Studio Rat: Danny Wolfers bares Crystal Cult 2080

Crystal Cult 2080 is the latest offering from visceral producer and possible trans-dimensional being Danny Wolfers, known to most as Legowelt. The ten-tracker is due on Crème at the end of March, and comes off the back of a couple of decent 12"s for L.I.E.S. and fledgling Spanish imprint Riverette. It was recorded in bits and pieces at a number of locations across the globe, including Detroit, Gran Canaria and Shibuya. Somebody's been clocking up those air miles.

Speaking from his hometown flat in Den Haag, Wolfers reveals how he stepped his DIY production method up a gear for this release, and precisely why he finds Italo to be a distinct turn-off these days.

The Skinny: Hi Danny, can you tell us a little bit about the approach you took to the new LP?

Danny Wolfers: "The sound I wanted to achieve was a sonically colourful palette with lots of saturated warm sounds, to cultivate the listener's inner harmony and fantasy. A compact selection of songs, no fillers, packed with heat. You get everything from energetic kung fu techno, to sensual fairytale flute trips, to the ancient magick scales of notorious alchemists.

"As for the title: 2080 comes from a synthesiser I used a lot on this album, the Roland JV-2080 from 1997. The crystal cult applies to my home-built germanium crystal compressor that I recorded all the tracks with. If you listen carefully on headphones you can hear the crystals glow in the higher frequencies."

Why did you decide to return to Crème Organization as the platform?

"I have been with Crème since the day it started in 2000; it's one of my 'home' labels. I've released more than 20 records on there now. A lot of big(ger) labels wanted to release this, but I didn't feel like working with any corporate bullshit of fermented worn-out dance industry corpses, so I just send it to TLR and he was like, 'Okay, cool, let's do this.'"

The album draws from a wide variety of influences; how did your eclectic musical taste progress to what is today?

"Like any sane mentally healthy being, my taste is constantly evolving. You discover new music, new styles, you learn new techniques and get influenced by them, going into different directions all the time all over the place. From afro-funk to 70s deep soul, to Memphis rap, to hardcore 70s new age music, you should listen to all kinds of styles. It's good for the development of your brain!

"My passion for some styles has decreased over time, like 99% of Italo disco. It is the most boring shit to produce, always the same cliché basslines and those hollow empty vibes of cheap commercial pop music. I never quite understood why Italo became hip again like 10 years ago with this 'alternative' crowd; I wonder if they understood that the music they listened to was the jock-trance music of its time. Of course, you had the real obscure stuff like Man From Colours that's so off the map, but then people started playing Sabrina Boys or Baltimora and couldn't see the difference. It just became a giant inbred scene of nostalgia that wasn't open to any new kinds of music.

"Now, I like it when the music sounds futuristic and different, like it comes from another planet. I'm into the unique personal touches of cats like Rasox, Actress, Terrence Dixon, Huerco S, Terekke, etc."

You're notorious for the number of aliases that you've used over the years. How does each name indicate a different aspect of your production?

"In the 80s and well into the 90s, it was really normal for a producer to release records under a lot of aliases. They were way more faceless, just studio rats churning out track after track, a new alias for each new release. They would even make up new labels for each new release. I release a lot of records in different styles, so it would be weird to release them under one name. I am not some boring minimal techno producer that works weeks on a mediocre arty-farty track and releases that as my magnum opus with lots of media hype. Nowadays, some people get dismayed because I release three records a month, like how some wankers hate on L.I.E.S. records because they think they release too many. Why the hell would you get upset because a label releases a lot of records? You gotta be some frustrated asshole if you got problems with that. Isn't it the job of a label to release records?

"Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. My aliases can indeed indicate different styles, like Nacho Patrol is mostly African-influenced stuff, Trackman Lafonte & Bonquiqui is Surfer House. I invented the name Legowelt at some point in the mid 90s; it literally means World of Lego in German. I just chose that name for no particular reason... maybe because it sounded 'techno', like Computerwelt by Kraftwerk."

You are also a kind benefactor for budding producers, offering up sample ZIPs from some classic synths on your website. What made you want to give back in this way?

"I don't really think about it, I just like to make these sample packs. Programming sounds on a synthesiser and making these packs is a refreshing change from making tracks I guess. It's fun! Originally, I made these packs for myself to use in my samplers, but I only used a few myself and so it was kind of a waste to have 300 samples sitting on my HD, gathering dust. Why not let other people use them? Another thing is that it is like having some kind of sonic progeny. It's nice to hear a sample you provided in another production."

Any chance of a return for the Astro Unicorn Radio show on Intergalactic FM?

"I stopped doing the show a few years ago because it took so much time to make a show each week, selecting music, doing interviews, thinking up subjects, then mixing it all down! That said, I'm happy to announce that there is going to be a new show called Xenology 101. The first episode should be very soon, but it's going to be a bi-monthly affair, or whenever I feel like it."