Christian & Alexander, the Copenhagen based duo behind the multi-faceted Truth Radio channel & label aiming to promote experimental club music, in the mix for DR. And what an absolute monster of a mix it is! Taking no prisoners from the get-go, C & A guide us through 55 mins of pure club bliss. In the interview we discuss their influences, Copenhagen, running a label among other topics.
Hi there, how’s things? Can you introduce yourself briefly to our listeners?
Hey Timo, First many thanks for setting this interview up!
So things are pretty strange due to Corona! Everything is paused and we really miss the social part of life and are tired of being isolated.
Anyway, in short, we are Christian & Alexander who manage Truth Radio on a daily basis from Copenhagen. Truth Radio is a channel for experimental club music and more specifically, we release EPs from artists from around the world as a label and invite DJs, producers, labels, etc. to record mixes for our channel.
We started in 2016, so we have not been running for as long as you and congratulations on your 20th anniversary - well done :)
What’s been keeping you busy of late?
Lately, we have been working on two releases…
First release is by London-based producer Kanyalang!, who hits Truth Radio for the third time with the EP ”Sometimes I Feel Weird” containing four magic breakbeat tracks that will make you feel <3
The EP was written throughout lockdown, with the title reflecting the strange sensations and feelings he experienced trying to make sense of the whole thing. The EP is out now so please check out <3
In late March we will release our third VA named Truth Diamonds 3 containing 10 tracks produced by Boulderhead, Oall Hates, Tom Place, Dylan Forbes, Böhm, Escape Artist, Lootbeg, Point Guard, Sedgwick and Abdul Raeva. All premieres just confirmed so now we are ready to roll!
Beside that we have updated our graphic line and recorded a lot of mixes for other channels :)
What drove you to electronic music in the first place?
We met in the early twenties through university and both liked music and parties. We therefore partied a lot together and quite fast with a focus on exploring new artists, dj’s and genres.
Also we started to travel with the primary focus of experiencing new music and fun parties - it was a great time. So basically a lot of fun times on the dancefloor drove us into electronic music you can say :)
A “Truth” defining moment from a holiday in Berlin hearing Cinthie live for the first time in 2013 at a morning party at Suicide Circus.
Name a few records or songs that had a big impact on you in your early days and why?
If there should be one label that really has made an impact on us, almost an obsession, it needs to be Beste Modus. The Beste Modus releases, and especially Beste Modus 01, 02, 03 and 04 were defining for our love and interest for house music going forward.
In very close connection to these comes the Lazare Hoche, Malin Genie and S.A.M. “I Don’t Sync So” part 1 and part 2 releases. House music in its purest form that will be in our bags forever.
Also we can mention Paul Kalkbrener’s Berlin Calling album (and movie). In our younger days, it’s fair to say that we admired him a lot. We have fun memories from a huge live show at the Velodrome in Berlin, amongst many others. Alexander even once bought a HUGE analog mixer similar to the one Paul is playing at, but that never really became a success haha.
What about DJ’ing, and how did you get started?
I (Alexander) have always been playing instruments. So it was never enough for me to just listen. I wanted to have the music in my hands and therefore it was quite natural to buy a mixer. Quite fast I started playing some clubs in Copenhagen in the early twenties; However, I have not played for many years as I really just enjoy being a nerd at home.
Opposite Alexander, I (Christian) was never used to playing instruments. I have always got a big interest in music and especially a taste for beats and groovy music. From that came a love for electronic music and a desire to explore more around it. Happily I met Alexander and we quickly started collecting records and recording mixes, which turned into some fun gigs together.
Do you have any memorable experiences to share from your early days as a DJ?
We had some really fun nights/mornings at the now closed KB18 in Copenhagen. A nice industrial venue with a special place in our hearts. Often empty until 3am and fully packed at 7am. Yeah!
Also in 2014 we hosted a street party at Distortion Festival and were playing alongside Ordinary Subject and Jesper Ryom. Very skilled artists who inspired us a lot during these days. Playing in front of a fully packed street in the middle of Copenhagen was great fun.
In 2013 we went to Goa, India. We went basically around with a mixer and USB in our hands trying to allocate different jungle parties and venues and asked if we could play. Young and stupid but it was great fun. We met some nice people and got lucky to play some really fun places like Bubble Brunch Club.
Also, one night we played in a toilet (yes a dj booth in the toilet area) at a big private house party on the beach. The big DJ names played at the main stage while we were playing at the toilet - haha super.
One night we played at a private house party in the middle of the jungle and the DJ booth were simply made of a piece of wood placed on top of two oil barrels. In one of the oil barrels there was a python snake that they had just caught in the garden. Not kidding. Fucked up haha.
How has your collection expanded over the years - is your approach systematic or organic?
Hah - let's see if we can answer this…
For us, the best place to discover new music is in the club or at festivals etc. We have e.g. discovered some of our all time favorites and inspirations sources that way such as Cinthie, Marco Resmans, Pachanga Boys, S.A.M. and Thomas Barfod to name a few.
In recent years, and especially now during lockdown, our approach is more systematic in that sense that we find a lot of new music/get inspired via mixes. Of course we also get new music/inspiration from our network; however, the cool thing about hearing mixes is that you are not forced to sit in front of the computer, which means you can do something else.
When, for example, you drive a car or bicycle and your mind drives away with all sorts of things and suddenly there comes a track your brain just has to focus on, then you know you have found something good. Then you just have to figure out who produced the track and then buy the record for your collection - haha pretty basic.
