released our last Dublex album in 2008 on Infracom Records had a break of one year and then started with Space Ranger.
Patricia: Your press release refers to Space Ranger as a band, do you place significance upon the use of live instruments in your tracks?
Space Rangers: Good question ;) we had a 10-strong band playing the Dublex album. But it was horrifying to get all those artists together playing a couple of gigs! Resulting from this experience we decided to play kind of live but “only” with Ableton and a synth.
In the studio we are recording live instruments like drums, percussion and stuff. I think one point that characterises our sound is the organic sound of instruments. Not that you can always hear that but you can at least feel it.
Patricia: Which do you prefer, creating original tracks or editing other artists?
Space Rangers: Actually we’d rather create own tracks than edit existing ones. We love the creative moments, the point when a new trackis born. In most cases the original of an old soul or disco track is great the way it is already. But sometimes we’re using samples and the border between an edit and a new original blurs….
Patricia: You’ve said that knowledge is power when itcomes to the art of DJing, and obviously today you’ve had years of experience in the field – but what’s the worst experience you’ve ever had as a DJ?
Space Rangers: That was at one night when I was booked in Copenhagen, Denmark. 1500 kilometres from home and recognized that I took the wrong bag with me! 50 chill out records for one of the biggest club venues in town! Yeah, good old vinyl times…;)
Patricia: In light of this, how much influence does what you think the audience will want to hear have when you create a track?
Space Rangers: The audience is always part of the process. The audience tells us what’s working, up to a certain level. As it’s always an interaction between dj and dancer, it’s the same between producer and the audience. You can’t separate that.
Patricia: Speaking of influence, you can hear a really big variety of musical influences in the music of Space Ranger, can you name anartist or musical era from which you draw the most inspiration?
Space Rangers: No, sorry…there are so many …maybe HerbieHancock
Patricia: At Patricia, we’re kind of obsessed/fascinatedwith the disco-house music coming from Germany. A genre which has been dominated by the sounds of French-house and (the often dreaded) Italo-disco, artists such as Tensnake, Munk, Moonbootica, Black Van (and yourselves), havemade HUGE waves recently with a sound that doesn’t appear to conform to those of either neighbour... For a country we initiall come to know for its deep Euro-trance sounds (ie. Mark Schulz), our knowledge of Germany’s disco-house scene is limited. Can you tell us a bit about it?
Space Rangers: Well, I think what you call the disco-house scene has existed for years already and is based on many artist that were active in the "NuJazz" scene at that time. Many of them started playing house and disco years ago, like Raine Truby, Danilo Plessow (MCDE, Inverse Cinematics). Others were tired of that commercial house stuff you could hear everywhere and were trying to create newforms of club entertainment.
Patricia: Space Ranger has demonstrated a pretty contemporary attitude to the means of music consumption (ie. Putting yourtracks up on Soundcloud for free download), as a music lover, how do you go about seeking out good music?
Space Rangers: We’re pretty active on Soundcloud and I found many great and talented artists there. Of course I’m buying a lot and last but not least we’re laying a lot of own tracks and edits. I think the last point is the most important to differ from other djs these days. In digital times when unlimited quantities of a release are available everyone is playing similar (more or less) after a while. It’s important to create your own exclusive set that way.
Patricia: Space Ranger’s maiden album is set to be released at the end of this year – how long have you been working on it for?
Space Rangers: All in one we worked 7 or 8 months on it. Pretty quick for us, if you keep in mind thatit took us four years for the last dublex inc. alum ;-)
Patricia: Is it finished?
Space Rangers: YES! Yeeeeha!
Patricia: Was there any particular sound/theme which you wanted to make consistent throughout the whole album? Haveyou thought of a name?
Space Rangers: It’s organic disco house.
Patricia: Will there be an album tour? More importantlywill it be visiting Australia?
Space Rangers: We will be on tour, mainly Europe.Unfortunately there are no gigs for Aussi planned yet. I toured in Australia in 2005 and I absolutely LOVED it! I met wonderful people – and had the best BBQ in my life ;)
Patricia: Just to finish can you name for us:
P: an all time classic track?
SR: JayDee –Plastic Dreams
P: an artist to look out for?
SR: Motor Mouth.It’s my buddy DJ Friction and Philip LeRoi who is ghost writer for Kris Menace.They’re releasing two EPs on our label Grande Buffo in November andearly 2011
P: one musical guilty pleasure,artist or track?
SR: Black –wonderful live. My favourite cheesy 80s track
P: and worse request you’ve everhad?
SR: Most of them are bad. I still can’t get used to it that obviously some people are not LISTENING!! I am not playing HipHop and no, I don’t play David Guetta because I am not playing commercial radio music. And no, I will not play track 7 of your boyfriend’s favourite Scooter album. Oh but if you had listened, you would have recognised that I already played the track you are asking for right now.
--Thank you Space Ranger, particularly our friend Flo, for their time, was great to get them on the line. Check out all our previous Space Ranger posts here, pick up their Chocolate Bar EP here and stay tuned as we break their next single and the impending debut album!
We couldn't resist, Patricia discovered Space Ranger with this song and it's still one of our favourites (possibly of any aritst of 2010).
Space Ranger - Phase Fever (iTunes) (m)
-Your Loving Aunt & Filthy
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