The duo who rocked the world with their phat bass return in style
Interview by Charlotte Macartney
After a silence that lasted five years, the Warp Brothers are back and asking ‘How You Like Bass’ with a new track fit to make the dancefloors of 2014 bounce! With a line up reshuffle and plans to tour the world again, the duo known for their hard trance/techno sound have taken a more electro route this time around. Following the release of ‘How You Like Bass’, we caught up with the Warp Brothers to get the lowdown on the new sound and what they’ve got in the pipeline…
Hello guys and welcome to DMCWorld! Where in the world are you right now?
Ollie: “I’m currently on a plane to NYC!“
Maurizio: “I’ve just returned from Ukraine and I’m now in Karlsruhe.”
It was back in 2009 that we last we heard anything from you but now you’re back with a new release and a new member! Why did you feel now was the right time to come back as the Warp Brothers?
Ollie: “In my chest there are and always have been two different hearts beating. One that loves house music and the one that loves the hard, energetic sound. I simply couldn’t give shelter to both under one roof any longer so I decided to simplify things and went back to house music with D.O.N.S. and for my harder and faster bangin’ BPM heart I decided to give the Warpies a new lease of life. I first spoke to Jürgen with whom I founded Warp Brothers in 2000 and asked if he would be up for starting up again as we never officially ended the Warp Brothers. His priority was his family and private life so I needed a new partner and this is were Maurizio came into play. He loved the idea and as we’d already worked on tracks before together and are working for the same labels, Kingdom Kome Cuts & Dos Or Die Records, we both thought let’s just kick some ass and do it.”
You’ve taken more of an electro route this time around, would you say you’ve completely reinvented yourselves or will you stay true to your techno roots with future releases?
“We were always sectioned in the Hard Trance/ Harder House corner, sometimes influenced by Techno, especially on our album tracks. But Maurizio and I decided that we absolutely didn’t want to start with the typical Warp Brothers sound that was years old even though our old tracks still get a lot of plays. Times are changing and artists can only develop and progress if they don’t get stuck on their ancient sound. It’s like Madonna doing a new single that sounds like Holiday. We already have the next singles ready to roll and we’re really happy with what we’ve done in the studio so far and think our old loyal and amazing fan base will be happy with what they hear very soon.”
Does your return mean you’ll be touring the world again at some point?
“That is of course our ultimate goal. Making people happy and giving them the right energy with our productions and performances. We’re very hungry to kick some serious butt.”
Let’s rewind for a moment – how did you guys meet and when did the idea of a partnership happen?
Ollie: “We actually met via D.O.N.S. in 2010 when we collaborated on the D.O.N.S. & Maurizio Inzaghi release “Searching For Love”. Of course at first it was a classic Facebook friendship. I think I stalked Maurizio on Facebook ha ha ha.”
How do you normally choose the names of your tracks? Having interviewed other artists there doesn’t seem to be a one method fits all…
Ollie:” I’m usually the one coming up with most of the lyrics or the basic concept of the track. I first look for a theme, or an idea that is appealing to me. Risking sounding a bit cheesy I always think of what could motivate people to dance and party hard and/or make them forget about their troubles. One single song can evoke hundreds of emotions so why not think about emotions when you start a new song and production? Like the question “How You Like Bass?” or our second Warpie’s single “We Will Survive” where I thought about giving energy to people that may not have the easiest situation in life. We once received a letter from a soldier in Iraq who wrote and thanked us for this song. He said that this was the song he and his comrades heard in preparation for battles because it actually gave them the power they needed, and we still hope that they all survived. Even though we’re no war supporters we must admit that we were damn proud of that feedback and we felt honoured. Life has became really complicated these days and people are struggling so let’s give them some power and energy to forget about everything even if it’s only for one night or the few minutes of a track’s playing time.”
What in your opinions does a DJ need to become successful in 2014?
“It’s a very simple and basic formula: No successful tracks = no successful DJ. How do you come up with a successful track? Produce a decent track (a great track is of course more beneficial) then get on the right label, build up your brand with the right management and booking agency, hire a great PR and then you don´t even need the ability to DJ, lol. Having charisma and DJ skills still might help though. Last but not least always work very hard, believe in yourself, be authentic and get the 20% luck you still need at the end.”
What are your proudest moments to date, musically or personally?
“Being played by so many great DJs over so many years and being loved by so many people. Our fans were always very special to us and meant the world. Making money and being successful on one side is great but making people happy in doing what you love on the other is one of the greatest gifts in life. That’s the real gratification of an artist or at least should be. We feel that many DJs and artists these days sadly forget about this.”
If you weren’t making or playing music, what would you be doing?
Ollie: “I studied law and had my real estate company and it’shocking to imagine me in a robe and a wig ha ha ha!”
Maurizio: “I would sell ice cream, which was a very successful business but like Ollie, my heart beat is music.”
It’s still only the beginning for the second generation of Warp Brothers but what do you hope to achieve in the next twelve months?
“We would love to close the gap between our old fan base and hopefully our gazillion of new fans. And providing great releases people will dig and touring ourselves to death. The second generation has the power to do so and we hope our fans can deal with it.”
Links…
http://www.beatport.com/release/how-you-like-bass/1391503
https://www.facebook.com/warpbrothersofficial
https://twitter.com/warpbrothers
https://soundcloud.com/warpbrothers
https://www.youtube.com/user/warpbrothersofficial
