In April 2022 we released Tim Kossmann’s Lockdown Loops on 12” colored vinyl and digital audio. With this EP he presents three very personal loop based tracks full of noise and melancholy. So we talked with him about how the tracks came together.
He loves to explore the deep side of techno, with the aim of creating deep, lush chords and soundscapes filled with echo and spaced out delays, where deeply banging bass and moving whitenoise are combined with sophisticated harmonics in order to push the boundaries of the genre.
Nice to have you on the podcast. How are things going at the moment? What have you done during the pandemic?
Thank you for having me! I am currently in a very productive phase so there is a lot of output at the moment, which is great. You cannot control the amount of creative energy you get, falling and rising tides are kinda normal especially when it comes to music production.
So I am thankful for each fruitful period. During lockdown, I really struggled with the whole situation, which affected me on many levels like probably all of us. I went from being a business traveler and meeting a lot of people everyday, to zero travel and no real-world meetings. Seeing the whole situation unfold worldwide was truly unsettling. It felt surreal.
Recently we released your Lockdown Loops EP. What was your inspiration for the record?
During lockdown, I felt isolated and uncertain about the future. To transcend these feelings, I spent even more time in the studio, the outcome is – among other tracks – my Lockdown Loops EP, which I am very proud to release on Etui.
What’s your favorite piece of gear – hard or software?
Ableton Live really is the Alpha and the Omega of my setup.
From what do you draw your inspirations?
My inspiration is coming from all over the place. It can be a travel experience, being alone in natural environments like forests, beaches or near lakes or mountains, nice moments shared with friends or family, or even a movie or documentary I watched. Sometimes a difficult situation can also trigger me to just sit down and start playing and recording. I am of course also influenced by all kinds of music I listen to, not necessarily techno, giving me creative ideas when I start putting sounds together in my head before sitting down in the studio.
What was the key moment that got you into house and techno?
The key moment that got me into house and techno was listening for the first time to a radio show called “The Steve Mason Experience” back in the 90ies on BFBS. After hearing it for the first time, I followed that show until its end. It caused me to start going to local techno clubs, and I began using my parents computer to try and create techno on my own. Before, I had been more into hip hop, punk rock, wave and metal. The local techno scene in my hometown Münster was thriving at the time, and I dived into it, spending countless nights in clubs like Fusion, Dockland and of course the legendary Cosmic Club.
Please name 3 artists that inspire you and why?
1 – Fluxion
When I listened for the first time to his Vibrant Forms I and II releases 20 years ago, I was fascinated, because I had never heard something like this before. I instantly knew that I would go and dive as deep as possible into that type of sound, what we nowadays call dub techno. It really changed my perception of what I thought techno was – or even could be – at the time.
2 – Moritz von Oswald/Marc Ernestus
What can I say – their work and impact on techno even to this day cannot be described adequately by me in a few sentences. Everyone who really has dived deeply into dub, and techno, of course knows what I mean. Legends.
3 – Chris Liebing
If I had to rank my personal all-time level of ecstasy and almost spiritual experience on a club night by Dj name, Chris would be Nr 1 for me still even after all these years. Of course this is no armchair stuff by any means, but in the club his sets are just king. I love the pounding, raw low end that he has when he plays. His AM/FM Podcast is awesome.
I also want to honorable mention Van Bonn, he is one of my best friends and a living music encyclopedia. I love his music, in fact he introduced me to a side of techno that I had not known before when we first started hanging out together over 20 years ago. He first showed me stuff like Fluxions Vibrant Forms or Porter Ricks Biokinetics album, clicks-and-cuts tunes by Rechenzentrum or Boards of Canada. Maybe I would never have started to make, let alone release ambient or dub techno tunes of my own without him.
What’s the idea behind your mix?
Just having fun putting some tunes together really! Enjoy!
What can we expect next from you?
There is a new Tim Kossmann album coming out sometime this summer on Lucidflow Records from Berlin. It is my first pure ambient long player, no beats, so expect something entirely new there. More remixes and dub techno tunes are to come. I also have plans to found my own label in the future.
I certainly will continue to explore the deep side of techno, still having an immense inner world filled with visions of sound that need to manifest.
If I manage to do that, and make it sound as other worldly as possible whilst people enjoy it, my mission is accomplished. Kossmann out.
Listen on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LezpDn1wmDY
Trackist:
Tim Kossmann – Loop C
Altone – Blur
Stef Rijs and Daan Kemp – Monochrome
Mielafon – Sunday
Schulz Audio – Subrange
Van bonn – Wave
Altone – Winds Of Chaos
Monoloc – Things
Luigi Tozzi- Sospensione
Literon – Machine 1
Theorem – Cinder
Akufen – Skidoos
Tim kossmann – Maestrup
Radius – Ethersonic
More information:
Tim Kossmann linktree
Tim Kossmann – Lockdown Loops
V.A.- Etui Winter Camp 6
