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to dance music, to make it acceptable for
the masses and by the masses equivalent
to white kids.
Bobby Starrr: It is quite funny with the hip
hop scene in Berlin to see especially in
Neukölln and Kreuzberg you have got this
under current quite aggressive scene and
on the other side there is also a lot of international
people here who got more a
love for the jazz side of hip hop, it is a quite
funny mix you see on the street.
KALTBLUT: Regarding the great return of
the 90’s, what is hip and what is deep?
Bobby Starrr: It is funny how people keeps
going about the 90’s into a certain period
of house music, I guess it is good and bad
I suppose.
Tyree Cooper: Eight years ago it was all
about Chicago, again it is the 20 years
cycle. Some of these kids are just finding
out about what this music is. This music
has been going on for so long and some
of them are between 20 and 32 years old
and have never been exposed to any of this
music. So the 80’s return was a few year
ago, now they are going to the 90’s and I
guess they will catch up with themselves
and go to the 2000. And by the time they go
to the 2000’s, I would imagine we will catch
up with each other, but until then, the corporations
are still going to dictate what is
cool and what is not.
KALTBLUT: The techno scene in Detroit
came out as a result of an economical
change. You live in Berlin, the city is known
for its economical and social issues regarding
the rest of Germany. Do you get some inspiration
from that context?
Tyree Cooper: Hell yeah! Just like you said,
generally good music comes out of an oppressed
time. In the 80’s we had hip hop,
house and techno from the urban area.
Bobby Starrr: What about heavy metal?
Tyree Cooper: No, I never put heavy metal
in the mix, because these white guys they
have a chance; these black kids, they had
no chance. That is why you get this music,
it came out of an oppression of the people.
Here in Berlin, it was like that for a while.
Therefore, electro and minimal music was
created because Berlin didn’t have any
money during the early part of the millennium.
They were the ambassadors of something
that already existed but still, they
were able to created out of oppression.
Bobby Starrr: When I came to Berlin the
first time, I felt the whole city was swamped
by a certain sound and I was looking
forward to seeing some love. But there
was not that much love in what was being
played. It was quite intriguing and two or
three years later I have moved in and saw
Daniel Wang play disco. Then I knew there
would be some chance that the scene
would change at some point.
KALTBLUT: House music has never been so
popular and the way of broadcasting have never
been so multiple, you have quite of a record
of longevity in the music scene, though
it is still hard to release a good record?
Tyree Cooper: Hell yeah! Let’s say you release
a record digitally, in the week of your
release there will be probably 70, 000 to 100,
000 of records released that day. Then you
have to compete with the 60, 000 from the
week before etc. So yeah, it is super difficult
nowadays to release a record specifically
digitally. Vinyl has become another
new source but again, when they saturate
that market, it is going to be equally as
hard. So until they come out with another
format, music is going to be rough unless
you have the right tools and place to get
your music exposed.
Bobby Starrr: With digital you are in the instant,
the music is out, people buy it and
after two weeks, it is gone. At least with
vinyl, it is still present in shop for at least
six weeks.
Tyree Cooper: You can also have thousands
of records on a shelf and it is not selling
though you have visibility. The only thing
the digital game did, is to make it easier
for the consumer to get their music, thank
you Napster.
KALTBLUT: What is your vision of the music
Industry in the future?
Tyree Cooper: A flapping bass and a smiling
face (laughs)
Bobby Starrr: The most important thing is
to keep carrying on; you will never know
what is going to happened in the market
space. It is always going to change and
it has been proven. I mean you build something
out of it which is not only making
money by just selling records. Every single
avenue you have to click, from doing your
own party, t-shirt….
Tyree Cooper: Socks, shoes, bra, eyeliner,
ice cream… (laughs)
KALTBLUT: So is art total?
Bobby Starrr: It is getting more in that direction.
Tyree Cooper: It is no longer music, it is the
whole marketing branding, it is a lifestyle.
KALTBLUT: Are we living a fluxus life style
finally?
Tyree Cooper: Well, there is individualism
still. There is not a city unified so capitalism
still plays a big part in this individualism,
so what can you do?
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