André Hommen presents both his first and last album ‘More Than This’ on his uncompromising label These Eyes – a nine-track melodic journey demonstrating the diverse facets of his original sound. DMCWORLD dives in for a world exclusive…
Hello André, great to have you with us today. We hope you are keeping well. How has the lockdown life been for you these past couple months?
The last few months have been quite challenging as for everyone but as I was preparing the album release, it wasn’t too bad and I have been very busy most of the time. I also had several other projects going which were running normally, so overall it wasn’t too bad for me as I got to do a lot things which I haven’t been able to do before.
What is a day in your life looking like at the moment? Some artists have mentioned that they have been enjoying the extra time in the studio, is this something that you have found also?
I actually did not go into the studio even once after the album was finished. It was such a big project that I needed my time off afterwards. I did some studio work but more like from home and it was mainly radio shows or other related stuff. I have so many side projects going that everything was actually running normal, I am just not traveling at the weekends which was quite refreshing for some time but I wouldn’t mind being on a festival this upcoming weekend.
You’ve recently released your debut album More Than This. It is an impressive body of work. What was it like creating your first album?
Well most of the tracks were done as drafts and ideas over the years but then I finally took the decision to do an album as that was the only thing which was missing so far. I have finalized all tracks around 1.5 years ago actually and then took my time to release it actually. I was thinking about the right label but in the end, it was pretty clear that it has to come out via my own These Eyes imprint and I am super happy about that decision.
![Premiere: André Hommen - Mirror [These Eyes]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/d1SdhI5DhwQ/0.jpg)
Who have been your biggest musical inspirations in your life?
That question is getting asked a lot. For sure I have been heavily inspired by the sound of Depeche Mode. I was super impressed by all those electronical and rare synthesizer sounds. Then also the early US house scene influenced me a lot which I think you can still hear in some of the tracks. That’s why I was more than lucky to work with Dennis Ferrer for almost over 10 years.
With inspirations in mind, who would be a dream artist for you to collaborate with?
As mentioned Dennis Ferrer before, it was definitely my dream artist by that time to collaborate with and we actually did release a record together called “No Difference” in 2011. That was absolutely crazy for me. But of course I would still love to do a remix for Depeche Mode so I am hoping they are doing another album soon!
Your record label These Eyes continues to go from strength to strength and successfully maintains a high quality output. What are the most important things for you when selecting music for the label?
I think it just needs to fit. I would also sign debut-releases of artists if the sound fits and works with the labels philosophy. I did that before with Asobitai last year for example. It’s still his only release by now but it worked really well and was actually even able to climb the charts. So that’s my main goal – that the music is being heard, no matter if it’s a big name artist or a small name artist.
With that in mind, can you share with us anything that is lined up for the label?
I have remixes from the album coming in two parts, the first part will be remixes from Robag Wruhme and Jonathan Kaspar which is also the next release. Then I have an EP from Yotam Avni and Ben Westbeech coming as well. And for sure I want to release EPs again from the artists who have released on the label so far.
What would you say is the most valuable piece of advice you could give to an aspiring artist looking to approach a label such as These Eyes?You should not be afraid but at the same time you should bring a lot patience as well. I think patience is the biggest challenge for aspiring artists who want to get their tracks signed to labels they like.
Thanks again for chatting with us today André! We wish you all the best as things hopefully begin to return to normality. To round off, what are you most looking forward to doing as the global situation eases?
I hope that I can do my annual Asia tour this year which would be November. It doesn’t look too promising but it would be the first time in like 10 years where I would not go which would be a shame. But also that is not the end of the world. More important is that everyone is staying safe and healthy.
André Hommen – More Than This. Out now on These Eyes
