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Catching up with...Ame (Innervisions)

ame Âme aka Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedermann of Berlin’s Innervisions label have been exciting deep house palettes since 2005. Delivering a rich vein of worldly soundscapes and deep elegance, from early releases ‘Rej’ and 'Where We At’ to their excellent ‘fabric42’ mix CD and this summer’s remix of Osunlade 'Envision', all of these and more represent the peerless Innervisions sound, filled with soul and good feeling. Âme share their Berlin studio space together with close friends and megastars, Dixon and Henrik Schwarz and if you've been lucky enough, you'll have witnessed all four pulling out the stops on any one of their unforgettable heady Innervisions showcases. Ahead of Âmes Room One return next Saturday, for Craig Richards & Lee Burridge incomparable TYRANT night, we caught up with Kristian to talk first vinyl experiences, fatherhood, movie soundtracks and the new Âme live album. Hi Kristian, we’re looking forward to having you back in the main room next weekend. If you had to pick one, what has been your most memorable night playing at fabric? Actually the first time I played at Room One was a four hour opening set. I still have nice memories from that night! Where else are some of your most special places to play and why? Of course Panoramabar which for me is the same as playing on centre court in Wimbledon for Boris Becker back in the day. I really enjoy playing at Air in Tokyo, Robert Johnson in Frankfurt and Trouw club in Amsterdam too. We became friends with everyone there over the years and it’s always a pleasure to go back. Tell us about your remix for Osunlade "Envision" on Innervision. How did the timing of it come about, after Dixon heard Osunlade play it back in 2009 at DEMF? The funny thing is we all played live together at DEMF and we all had been on the stage behind Osunlade. Dixon and myself asked ourselves what this tune was he had played at the end and Steffen went straight to him and asked him. We kept hunting him down over the next months till he gave out the tune and we licensed it straight away. With a great song like that it’s much easier for remixing and like you said the result is quite successful. What was your first ever experience of buying vinyl? My first record was an old Anne Clark 12inch from the 80’s and from that point on I kept buying tons of records at my local dealer in Mannheim where I grew up. Could you describe your current studio set up? How often does it change? Since Frank and myself moved to Berlin we've a very limited studio set up at Frank's place. The main equipment is in storage until we find the right place for our studio together with Dixon and Henrik. Nevertheless Frank is buying tons of vintage analog gear. Are there any new audio or music production technologies out there that excite you? I am quite excited about the soundsystem we bought for the future studio from this small audiophile company in Germany. Can you explain to those that don’t know how Frank and yourself work on the day to day running of Innervisions? There is no strict order but Dixon, Frank and myself try to meet up once a week in the office together to discuss everything and from there we all get our tasks. Plus we all work in the studio too so there is not that much time left. What did you first learn from Frank that you have kept with you today both as an artist and close friend? I learnt to be patient while waiting hours for Frank. He is a bit better nowadays and I became worse since I am a young father now! Last time you were in London it was with Innervisions friends Dixon, and Henrik Schwarz, and together you performed the soundtrack to The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, a classic 1920s silent horror. Can you describe the whole experience and how the performance was different to that when you play in the clubs? We also have a life away from the club scene and that’s why we liked the project so much when the Timewarp guys came up with this idea. People should sit and listen to the music while watching a movie, this is not different to a moving dancefloor. I am so happy with the music we did for the score as it really reflects another side of us. What in your opinion are the best movie soundtracks? The best soundtrack I've heard in years was the one for 'there will be blood' by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. It totally blew me away when I saw it at the cinema. Describe the musical openness and eclecticism you share with Dixon, Frank (Ame) and Henrik Shwarz - what makes the dynamic of your relationship special ? In so many things we all the make the same decisions independently. Sometimes this fact scares me a bit but it is a good base for a great friendship and hopefully we all will have enough time to continue this relationship as we are all fast becoming family men! Where do you see Berlin's electronic music climate in ten years time, and with that where do you see Innervisions and its evolution? In recent years, time has been passing so fast and the big changes happened so quickly that I could never predict anything for the future. I only can say that we try to keep up with the tempo. Finally, what new projects do you have in the pipeline for 2011 and beyond? The Ame live album is nearly finished plus the soundtrack for the Caligari project are the main things for the next few months.
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