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"The view into technology and the view into the future where it is going is incredibly inspiring and it fills me with happiness and joy and i am thankful to be a part of it"
Pic: Liv Toerkell
Kernel Existence creates music that works in all settings and transcends genres. His openness to a wide range of sound is what has both made him a widely loved favourite, but also someone who operates in his own parallel musical world. We had a chance to talk to him, so enjoy your reading and check out his latest releases.
Hey Kernel, thanks for taking out time to answer these questions! So just to start seeing as this is your first time on the site, I thought we could talk about your first foray into dance music? What kicked things off for you?
I got my first push at the beginning of the nineties at a techno party where I ended up by chance. I had no idea that something like this existed.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background? Where are you from / how did you get into music?
I grew up in Berlin (east side) and live there until today. I was a competitive athlete and even as a child I had a full schedule consisting of daily training and weekly competitions. Eventually I got into skating and broke almost every bone in my body. At some point it was enough. That's when I discovered DJing. And I realized that the risk of injury with music is not that big and so I started with music. (haha) Fun on the side. I just knew it was the right thing to do. I think I didn't choose to make music, the music chose me.
With new release about to drop on the label. Give us a little background on the album and what’s the story behind that title?
Every day I make music. I get up at 5.30 and go to the studio until 10.30. That way I create a lot of tracks. One day Alex (Alexander Kowalski) asked me if I would like to do an EP at Konsequent. When dreams become true. So I just sent him a bunch of tracks and so an EP became an album. The title is a word invented by me and has actually no meaning. I just thought that this stringing together of letters had a nice sound and somehow sounded like the future.
What can you tell us about your album? What did you want to transmit? What inspired you?
Basically I want to transmit my idea of futuristic Since Fiction - Techno dance sound. Techno was and is for me a very progressive sound. Carried by the development of the musical instruments. Since Fiction in its purest form of sound. With a piano or a flute you can't create such an atmosphere. You need synths and effects. You can create sounds that have never been there before. Of course I know that I am not reinventing the wheel here. But I try with all the possibilities I have, to bend and break the sound until it sounds interesting to me. Unfortunately I am very critical and therefore it can always take a while until I like the sound. ( hihihi )
What has led you to emphasize this album in multiple genres? What draws you to these genres?
Although I am always looking for that one sound for the dance floor, from time to time I end up somewhere else. Surely everyone who makes music knows this. And they are simply the perfect building blocks to make an album round. And even if they are different in the genre, the athmosphere and the direction is the same.
What does your studio look like right now? What type of hardware / software do you like to work with?
My studio looks very nice. Comfortable and heated. ( haha ) I only use hardware to produce. I use a modular system with analog and digital VCOs with analog filters and multiple effects and everything else you need to bend the sound. Sequencing I do with analog sequencers and with my MPC. The tonal heart of my modular system is the ACL Sinfonion. I also have analog synths like the Prophet 6, my beloved Kawai 100F, the Circuit Monostation and a few more. Often I also use my old Nord Micromodular. Since years it accompanies me. A fantastic synth! For the drums I use the Tempest and the MPC together. The dynamic duo. Recording I do with my Metric Halo through a tube summing mixer on my 13 years old computer. I can record 16 tracks simultaneously. My computer is too old for Plug ins. So I use only the Metric Halo DSP Plug ins.
Who have been your main inspirations (Both musical and in ‘life’)? And how have they affected your sound?
My main inspiration musically is certainly the feeling I had when I was dancing in the past (in the nineties). Also Jeff Mills and Alexander Kowalski and many others I listen to. And of course the millions of Since Fiction books I have read. In life I can say that it is definitely my wife and my friends that inspire me. But also my work at a great company for modular systems. Every track that is finished has to go through my wife's trained ear until it is really finished. She tells me immediately and very precisely if something is wrong or she doesn't like something. This is damn hard but also very helpful. (hihihi) In my work I constantly see the developments where the Modular world can go. The view into technology and the view into the future where it is going is incredibly inspiring and it fills me with happiness and joy and i am thankful to be a part of it.
How would you describe your own sound in 2020, and how do you see it developing in the future?
As I said before I would call it Since Fiction Techno. Where my sound will go in the future I can't say. My goal is simply to make sound that I always like. Because that is what it is all about. To do what you enjoy and what you like. And if it is piano or flute music in 20 years it should be so. ( hahaha )
Can you clue us up on any acts you are loving right now, especially any that other people might not know?
I think "Zvukoprocessor" aka Konstantin Gervis is totally great. He has been touring for years as a modular act and his music is out of this world. Technique and feeling combined in ultra danceable grooves. Simply great!
And I find Simon Littauer superhuman. Unbelievably great sounds and incredibly good beats make him one of the acts 2020 for me.
What makes you happy?
It makes me happy to spend time with my wife and to do what we love. And of course making music.
What projects are you working on at the moment?
Right now I'm not working on anything in particular except refining my sound even more. New modules have come and they want to be used. And I'm working on becoming even more satisfied and relaxed.
Do you have any final words of wisdom?
Do not stand still.
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