Dominik Eulberg for sure is one of the best and most unique electronic music producers from Germany. He has found the perfect balance in his life, travelling back from gigs to the forest and having space for silence and relaxation. We caught him right after his little vacation and asked questions before his gig at Babylon İstanbul.

How are you, what are you dealing with these days?
Thank you! I have just came back from a short holiday on the East Frisian island of Langeoog.

You have a monthly column at Faze Magazine. What did you write in the last issue?
The monthly column is about current nature phenomena from our habitat. It is also a retrospective on my days as a forest ranger. In the March column, I wrote about animal phrases in the German language, as a whole zoo of those can be located in our day to day language. 

What about your opinions about contemporary dance music scene & releases? Techno is as much popular as the past now. Are you as well enjoying it?
The commercialization or opening of the subculture has advantages and disadvantages. I think it is wonderful that genre borders are disappearing, that stereotyped thinking is lesser nowadays. I think there is great electronic music out there today. I also find the technical innovation great as it enables more people to produce. You don’t need hundred thousands to realize your ideas.

On the other side the opening of the market had the consequence that the business side is at the front too much. Techno has become a thriving branch of the economy. That is why innovation in music and sub cultural standards fall by the wayside. David Guetta for instance is a fantastic musicians who understands music, but what he produces is not techno, it is pop music. 

What about your current approach and visions about your music. How has it changed during the years?
I always try to go my own musical path. Trends and hypes don’t really bother me. Nowadays we know that music is like a language, that mankind at the beginning proclaimed his emotions through tonal sequences. Similar to what animals do today. Now we have an advanced language, nevertheless we still understand these ancient informations. This is the reason why some music makes us happy and other music makes us unhappy. I let these things flow into my music. I am always on the look out for ‘ancient music’, music which conceives a clear feeling. Doing this I work with lot’s of melodies. 

You are an ornithologist and using field recordings in your productions since the beginning. Is it still the most of your trademark sound?
Not necessarily. I use acoustic recordings often to generate multidimensional structures. If you mix electronic generated sounds with something more subtitle and acoustic as for instance rustling of leaves then you get something much more approachable, even if it is only small. If you reduce my music to a common denominator then it is my personal touch. My concept of melodies and soundscapes. I pursue the feeling of creating an acoustic picture of nature impressions. 

What else are you doing and / or experimenting in your music or in your daily life?
Alongside this I work for the nature organization NABU and do biotope mapping for them. I am also a lecturer at the Art Academy Offenbach in the area of bionic architecture. And since quite a while, I have been working on an ambient album, far from the techno circus.

Do you still find time to stay in the forest side or do you usually travelling around from gig to gig?
On the weekends I usually travel from gig to gig. I live in the Westerwald forest. Here I find time to load up my batteries with mother earth. This is a thing I really need. 

Can you talk about the new projects or releases coming?
I have just finished remixes for Hot Chip and Jesse Somfay and am working on a new EP for Traum. 

You have been to Istanbul before, what do you remember? 
I have memories of the breathtaking Hagia Sophia and the stunning view over the Bosporus with a delicious cup of coconut milk in the hand. I remember the nice, open minded people I meet and also the lovely food like şaç kavurma! 

What will we be hearing from you in your show?
I will pay an euphoric and very melodic set. 


Interview: Christopher Çolak
03 March 2012