LAMP MIX #329 Feat. Tim Engelhardt
Hey there LAMP Fam. We are extremely excited today to share with you new music and a guest mix from an artist we are very fond of here at LAMP, Tim Engelhardt. Over the years he has put together an absolutely incredible portfolio of music and established himself as one of the top producers of Melodic House/ Techno/ Progressive/ whatever you want to call it, dance music. As part of a new collective and label called Scenarios, Tim has a new EP that was released last Friday called ‘Here To Stay’. It is the first instalment of the series and is a collaboration from three of the five members of the collective, Engelhardt, Sean Doron and Maga. The Scenarios project is made up of five artists and the label will be releasing music and putting together events almost exclusively within this group which includes the aforementioned artists. Scenarios is rounded out with two more outstanding producers, Yulia Niko and Emanuel Satie. The first EP consists of two exceptional tracks ‘Here To Stay’ along with ‘You & I, Paradise’ feat DUDDHA. You can hear both of them in the exclusive guest mix provided by Engelhardt down below and you can pick them up from Beatport or add them to your Spotify lists by hitting the links a little further down. Additionally we had the opportunity to ask Tim a few questions regarding the project and his career which is standard here and we highly recommend you scroll down and check that out. Make sure to follow Tim on all his social platforms for more from Scenarios. Track list for the mix and socials at the bottom of the page. Cheers!!
Josh Brooks: Hi Tim and welcome to the series. I have been following your career for quite some time and very excited for this opportunity. Thank you so much for taking the time to put together a mix for us and answer a few questions.
Let’s get to the main topic before we dive into other things. Your release with Maga and Sean Doron will be the first for the new collective/ label Scenarios which also includes Emanuel Satie and Yulia Niko. What was the genesis of this project and what is the vision for Scenarios in the short term and long term?
Tim Engelhardt: In the beginning, it was Maga & Sean who approached me for this project and pitched me their vision of a new artist collective. We then started thinking together about how we can make it unique to the scene and how it can serve as a beneficial creative outlet for all of us.
The short term vision for Scenarios is establishing a sound signature, a signature in aesthetics and events, finding a common language between all of the artists. Long term, we are focused on intensifying that signature, collaborating with other artists as part of the Scenarios events & releases. There are many more surprises we have in store but we are not quite ready to reveal just yet.
JB: There is quite an international scenario (pardon my pun) going on in general in the collective and on this first release with Maga coming from France, Sean Doran - Israel, DUDDHA - Brazil and yourself - Germany. What is it like collaborating with artists from all of the world and what are the challenges and advantages?
TE: It’s been a very rewarding process so far, everyone of us has a different background, different strengths and taste, in music and aesthetics. So the challenge was really to find something that sticks with all of us and we all feel comfortable presenting.
As you can imagine, working in the studio has been a road of compromises and a lot of collective decisions, which for me is unusual, as I’m used to doing music all on my own. It’s been really fun so far though and it’s been rewarding having many different opinions right on the spot, then finding a solution that works for all.
The Scenarios Collective Sean Doron, Yulia Niko, Maga, Emanuel Satie, Tim Engelhardt. Photo Credit - Aurelien Caoudal
JB: You obviously have a pretty extensive catalog of music and are constantly putting out music. Is Scenarios something that you will be working exclusively on or do you have other projects you will be working on concurrently? IS there anything you can tease or tell us about?
TE: Scenarios is definitely going to be a focus of my musical work in the next time, but I will also pick up the pace on my solo project, plus establishing a new project that is yet to be released. More news on that soon.
As Tim Engelhardt, I have a few EPs coming up on Stil Vor Talent, Poker Flat and others coming in the very near future. I’ve also collaborated on a new EP with Kolsch.
JB: Excited to hear more from Scenarios and the new music projects especially excited to hear what you have cooking up with Kolsch. Can you tell us more about when you started writing/producing music - and what or who were your early passions and influences? What is about music and/or sound that drew you to it?
