Thierry Loesch, aka Riven is one of Luxembourg’s premiere underground dance music artists known for hypnotising every club he spins at with his dark, techy vibes. He started out DJing on the local Luxembourg scene in 2008 and then, together with his friend Pierre Bellion, founded the Lauter Unfug label and events company which quickly became one of the most proliferating underground music brands in Luxembourg. We check in as he makes his debut release on Timid Boy’s Time Has Changed label with his powerful ‘Disco Acid EP’…
Interview by Ratha Gud
Welcome back to DMC World, how’s your 2017 been so far?
Thanks for having me again guys! 2017’s been great! As you might know, I just released on one of my favorite Labels, Time Has Changed and I had a great summer organizing events in Luxembourg!
What’s the best new record you’ve heard this week?
This week? I’ve been going through many, but I think there’s one that really stood out: Provoc by Hutu and Mitz Rawls!
Your Lauter Unfug label is flying high, what new artists have you signed recently and what’s coming up?
Oh, we’ve got some great artists coming up like Mathias Kaden, Betoko, Umami, Channel X, DkA and many, many others!
We’re loving your new ‘Disco Acid EP’ on Time Has Changed, what inspired or influenced it?
Well, to describe it well, it sounds a bit like playing Pac-Man on Acid. I’ve been using many old school and vintage samples, my MAM-MB33 Retro, which is basically an analogue 303 reproduction without sequencer. I absolutely love it.
‘Disco Acid’ also features a remix from VONDA7 – a very talented producer and hot name right now, how did you link up with her?
We’ve know each other through a booking and we got along pretty well together right from the start. We later exchanged some production tips and kept in touch since then.
And your new Lauter Unfug label mate Beatamines has also delivered a remix, how does that sound?
It’s marvelous! I really like the deep and dark atmosphere. It’s recently been charted by Joyce Muniz as well! He’s currently A&R at Lauter Unfug, takes care of the demos and the masterings.
You’ve also just released your ‘All Night EP’ on Freakin909, you must be quite pleased about landing on Marshall Jefferson’s label. Are you a big fan of his?
I’ve been listening to his mixes for years and I play many of his productions, I mean, we can agree that he’s some kind of a legend already no?
Why do you feel it is important to release on other record labels when you already have a successful brand?
I think you need to match the labels’ style. Drumcode won’t release any tech house and Hot Creations won’t release any Techno. They had a remix by Joseph Capriati who usually does Techno but the track he made was more dark tech house. So I guess that’s really important, no matter how successfull your brand is.
Do you produce tunes with your own DJ sets in mind or tailor to certain label sounds?
I produce music I like, music that sound right in my ears. I’m trying to develop my own style, going for the long eveloving pads that you will hear more and more in my productions but it’s still a way. You need something to get people to recognise your sound.
What can we expect to hear and experience during a Riven DJ set?
I sometimes play disco sets in Luxembourg, sometimes I tend to switch to some old school disco house tunes towards the end of my sets.
The famous Lauter Unfug events are back for the new season across Berlin and Luxembourg, who have you got lined up?
Yes, we’re back and we got something new in mind. We really want to do less events but ‘bigger’ and better events. We want to have more time to focus on what we do to offer a more exclusive experience to our guests. We’ve got an event called ‘The Big Rave Odyssey’ coming up where we start with Santé and Nick Curly at one really nice venue going till 6am. We’ve got a special lightshow crew coming in from Berlin for that one. Later, a party bus with dj takes those who’re still standing to another club where we host an after party till 12. We’ve also got some parties coming up at Birgit and Bier and Suicide Circus in Berlin.
A birdy tells us the Lauter Unfug crew are also planning some festivals in Luxembourg, can you give us any details at this stage on what to expect?
Off course, we had a very successful one this summer called Rave the Castle and we tend to do that one again, maybe a bit differently this time. And then, there’s other events in the making during the summer, but nothing I can tell you about at this stage.
The market is completely saturated with upcoming young DJ’s and producers, what makes you stand out from the crowd and what’s been your recipe for success so far?
Well, I mean, I come from Luxembourg where we are pretty much shaping the night life scene with our crew and I manage a Label that’s growing pretty fast for one from Luxembourg. I guess that may work well on my career too.
What one thing do you think would improve the scene for the better? Anything you’d like to see more or less of?
Well, I’d like to see less complaining about genres. I’m always open to hear new music, if it’s Techno, Deep House, Vocal House, whatever, I don’t block as soon as I don’t hear the genre I make music in and don’t consider it the only one to be right. A bit more openness by the DJs would reflect on their listeners and make the whole underground genres grow a bit more together. I guess that’s something we need at this stage. Also, something I find really shocking is the House Music scene drifting towards the mass mainstream as seen at the Paradise party in BPM. It was the worst ever, there were too many tickets sold, no space to dance whatsoever and half of the space was kept for VIP Tables and areas. I haven’t been there myself but I heard that from many many friends who’ve been there and I think that is a complete no go and a really, really negative evolution that should be stopped right away.
Who are your current top 5 producers?
Burnski, Joey Negro, Dyed Soundorom, John Dimas and Tom Flynn.
And finally, what have you got lined up between now and the end of the year?
Well, a lot of work to do for the label and a lot of events to plan! Thanks a lot for the interview.
‘Disco Acid EP’ is out now on Time Has Changed.
