Adam Beyer Interview
Swedish Producer and DJ, Adam Beyer, cut deep into the Techno European scene, becoming one of the leading artists of the Stockholm sound. His production skills threw him at the end of the 90’s, into the Top 10 most requested artists by clubs across the world. To get your music signed to his label, the prolific Drum Code, means an artist has achieved one of the most important goals in their own career and for their reputation.
The Guestlist Network touches down with Adam Beyer.
So how are you today?
I’m good, I’m in the middle of moving so I’m getting ready for the business of that, and doing 6000 things!
Where are you moving to?
Me and my girlfriend just got a house, still in the city, but there are more woods. I’ve been living in a flat for quite some time so we decided to try this house for a year or so. Yeah it’s nice, she likes horse-back riding so there are stables next to it where she can keep her horse.
Wow, that’s beautiful! So where are you living now?
I’m in Stockholm still.
So you’ve stayed true to your roots!
Yeah, I’ve never managed to move out! Stockholm is really nice, I still enjoy it here, especially since I travel so much.
Yeah, you travel all over the world, you’ve been to so many countries and places; and seen so many different crowds. Can you describe the oddest place that you’ve ever played?
Yeah sometimes when you go to east-European countries they can be quite rough. I mean, these days they’re all OK but before they were sort of Eastern, with weird hotels and strange, but lately I don’t think so. There are more random places which aren’t really strange. I guess Japan is probably the most alien culture to what we know, there are a lot of brands and commercialism but the whole culture is so different.
Yeah I’ve heard that before. I’ve never been myself but maybe one day!
Yeah it’s worth going to see it because it’s something else, it’s another dimension.
Do you have any gigs where you think, “Wow, I will never forget that!”?
A lot of them are like that! A lot of the time you say, “Wow, that was the best gig ever!” And then you realise that’s what you said last Saturday!
That’s a good life to have though if that’s your job!
So you used to play at your local youth club, what kind of music would you play to the people there?
Well there were people who were my age, we used to arrange disco nights for them. I used to have a thing for more commercial stuff. In ’88-’89 it was Run DMC, madtronics, you know, I love Cool J all that sort of hip hop. Also early hip-house and acid house, a lot of italo-house around that time. Then slowly the first rave music began to sweep around 1991 with all the early UK labels like Rising High and Excel Recordings. In those days we used to play everything, Stone Roses and Break Thick, Belgian new beats, artist records and early European stuff, so it was just a big mish mash of everything, it wasn’t as specialised as today obviously.
So do you remember your first paid gig and where it was?
I remember the first gig that I thought was really well-paid, I think I got something like £150 for New Years Eve in Stockholm, it was a mixed crowd.
What sort of music did you play there, techno?
I had to play a bit of everything. I could play some techno for about 20 minutes, then I had to play some more commercial stuff. I tried to avoid the most cheesy stuff!
People have said that you are one of the most hardworking figures in techno, and as well as your hectic schedule you also run 4 labels, is that right?
Yeah, it’s 3 labels at the moment, I ran a fourth one for a while called Code Red but that was only temporary, so right now it’s 3 labels - Drum Code, Mad Eye and True Soul.
So do you find it’s still as fun as it was 10 years ago, do you ever feel dragged down by the work, or are you still like a little kid in a candy shop?
Yeah, right now, because you keep evolving and things change. I think I’ve managed to steer through all the different ups and downs of the music, all the twists and turns, I just love it! And lately the past years have gone so well, especially with Drum Code, that we can start to release more artists from abroad so we’ve become more of an international brand rather than just representing Swedish artists, like we did in the first 7, 8, 9, 10 years or whatever it was. So yeah, I’m really excited about it, I also have managers and management so it’s becoming something big. When I first started I kept quantities limited, I didn’t want to show my face, I was really underground, flying with the underground techno scene. Then it changed over the years, things change so it’s not the same thing as I was doing 15 years ago, it’s very different but interesting and exciting.
Me and my boyfriend are both big fans, and when I was talking to him about interviewing you he wanted me to ask you why you keep on changing, because you’ve been doing it such a long time. Music has changed so much in the time that you’ve been out there, that every decade or every five years is a progression.
I think it’s a combination of being inspired by what’s going on around, but also being tired of what you’ve been doing; the Drum Code and the Swedish Loop - we started doing them because it was something new, we made it our own from the very beginning, and then within 5 years there were probably about 100 labels doing the same thing, and that waters things out. Everythings been done and the parties start to be harder and harder, I started attending line-ups where I didn’t want to be, and I felt it was going somewhere I didn’t want it to go. So I chose to go back to some of the more minimal techno I was listening to, from people like Robin Hood and Vinci, so I went that sort of way to get away from that sweaty, mad techno.
Yeah, so how do you see the scene now?
I think there were a good few years around 2000 where it just needed to change to survive, and it did. But now I think there’s room again for techno labels like Jungle to be a little bit more edgy than most other labels, most of the stuff out there right now is like tech-house, or very housey.
