Who are you? (Tell us more about what you do in life, where you live, your age, your real name, what elements could define you, …)

My name is Fabian aka Der Alinea from Hamburg, Germany. I am part and operator of Nervoes Booking – here I work with artists like David Keno, Gunnar Stiller, David Temessi, and Khainz. Besides that, I am a resident DJ and booker at Frau Holle – a wonderful house and techno club in Hamburg St. Pauli. Then I produce music – currently, I have two releases coming up in the next few weeks, but this year there will be – due to the actual corona situation –  much more coming, also in collaboration with other artists such as Ben Champell.

What’s the meaning behind your artistic name?

A little over three years ago I was looking for a new musical identity and a new alter ego when I read the story of Grant Achatz and the Alinea – Alinea in typology stands for the paragraph sign, in Latin “a linea” → la “from the line” – it means a new paragraph, but also from the line something like a new beginning.

When did you start producing music?

Whew, that was back then with Cubase on the Atari ST in the beginning of the 1990s. Later with Logic, today with Ableton.

How did it all start for you?

My development is like the story of House Music: from Disco to R’n’B to Kraftwerk.

I started actively buying vinyl at the age of 14 – initially disco (e.g. Gloria Gaynor), soul and funk (like Earth, Wind & Fire), with DJing from 16 onwards, but really got into it in clubs like Front and Unit, influenced by Boris Dlugosch and later by Martin Landsky’s Club Night.

If there was a special moment that brought me to electronic music – at that time techno – it was the Loveparade 1991 “My House Is Your House And Your House Is Mine”, the Mayday 1993, especially Jeff Mills, Frankie Bones, Moby, and The Prodigy, as well as my first time in the Bunker in Berlin at the beginning of the 90s. What fascinated me most was the range between Detroit, Chicago House, and Techno.

Which style(s) of music are you currently producing? 

I’m currently working with Cosmokat on a very disco-heavy two-track EP, with Ben Champell I’m producing techno at a distance, with Vale it’s also getting very technoid and as Alinea, I’m just finishing a nice house album.

Why are you producing music? 

Because I love music. 

Where do you get your inspiration?

I’m still inspired by Chicago House, especially Frankie Knuckles, the innovative production techniques of Alan Wilder, the unorthodox of Ricardo Villalobos – sometimes it’s a longer idea, sometimes a spontaneous inspiration during production.

What is one track that never gets old for you no matter how many times you hear it?

Move Your Body – Frankie Knuckles presents Marshall Jefferson.

According to you, what is the best way to develop a business in the music industry?

Life is too short to do something without passion. 

What has been your favorite gig (show) so far?

A year ago I would have given a different answer – but due to Corona I would now answer that it was directly after the first lockdown: small club, all the people totally starved after months without raves, I spontaneously DJed for 6.5 hours and could have continued for another 6.5 hours. It was pure ecstasy. I’m curious to see how I’ll answer this question in two or three years.

Do you live from your musical activities? If not, do you plan to make a living from music in the future?

Actually, yes, but due to the pandemic, all the income from our agency, as well as my fees as a DJ, will of course be lost. But I hope that after the end of the pandemic it will be possible again.

Do you have stuff in preparation, future collaborations, or personal projects?

I do have, a lot 😉

And for the producers out there:

In what Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) are you currently working? And why that one?

As I said before, I work with Ableton Live – there are also some very good alternatives on the market: at some point after the update from 9 to 10, I felt like trying something more reduced and ended up with Reaper: a DAW that is more of a recording device, completely reduced, OB-Xd as the only plug-in, plus TB 03 and TR 8 as a synthesizer – that was already coherent, but I still ended up with Ableton again, for whatever reason.

On average, how much time do you spend in the studio on a typical day or week?

It always depends – at the moment I have a lot of time because of the lockdown, I think that makes it an average of maybe four hours a day.

Do you have any technical tips to share with us (composition, sound design, mixing, mastering, or anything else…)?

I think that would go beyond the scope here – maybe this: try to reduce yourself, there are actually always just too many plug-ins, understand your technique, and first sweat it out, only when you have arrived at the technical possibilities of a plug-in or synth can you develop your own things.

Finally:

Thank you very much for your time!

Thanks for having me – hope you enjoy the set! 

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