HDSN: It's All About Efficiency

HDSN bio is somewhat hard to pin down. Like his kaleidoscopic set of influences, his globe-trotting tendencies make for an origin story that could probably fill a dense novel, but all those things are even better heard through his music, distilled in impactful, effortless grooves. The Bavarian producer and DJ has been on a roll recently, releasing a string of excellent house tracks that find the perfect balance between retro beats and modern production techniques. I House You But Love, Back In The Days and Icy - all released through HDSN’s own imprint NBAST - have played non-stop at my place since I received their promos, and I predict they’ll be the crown jewel of many DJ sets in 2022. We talked with the man behind the legend to learn more about what makes him tick, and what’s coming up for HDSN.

Can you tell us about what brought you to your new release I House You but Love? What vibe were you looking for?

I think anyone who's familiar with my music knows I have a knack for House Music. So for me it's the love for this music that wants me to make beats like the OGs do. I am all about House Music from back in the days and so I try to come up with something that transports the feel of these early day records from Chicago and Detroit and inject my vibe into the music that’s my ultimate goal. 

Both tracks on I House You seem aimed at the dance floor. I'm curious to know your philosophy on what makes a good dance track? How can you make sure a beat works in a club setting?

First and foremost it's obvious that a good dance track should make you dance but I also think it should make you feel, too. It's the combination of motion and feeling that makes me move on the dance floor. I am not a big fan of all that hard tech stuff out there nowadays cause I really do not feel anything but being lost and it does not move me either because of the static patterns. For me, it's the exact opposite that moves my body and soul... it's all about rhythm and feels. In the end, it's up to the individual but speaking for myself music is a soul thing and my spirit likes to be moved to ;) 

Your single Back In The Days arrives with 3 remixes, including one of your own. What makes a good remix in your opinion? 

Actually, the package includes five remixes featuring UC Beatz, Ethan (UK), Jorginho Joao, and So.undso and a UKG version of myself. I think remixing is all about putting your own spin on the material with all your creativity but enough respect and carefulness so the original can still shine through.

What’s your process when you remix a track, the different steps you follow?

For me, the UC Beatz remix is the perfect example for that. It's easy to remix a track and just go with the original material and chop it up in some way but it's a craft to do your own interpretation of the track and work your own signature around it without losing the essence. I think everyone on the remix duties did a great job and came up with their very own version of the original so shout to da homies for being part. 

What was your reaction when you heard UC Beatz and Jorginho Joao's versions of your beat?

I am so happy to have UC Beatz on this project. I think he is one of the most exciting and hardest working producers of our time with his heart in the right place always delivering great songs. You can really feel this lad is doing it all for the love of the music and that's what it's all about in my opinion. I really love the aesthetics of his remix, it portraits the ethos of the label so perfectly. It's like a fine wine that gets better and better with each time I listen to it.

When he first sent me his version I was on a train and completely drifted away in all these soundscapes which have such a distinctive soulful quality - it´s definitely my fav version. The Jorginho Joao remix makes the whole thing club-friendly and ready for a peak time ride what I really dig. I met Jorginho Joao two years ago at a beat-making contest where he was participating in. His technical skill and the way he approaches music is unique. He has developed his own style that's what picks me up every time I listen to his works so having him as one of the remixers of the track just felt like a win-win situation. Ain't hard to tell there's a lot of excitement to play his remix out to a packed club. When I first got to give it a spin I was like "yeah man you nailed it in your very own way and I love how I can hear the Jorginho Joao signature in it" that makes this version a piece of its own.

Your tracks always seem to find their aesthetic between a vintage feel and a modern edge. What are some of the studio tools and/or plugins you use to achieve this sound?

Happy to hear that. You know a magician does not reveal his tricks and I think if I would start talking about production we would end up in a very nerdy geek talk so I save some pains here ;) but to keep it short, I work with the most basic setup ever.

I use the standard effects that are coming with Ableton and a couple of plugins I got myself over the years. I really like the Soundtoys bundle for example. In today's world with no boundaries and endless possibilities, it's just a matter of being creative and inventive.

I always told myself: keep your list of equipment small instead of buying dumb shit you do not really need. So many producers out there buying stuff they do not need and ending up spending money and time on things that do not benefit the outcome of their music. Music is a big industry and pretty much everybody wants to sell you the piece of soft/hardware that does the trick what doesn’t mean it does.

For me, it's all about efficiency … making the most out of the tools that I have. 

