Interview: Jonas Saalbach
Today we want to talk with you about your top 5 favorite albums, with text and videos on each. If they inspired your latest work, then all the better. Please provide 100-150 words on each but feel free to go as in-depth as you like.
- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
My influences don’t just come from other techno and house music, of course, so I’d like to mention a few albums from other genres that inspire me. ‘Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away’ is a fantastic album. The melodies and melancholic atmosphere are incredible. I would really like to remix some of those synth and instrument lines, as so many ideas came to me while listening to it. Amazing arrangements, the combination of instruments and synthesis and an edgy vocal style make this album very special for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzTCbaZj5HA
- The Cinematic Orchestra – Motion
I saw Cinematic Orchestra at a concert in Berlin and it blew me away. They managed to bring the already perfectly produced music into a live concept that got me from the first to the last moment. They combine samples, vocals, instruments and synthesizers to create a very deep but beautiful atmosphere. If I’m able to transport such emotions in my own music as Cinematic Orchestra does – then I’m happy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLSSB9uqZpI
- Deru – 1979. One of the albums I have listened to the most. An ambient LP with amazing soundscapes and sound design. Somewhere I read that Deru played the whole album through a cheap cassette deck and re-recorded it. I think it’s absolutely crazy to do that, because you have a significant loss of sound. But it also has its charm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyIXFKSWqFM
- Pink Floyd – Pulse (Live)
I don’t think I really need to explain why I’m so in love with this band. Not only the famous albums like “The Wall” or “Dark Side Of The Moon” are important for me. I also really like the super crazy and psychedelic beginnings of Pink Floyd like “Ummagumma”. They always experimented with effects or synthesizers and they are a big inspiration for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNPDAfJTN10
- Haelos – Full Circle
I found the band Haelos through the mystery series “The OA”. One of their songs was used and I immediately had to press pause to find and listen to the song. The melody structure is so catchy. Especially how they use vocals as a melodic element and the synergy with the analog synthesizer sound design is great. The album “Full Circle” is spacey and dreamy electronica music with just the right amount of pop elements and harmonies.