Inspired by a wide range of intelligent electronic music genres, Cologne based DJ and prospective producer Laenk is striving to put his foot in the door of the national underground scene.
For Etui Podcast #44 he deliviers a dj mix flavoured with minimal and deep house sounds as well as dubby delicacies.
You just moved to Cologne. What were the reasons behind this and what do you think of its club scene?
After living in a rather small town for almost a decade, I slowly but surely felt I needed to experience something new – a big city. I thought that Cologne was a good start for a “big city life” as I already know a couple of people here and it probably doesn’t eat you up as much as Berlin does, haha.
I think the club scene is decent here. There are some nice venues and off locations. As a connaisseur of niche music however, it is of course difficult to find a party that suits my taste. But that is my problem, I guess. Concerning the crowd and the music, I like Gewölbe best so far.
How did you get in touch with house and techno music?
On a rather commercial festival back in 2015. I still remember that when I got back home, I immediately started diggin for music. Took me a few years to get on the “right path” though. But I think this is what everyone experiences who is new to electronic music. Although I now somewhat despise the commercial side of techno, I still regard it as a door opener to the musical cosmos I’m living in today – and I’m grateful for that.
What are your favourite producers and tracks?
When it comes to Dub Techno / Dub House, I’m going with artists such as Schulz Audio, R.Hz, Francisco Aguado, Garibe and Steve O’Sullivan, but of course there are many, many more producers I admire! I’m feeling home on labels like spclnch (Space Launch), MixCult Records, Mosaic and Etui.
As I am also into Hypnotic / Deep Techno stuff, I definitely have to name the Sardinian mastermind Andrea Deplano aka Ness as well.
Three of my all time favorite tracks:
Ness – Hybrid Discovery [The Gods Planet]
Schulz Audio – Waxing Moon [spclnch]
Bjika – Lush Trade [MixCult]
What is the idea behind your mix?
After a very deep and low tempo start, I wanted to consistently raise the energy level until halfway through the mix, then slowly shift down a few gears again. The closing track needs to hit straight in the feels. I love these melancholic dub sounds.
Listen on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMEgryjm4Xo
Tracklist:
BOTN – Good Day
Ludowick – Forma
Garibe – Dualism
Artyom Kozlov – Dub Phase
Stopcode – M1
Riko Forinson – Braid
Owain_K_A – Secret Sign
Ludowick – Neptune
Ohm & Kvadrant – Yding
Federsen – Ganja Dub
Phantom Network – Susukino (The 4th Dimension)
Francisco Aguado – Nostalgia
Narcotic 303 – X1