Can you tell us about the place where you live at the moment? How is the scene there, and how does it fuel your creativity?

I'm currently based in Munich. I lived in Manchester and Berlin for a period of time but I wanted to be in reach of my family so I decided to decamp back to the Bavarian capital before my path will take me further. Munich is 1,5h hours away from my hometown so that's pretty convenient.

To be honest I think every city has its own DNA if you wanna call it that way and I actually somehow never spoke the language of Munich that's why I rather focus on doing me instead of trying to fit in here. I mostly take my inspirations out of cities like Detroit, London, or New York. Munich’s scene is very small. It's hard for subcultures to flourish here due to the heavy impact of Bavaria’s conservative politics and that is the reason why the scene is very limited living under its potential compared to other cities or any cultural/creative melting pot round the globe.

There are a couple of clubs that bring on a lot of mainstream events but there are rarely people playing in town that I wanna see that's why I rarely go out here but I think that's more of a personal thing as my taste in music is more house music related and Munich is very Techno driven being influenced by Berlin. However, some artists I really like are Ilian Tape’s Zenker Brothers, Coeo, or Rhode & Brown who are standing out in between the local hero phenomenon. 

As the world is opening back up, who are some of the artists you can't wait to play in your DJ sets? Who are your favorite artists at the moment, and what do you like about their music?

This year was a lot about rebranding myself personally but also on the artist side. It's like I'm shading another layer of skin each year to get closer to the real self inside of me and as I do I really feel how I follow the impulse of going back to basics like the origins of house and techno. It's easy to lose yourself in this oversaturated market and its ever-changing trends but the origins will remain timeless forever. So a lot of classics from the 90s are now ending up back in my bag but also tracks like Joe Smooth’s Promised Land or Transition by Underground Resistance and a lot of Detroit´s musical repertoire from Omar S to Mike Huckaby, Moodymann or Andres` are records I love to play. Paul Johnson never leaves the bag and all amazing these gems from back in the days. Some of my new fav artists to play in my sets are Leo Pol, Leon Vynehall, Jayda G, Cinthie, Overmono or Chaos In The CBD just to name a few.

The good thing is Cinthie’s Elevate Berlin Record store never stops providing new goods. It's probably the reason I'm gonna be broke someday ha! Nowadays I do not listen to so much dance music anymore despite preparing for gigs or when I am in the studio. I listen to all different kinds of music like hip hop, neo-soul, or new jazz, like What Kinda Music by Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes you gotta check it out. It's an incredible body of work.

Last question, what do you think makes a good DJ set? What's the most important lesson you've learned about DJ-ing or the best advice you've received in your career?

You know I'm still a fan of playing two records together without all that modern technical advancements like loops, Cue Points or Mixed In Key, etc. I really wanna be as close to the art form as possible. I got kinda bored of playing with CDJs this year so I started to play records again as I feel the entertainment level is much great with only two turntables and a bag full of records.

Unlimited availability leads to a lack of connectivity. Nowadays you can buy yourself a controller and a hundred songs from Beatport but that does not make you a great DJ, that's what most kids do not realize. DJing is way more than just a cool gimmick for your Instagram caption. Back in the days you needed a certain degree of skill and hours well spent to play in a club... today it seems to work for promoters if you sell tickets and bring your entourage that's mad cause the culture is suffering from this.

I think a great deejay got to read the energy of a room full of people, he gotta speak the language of music and know when to play certain tracks to a particular moment to take the night to the next level. It's also very important to create a vibe and keep it throughout your set. In the end, it's very simple to me: it´s always what’s the best fitting track of my collection that keeps up with the energy and how can I build a smooth transition to it.

Most people nowadays always think it's about all these technical accessories but it's not. They forget that it's all about the music, the energy that flows, and that you got to keep that flow up track by track, transition for transition without losing the people in front of you. It´s also that as a Deejay you´re here to make people feel good. People wanna have a good time so it's important that you put your ego aside and make the best night for everyone around you as long as you’re not DJ Koze. 

What's coming up for HDSN?

I’m currently releasing a new single every friday till the end of the year and there are two new records coming up, which actually should have been released this year but through heavy delays are still pending. I’m thinking about putting them out early next year. As clubs in Germany are closed again I’m now working on a lot of the new music which I plan to share with the world over the course of 2022.

Follow HDSN

SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook | Resident Advisor | YouTube | Mixcloud | Website