Name three to five secret weapons that you almost every time carry in your bag?
Haha good question - I (Alexander) would go with Visual Imagination by Hyber Nation. It is good trance from the 90s. Also maybe Punky Reggae Party by Superpitcher, which is just good down tempo hippie dance for a rave. Also I am really a big fan of Superpitcher and his spiritual sets :)
Haha - fan picture of Alexander and his idol, Superpitcher at a Distortion Festival afterparty.
Christian: Uff, tough call only to pick a few! I definitely follow Alexander on the Superpitcher and Pachanga Boys fascination. Best parties always with these guys. For me, as a big house-head, I need to pick two of my all time house darlings:
What have been your most memorable record finds? Any good stories?
There are a few; however, In 2015 Alexander drove from Copenhagen til Berlin to buy Early Works EP (Tart028) by VKTR for 80 euros.
At that time I (Alexander) was obsessed with house music and I needed to own the track "Pump it 213" - still seems to move :)
Do you have a comfort record, one you can put on that makes you feel good no matter what?
Sure - it must be Torsten Lindsø Andersen with the track “Glass” released on Hivern discs in 2014. Very nice and melancholy house track.
I just need to ask, how’s your vinyl record collection organised?
My (Alexander) collection is sorted by genre and next labels are grouped together. Last I always put the latest purchases from the left. Having said that, my two kids like to play my vinyls too and they have not fully captured the systematics yet :)
Christian: Like Alexander I aim to sort by genre with the same labels grouped. But after one night’s fun playing, it’s quickly all blended again - and often stays like that haha.
Name five tracks or releases that are currently on heavy rotation?
Reptant – Return To Planet X'trapolis (LKR010)
LIP004 | Spektrum (Various Artists)
EM + STAV - Afterglow EP [INTGRD006]
The Dosadi Experiments - UTE005
Who are the artists and DJ’s you think deserve more attention than they get currently?
One of our all time favorites is Slim Steve and he definitely needs more attention. Over the last many years he has contributed a lot to the community and released so many dope party tracks! Also in near future he releases two fantastic vinyls that you should check out.
Also we need to mention Mikkel Rev from Oslo. His trance tracks are so good and he has opened up a whole new world for us. First track in the mix is BTW produced by him.
Now landing with his third release on our label, we finally want to mention Kanyalang!. His sound always hits us with a great feel of melancholic lofi house. We hope other labels and promoters will get their eyes on him.
Truth is your label - tell us about your vision?
We will continue to explore new music and release whatever we feel is the truth and what keeps us dancing in the dark ;)
Pick one release out of the catalogue and tell us a story behind it, please?
Last year we released TRUTH002 on vinyl-only produced by our friend Florian from Germany. To us it is 4 timeless house tracks and we are very happy with the result. Since we started Truth Radio in 2016 Florian has always been a big inspiration to us and also he has really been supporting our work with the channel. Check it out if you fancy some classy german house.
What has been the most rewarding part of running the label?
Most important is our friendship. It is super cool to share a taste in music with a good friend and also to have a fun project to build on. It is a bit of a mix of having a rock band and building LEGO, which is pretty nice.
Also we really hope that some of the artists, labels, etc. which have been involved with Truth have used it as a step forward in their future music career. We are very aware that we are not one of the big fish compared to other labels, but we would very much like to help people with releases and mixes so they can continue their musical development.
Let’s talk about Denmark and CPH. What’s the scene like there?
Sure - so beyond the corona situation, we believe that the scene in Copenhagen is excellent. There are so many talented artists in many different genres, which make the scene quite broad.
Furthermore, many of the artists are full-time artists even though they work under different aliases. When artists do their thing for many years, the quality of their music also gets better. So in that perspective you can find some really good Danish electronic music.
In addition, there are lots of small labels, which release great music, where we also get a lot of our inspiration from.
Can you name a few local acts, events or locations that should be on people’s radar?
Visit Copenhagens new record shop “Proton Records” on Nørrebro and support the guys running the place. Due to Corona it is a tough time and we really need a good record store with electronic music in Copenhagen.
So the mix, can you tell us a little something about that?
So back in 2020 when we invited you for a label mix with Echocentric Records on Truth Radio you were kind enough to ask if we could return a mix for Deeprhythms. Also you mentioned that the genre was totally free, which to us maybe was a little eye opener as we often use our mixes to promote our own releases, which makes good sense when you have a label.
Over the last years when have been listening to a lot of faster techno and trance and we thought this was a good opportunity to record such a mix. The vibe is therefore quite different from all our previous mixes. Normally we seek to include as much unreleased material as possible, however, this mix just includes our favorites from the last years. In that way this mix is exactly quite special to us :)
Many thanks, anything else?
Again many thanks for having us and thanks for all the work you put into the community!
playlist
01. Mikkel Rev - Amneo
02. Kuf - Trash Edit 1
03. Ferdinger - Vertigo
04. Third wife - Gone
05. Reece Cox - Clang 5
06. Ferdinger - St. Nimmerlein (Trudge Remix)
07 Repulsive Force - Surreal Fantasy
08. Holden Federico - Eight Full Seconds
09. Asquith – Right Out (WY Mix)
10. Third wife - 1989
DJ profile
Truth Radio
Location: Copenhange, Denmark
Bandcamp | Soundcloud
Christian & Alexander manage Truth Radio on a daily basis from Copenhagen. Truth Radio is a channel for experimental club music and more specifically, we release EPs from artists from around the world as a label and invite DJs, producers, labels, etc. to record mixes for our channel.
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