Our friends from The Hive in Zurich smash it with their ‘Strongship EP’
Interview by Rob Chadwick
Benja & Reto Ardour are the Swiss duo who delighted us recently when we checked in with their brilliant ‘Strongship’ EP. Residents of Hive Club in Zurich, the EP also came to pass on the label of the same name. We checked in with the boys recently to find out what’s rocking their world…
Hey guys, how’s life at the moment? You been keeping busy?
B: “Life is great at the moment! We’ve got some really nice things on the horizon actually. In November we released the “Cognition EP” on Steve Bug’s label, Audiomatique Recordings.”
R: “And now, a few weeks later, our “Strongship EP” finally hits the stores via the Hive Audio label. So good times!”
Where did you both grow up? And what was your first introduction to house/techno music?
R: “I grew up a little outside of Zurich City and moved to the city at the age of 20. My first introduction to electronic music was in 1994 through an older brother of a friend of mine. He had some turntables and a mixer, which was very fascinating and inspiring for me. One year later, I bought my first vinyl.”
B: “I grew up in the Highlands of Zurich, in a small town 30 kilometers outside of Zurich City. My first contact with electronic music was trough an older cousin, who gave me some tapes full of 90’s techno-sounds. This really was love on the first sight for me. Always the older guys!”
How would you describe your current style? How has it changed over the years?
B: “I would say our music is something between house and techno. It’s rhythmic and trippy.”
R: “Sometimes, depending on the party and the playtime, it’s also dark and hypnotic – but it really depends on a lot of things. Tough question!”
Where are you living now then? Would you ever consider leaving there for musical reasons?
B: “We both live in Zurich. I moved here partly because Zurich is the hotspot of Switzerland’s electronic music scene.”
R: “But the city has a lot of other things going for it too, such as the nice lake or the charming old village.”
How long have you been residents at HIVE? What’s been your favourite memory in the club over the years?
R: “For about 7 years. During this time, I was able to experience many inspiring moments and a lot of funny things.”
B: “I’ve been a Hive resident for about 5 years now. One of the special things in this club is the sunrise on the upper floor. Magic!”
What have you learned from being residents? Has it been a great education for you?
B: “As resident DJs at Hive, we’ve had the chance to play intro-sets for a whole bunch of big international artists, which we really respect. This is always a big honor for us, as you can imagine.”
R: “And after all these years we’ve learned to drink a lot, too!”
Do you think the scene in Switzerland is on par with elsewhere? If you could change anything about it, what would it be?
B: “The scene in Switzerland is great! We have a lot of nice clubs in our country. Most of them are in Zurich but there’s also the Nordstern Club in Basel, which is also one of our favourite locations to play.”
R: “Also- the small club, Zukunft, in Zurich is an outstanding location which we really like.”
B: “Sometimes, especially in Zurich, there’s so much going on that it’s nearly too much. Zurich and its scene is not so big and if you have 4 or more events with big international headliners in one night, it can get a bit messy.”
R: “Yeah, sometimes less would be more I think.”
So does it still inspire you as much as it ever has?
Both: “Yes, it definitely does!”
How long have you been producing? Your latest is your first for the label, right?
B: “I’ve been producing music for 7 years now. Wow. And my first release was in 2009, the Paradose EP, which also was the first release ever of Hive Audio.”
R: “We’ve also released two tracks that we produced together on Hive Audio Compilations and we did a split EP with one track of each of us in 2011.”
How did your relationship with HIVE first come about? How do you know the guys?
R: “I played during the first year of the Hive club in 2006. Friends of mine were hosting one of the floors and I got the chance to play there. Soon after, I was part of the Hive family as resident DJ.”
B: “I met the guys from the club as a result of the Zurich nightlife. Then I got a chance to play my first ever gig there in 2007. A friendship was built, and two years later I became an official resident.”
So can you tell us a bit about the Strongship EP? What’s the idea behind it all?
B: “The EP, and the 3 tracks on it, really reflect our tastes. It’s like what you can expect when Benja & Reto Ardour are playing together.”
R: “It’s a deep, trippy and hypnotic musical experience.”
And how did it come about? Is it pretty typical of your work?
R: “Yes, it reflects the kind of music we like and also what you can expect from our DJ sets. The EP is the results of several sessions we had together in the studio.”
Are you very wary of where your music gets released then? Is it important that the label has a similar ethos to yourself?
B: “Yes, for sure! In the case of Hive Audio, it’s something special. It’s the label of our resident-club and we are proud to be a part of it.”
Is there any meaning attached to the title of the track, ‘Strongship’’?
R: “Yes, there’s a little story behind it. Adrian (one of the guys from Animal Trainer and Hive Audio label-owner) visited us during a studio-session, in which we worked on the title-track of the EP. His comment was “Wow, that’s a really deep ship!” And so the name, Strongship, is a combination of this comment by Adrian and the vocals we used for the track.”
B: “Nothing really significant then!”
What DJs/producers continue to inspire you? Do you get to go out much these days in Switzerland? Or do you prefer to spend your free time in the studio?
B: “Oh, difficult question. Let’s try to list some artists, which inspired us over the last years: Mathew Jonson, Avatism and Tale Of Us are the ones who come to my mind instantly.”
R: “Martin Buttrich, Matthias Meyer and Baikal have to be included in this list for sure!”
B: “If we have no gig, we don’t go out often these days.”
R: “We prefer to spend our free time in the studio or make something different beside the music business. For example: cooking or playing sports.”
If you were stuck on a desert island, who would you bring? And what music would you bring?
R: “Jason Statham! Because then we’d be the three coolest guys on one island!”
B: “And for the music, we will take a 808-drummachine and a Minimoog synthesizer with us. This should be enough for a long time.”
And can you tell us a joke?
B: “Reto Ardour is a virgin.”
R: “Yes. And Benja is a big fan of Avicii.”
What’s the future for you then? Both personally and musically?
B: “Going on with our music…”
R: …”and stay healthy and happy!”
Benja & Reto Ardour’s ‘Strongship’ EP is out now on HIVE Audio…