TE: I started to produce music around 10 years ago, but it was really more of a quest of finding out how to produce certain kinds of music. I took it seriously only a good while of time later. What drew me to eventually choosing music as a career was the liberating production process, that I thoroughly enjoy. It’s like having a blank canvas every time you start something. You then fill it, start to make sense of the components and it sort of becomes a puzzle, which naturally motivates you to finish it :)
JB: As an artist it is important to surround yourself with other like minded individuals. Who are a couple of your mentors and what is the best piece of advice you have been given by another artist?
TE: The best piece of advice is learn to trust your intuition (that is after you trained it) and going with it. Don’t look too much left and right, figure out what is important to you, then go after it.
JB: How is playing live and writing music in the studio connected? What do you achieve and draw from each experience personally? How do you see the relationship between improvisation and composition in this regard?
TE: It’s always been a very seamless transition between the two. My production process usually starts with jamming and finding melodies, grooves and so forth - which is also an essential part of playing live - in the past, I have been playing my recorded jam ideas in my live set, adding ideas to that on stage, eventually finding things that make it feel “complete“, that led me to release the songs afterwards.
So you could very well say it’s a constant feedback loop if you’re playing the two in this way.
JB: When you sit down to make a track, what are some initial things you always do before getting started? Do you usually have something already in mind before you set out to start crafting the song?
TE: I used to work like this, trying to recreate an idea that I had in my head. It never turned out the same way - I always get sidetracked :)
Once I ditched that approach, I feel like my musical brain has been more open to various forms of expression in music and I’m much more ready to act on spontaneous things that might come up during the production process. I can’t count how many times I’ve been working for a few hours on a track, played a new melody over it, deleted everything I had before and went with the new idea, only for the music to turn out MUCH better than before.
JB: You have travelled extensively throughout your career. What are a few places that you have performed that are particularly special to you. Any places you haven’t been you are looking forward to getting to at some point?
TE: Every place is special for me. If I had to name highlights, it would probably be playing in the US a lot, Australia, India, Turkey and Lebanon. I’d love to explore the music scene in Japan - I actually had a trip booked for March 2020 - so that is definitely on my list plus many other places.
JB: When you are looking out at your audience during a set, what are some things you’re looking for that will help you navigate your track selection and overall vibe?
TE: That has always been a difficult exercise and a very complex one. In my opinion, it is important to pay attention to as many people as you can, but I specifically have an eye for the front row, but also people who prefer to be in the back, closing their eyes while dancing, maybe just standing there enjoying it. If I get those characters happy, I like to think I did a good job. Not to mention the overall idea / theme of an event, the vibe and acoustics of the venue, lights. It’s an interplay between all these things. I like to arrive early at the venue to get a sense of it all before I even make a plan on what to play.
JB: Outside of music what other passions and creative outputs do you have? What are some that you’d love to add to your mental vocabulary?
TE: I like to do things full force, so music is my main thing. I do like coding though, for some reason. Been learning Python for a while now and it’s fascinating - I’m very much a tech guy, so looking forward to expanding my knowledge in that field :)
I’ve also been following the digital and traditional art world a lot more over the past 2 years and started doing experimental art on the side. Who knows if that will ever see the light of the day.
JB: Lastly what is your favorite thing to do when you have free time and you are on the road in-between gigs?
TE: Reading, listening to podcasts probably. While sitting in planes and trains for so many hours I think it’s vital to keep your mind stimulated.
JB: Thank you again so much for taking time out of your day to let us learn a bit more about you and the incredible mix you put together. Please keep us posted on future releases and when you head back to Los Angeles, myself and the LAMP audience would love to see you the next time you play here. Cheers
Tracklist:
1. Moullinex & GPU Panic - See Me Burn
2. Maga, Sean Doron, Tim Engelhardt - Here To Stay
3. Nolan - Hang Back (Santiago Garcia Remix)
4. Tim Engelhardt - Follow
5. Maga, Sean Doron, Tim Engelhardt, Duddha - You And I, Paradise
6. Swimrabbit - Shy Creatures (Jeremy Olander Remix)
7. Tim Engelhardt - Burning
8. Tim Engelhardt - Firestorm feat. Haptic
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