So do you think you’ll continue to evolve?
I would hope so. I don’t think I’d be so excited about it anymore! But it’s so hard to say what’s going to happen. There’s so many genres now and this counts for everything.
Where do you see techno in 20 years time? Do you see it as being even more commercial and mainstream than it is now, because now it’s become extremely accessible to the general public, or do you see it as evolving into something we couldn’t even imagine and turning into something completely different?
Adam: I think there’s going to be elements of both. I think hopefully there’s going to be something completely unimaginable because that would be the most exciting thing. It’s not all commercialised, there’s always going to be techno that’s not commercialised, that’s the whole point of the music. My angle of it is... it’s very difficult to explain! In 20 years time people might be involved musically, it’s really hard to say! I would love to think it’s going to be something completely unimaginable, and maybe it’s going to incorporate something more than just sound. The way we listen to music now, it’s quite premature, just speakers... Hopefully that whole experience will become enhanced, maybe clubs will start installing 5 system speakers, and maybe produce things that are more complex.
It sounds like you should open your own chain of clubs!
Yeah!
So if in 20 years time it has evolved into something beautiful, and to be perfectly honest if we look back to 50 years ago at the state of music we can only hope that the cycle keeps on continuing. People who were around in the rock and roll era would never have thought that we would be where we are today, so we don’t know what’s going to happen in 50 years time. Do you think you would be involved in that, in 20 years, I don’t know how old you’re going to be then...!
Well I’m 34 now so I guess I’m still young enough to be a part of it, I’m not one of those old grumpy men! So yes, I would love to be part of it, it’s been such a huge part of my life so far. I’ve been DJing for over 20 years, I can’t really see myself going off and doing something else, I’m very much in love with what I do, so hopefully yeah!
That’s exactly what we want to hear! You produce and you also play massive festivals and huge arenas. Do you get the same buzz making a track as you do playing to thousands of people, or is it a different feeling altogether?
Adam: It’s definitely linked. When you work with music it’s a process where you can always go back and change something, you may not always be satisfied - you might be close to satisfied but you can always go and change something, it’s really two different things.
Do you have a favourite?
When you DJ, you play in the moment and what you do at that specific minute can never be changed. But at the same time they go very well together because you make your own tracks to play them out, so I couldn’t really live without the other but if I had to choose I think it would be the DJing because that’s how I still see myself, mostly as a DJ rather than a producer.
Do you have any advice for new up and coming producers or DJs that are finding it hard to break into the scene? It’s extremely competitive at the moment, especially living in London where everybody seems to want to be a DJ!
Well I think that one is a sort of cliche but it’s probably true, the only thing you can say is that it’s hard work and if you’ve got it, you got it. It’s like any other artistic profession, if you’re good at something and you have a talent for it, if you make music and your music is good enough it will get bigged up and people will start playing it. What I think a lot of the young producers do is they make one to ten tracks and they think it’s enough. They start sending it around because they need feedback but maybe work harder and wait a little longer until you know you have something which is really, really good and then go somewhere. There’s so many similar productions right now from the smallest thing so I think it’s important to put that extra effort in to make it something special so you stand out from the crowd.
How long was it before you were able to start living off the money you were making from producing and performing?
Well I finished school when I was 18 or 19 and started to work in a record store for a couple of years while I was producing and I was also DJing on the weekends. When I stopped that I was already making enough money to support myself with, so, maybe when I was about 20.
Wow, that’s amazing, you were really living the dream!
I started Drum Code when I was 20 and had quite an instant success, and success at that time meant enough to make quite a bit of money, because you made money on music back in the 90s. 3000 copies sold and you had a little bit of revenue so yeah it went pretty fast. With that and the DJing it was enough.
So you’ve never had to have an embarrassing job?
No, never! I went straight from school to work in a record store called Plan Rhythm and we were selling techno so I was with a bunch of people, and we all met around that time. We were working at the store, playing at parties, we had our studio. We made music!
That’s amazing!
Yeah, I didn’t have any money with me, I wasn’t brought up with rich parents or anything so it was all self-made.
You’re playing in Ibiza tomorrow night, are you not?
Yes, tomorrow!
Are you excited?
Yes! It’s the first Ibiza gig for many years so yes it’s going to be nice! It’s a nice room to play as well, it’s a great sound system, it should be a good night!
I’ve never been to Ibiza before, would you say it’s one of your favourite places to play?
Yeah, I like playing there, it’s a good night. There’s a lot of fun going on afterwards, you can really entertain yourself there if you want!
Are you taking your girlfriend with you?
Not this time, no. I’m playing Cocoon on the 26th July and she’s coming to that and staying the whole week. But tomorrow we get out there really late, Friday I come out and I’ll have my tour manager with me and I’m playing in a park in Scotland on Saturday, so I’ll fly over to Scotland on Saturday morning.
So you’re coming over to these parts! Do you have a favourite place to play in London?
For the last 8 or 10 years it’s been Fabric, that’s been really good.
Yeah, thank you very much Adam!
