Thanks for talking to us Tim… what’s the first record you heard today and how did it make you feel?
I usually listen to something else than techno or house at the start of the day. Today the first record I listened to was Chance The Rapper – Blessings which I adore. Pretty good album all around, still on repeat!
You’ve had a fruitful relationship with Poker Flat over the last few years…how did you first hook up with the label?
Two and a half years ago, my agent Marcel had the idea to send something to Steve Bug, as they’d known each other for a long time. Steve was very interested in my music and after a relatively short time, it was clear we would be working together in the future.
Why do you think it makes such a good home for your music?
Poker Flat is such a good fit because they release quality music only and also keep it fresh and diverse. I’m happy to work with them, I feel there’s no pressure and I can experiment with my music too.
We’re loving the new album, can you tell us about some of the inspirations behind it?
Well, inspiration is a strong word…I wouldn’t say there was a particular record or anything that made me do the album, but at some point I felt like I needed to do it. Also, when I made the first version of ‘The Myths Of You’ about three years ago, I knew this was the first song that is going to find a home on the album.
That inspired and motivated me to keep going and create a full album in this style.
https://soundcloud.com/pokerflatrecordings/sets/tim-engelhardt-moments-of-1
We hear you’re a big fan of producers like James Blake and Jon Hopkins. They’re both artists who produce very serious electronic music mixed with an air of sensitivity and vulnerability, is that something you can relate to?
Absolutely, it’s something that is really important to me. I want and need to create ‘honest’ music and I think this is only possible if you reveal parts of yourself. It’s not that easy to free yourself from expectations and pressure and just create what you have inside your mind already. It took some time to realize which were the right tracks, but now I feel very good about the album.
With the sheer amount of electronic music being produced today, how do you go about trying to make your own music stand out?
That’s a tough question and I couldn’t tell if my music really stands out, but I believe if you are making music because you have something to say, something to express and not just because you need bookings, you will also hear that in the music. I try to find myself inside the music and if I don’t, I would throw the track away.
Tell us about your relationship with nature… is it something you try and incorporate into your music?
Of course, but more in a way that I could get inspired by the characteristics of something you find in nature, like the flow of water, which I would try to convert to music.
What in your opinion makes music timeless? Is it something you can identify?
I couldn’t tell in particular what makes a track timeless for me. It’s just a feeling…If I had to define it, a well-written melody definitely takes a track to the next level.
Some of the records on the album are very chilled, do you ever work these into your sets when you’re DJing? Or would that be too much of a risk?
I’m not DJing, but I do actually work some of the melodies into my liveset. I would maybe put together the bassline and drum tracks of another song with a melody from the album to create something more energetic which is ready for the club.
You’ve been working on the album for a number of years, now that’s it’s nearly out, how do you feel?
It feels a bit unreal to be honest, it’s a big project for me. It was so hard to finish it in the end and I’m happy I’m done with it. Now I’m looking forward to deconstruct it and explore new versions of the album in my liveset!
What else you have coming up this year?
There will be 2 releases in the summer, ‘Chymera’ with Leonard Bywa on Cityfox and another collaboration with BOg on Bedrock after the one we did for Innervisions. I will also release 2 EP’s this year.
Pre order the album here…https://PokerFlat.lnk.to/
https://soundcloud.com/timengelhardt
https://www.facebook.com/tim.engelhardt.artist
https://twitter.com/TimEngelhardt_
