BARNT
Barnt is a German producer climbing his way up the ranks of reputability in one of the most competitive musical fields in the world – techno in its homeland.
Having released on the seminal Kompakt label and now firmly establishing his own Magazine imprint with a distinct ethos and attitude, Crack’s time with Barnt displays a man in firm knowledge of the direction he wants his label and music to be headed.
His latest release on Cómeme, Matias Aguayo’s experimental and at times avant-garde label is called Tunsten and is one of the most weird and wonderful slices of wonky and wired electronic gibberish we’ve heard this side of Mr Aguayo himself’s record collection. The reaction to Optimo dropping it the Boiler Room was huge, causing an immediate scrabble for an ident. But it’s something Barnt is keen to play down.
“There is this wise little sentence by Elvis Costello”, Barnt divulges: “Talking about music is like dancing to architecture. If I could explain what I did there I would be writing books rather than tracks, but I can assure you the track was meant for a special moment in a club. I sometimes try to imagine what has never happened on a dancefloor and try to start from there. I did this with Tunsten… and Geffen (previous release on Cómeme’s four-track sampler The Power Of Now). I am a fan of Keith and Jonnie (Optimo). I feel honoured that they played the track.
Away from his own productions, much of Barnt’s reputation is entwined with that of his label, Magazine. Having released a handful of records with close friends, Jens-Uwe Beyer and Cologne Tape, as well as a release from German electronic legend Wolfgang Voight, Barnt has a very firm direction where he’d like to see the label progress.
“It is hard to put this in words”, he says. “We live in a harbour in the middle of Cologne and a lot of things happen here by chance, there are always a lot of different people that end up in our studios. We are always in search of interesting music, but in the end it seems like we have to know people personally and vice-versa in order to get a record that makes sense for Magazine. We only put out what we really love, of course, and often that’s a result of coming to our harbour to visit us if you really want to convince us your track should be released by Magazine. This is not meant to be arrogant; it is just our way of maintaining quality control.” This careful selection policy process stretches as far as personal, or political factors. “For example, it would be sad if we would ever put out a track by somebody who votes for right-wing parties” he says.
Reviews for Barnt’s music have seen him earn plaudits from the likes of Resident Advisor and receive support from some of Germany’s top techno talent including Kompakt head-honcho Michael Mayer, while a description frequently directed at his sound is ‘kosmische’. He’s happy to embrace that aspect of his home nation’s musical heritage. “We think it is an appropriate term as long as it isn’t meant just as a substitute for retro” is his response. “It is just a starting point, or a natural state of mind. We want to add another little sentence to the book of German electronic music. We live in 2013 and have grown up with house, techno, trance, etc. We just think that too few people in Germany are aware what paths and traces have never been wandered. We always look for a space in the void instead of trying to ride the latest anglo-American deep-house waves, as some of our German colleagues seem to prefer.”
With the right attitude and a series of releases planned for the year, expect more from one of German music’s freshest innovators.
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Words: Thomas Frost
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