Gabriel Damen’s debut EP Bear was recently released on Permanent Damage Records. Walking the line between minimal techno and deep tech-house, the tunes have received radioplay and support from DJs across Europe and North America.

Our own Andy Smith met with a sweaty and excited Gabriel after his DJ set at the Bear release party, held at Stuttgart’s Waggons venue to talk about music, life, and more.

Andy Smith (AS): You have been DJing for a while.  How did you get your start, and
how has your style developed over the years?
Gabriel Damen (GD): My first moment DJ’ing was in 1998 at the radio show my brother hosted. He played drum’n’bass and I was excited about his sound.  One night he asked me to play a few records for him while he stepped out for what was supposed to be a few minutes.
Three hours later he returned, and I was totally hooked. I started DJ’ing with his records, which were all drum’n’bass, but then I started to realize that techno was more my sound, so I began buying my own records.

AS: So if your brother had never stepped out that night you may never have began your career in music!
GD: Who knows, but I am glad it worked out the way it did! At first I was playing hard techno, which is what we all loved and played back then. But as time progressed I became more interested in deeper and more complex sounds, trying to find the infinitely deepest forms of electronic music. I took a short break after the birth of my daughter, and now I am more passionate about music than ever. Around 2005 I began writing music as well as DJ’ing.

AS: So during that layoff from making music, you must have missed it a lot.
GD: I did. The thing that catches me every single time I hear electronic music is that it goes straight through my heart, into my feet and I never wanna stop dancin’ and playin’…

AS: So what kind of equipment are you making your music with? You have such a distinct sound.
GD: Well…that’s my little secret, watch my show and try to get it!

AS: Ok, a closely guarded secret, I see. Well at least you can tell us what your influences are?
GD: For DJ’ing my musical influences come from the Stuttgart after hours scene. Going all the way back to Commander Tom, and today we have Harry Nash even still. He’s the DJ I grew up listening to and spent Sundays dancing to, I can’t tell you how many times for the last ten years!

For producing tunes, I can’t say there’s one specific influence. So many people make great music, but it’s the sound of Detroit in the nineties, it’s the sound of Sunday afterhours, it’s the sound you hear at outdoor parties at 6am when the sun comes up. Mostly it’s the sound of my heart that I try to get onto the record.

AS: So we always hear about the scene in Berlin, what is it like in Stuttgart?
GD:  Hmmmm, you can’t compare Stuttgart and Berlin, the cities are so different. Berlin has a big counter-culture scene, in Stuttgart there’s less
of that, it’s more a club-scene. But here are a few groups like Frequenz23 and Tronteiber that I really love, that make some parties in interesting venues, away from the boring clubs, the kind of “guerilla-parties” that are about having fun, and not taking everything so seriously. These parties follow the old adage, “stay true to your soul.” It’s not about the money; it’s about the music and the people.

AS:  The party tonight was crazy. What is your most memorable moment DJ’ing?
GD: Well in 2002 I had to play the last set at 6am for a little party. It was meant to be a two-hour show, and the next thing it was 4pm! They were cleaning up and I was still playing, people were dancing, it was great! I had brought about 80 records and ended up playing every track on every record.  After twelve hours, I was exhausted and that was that – it was exhausting but amazing. I’m very grateful for that memory.

AS: So what’s next for you?
GD: I don’t have certain plans, I just want to play gigs, create some music, maybe release a few more records, who knows? Most of all I’d like to travel and play some gigs in nice places all around the world. Right now I want to visit Tel Aviv for holidays in august and I’m searching for a gig there. And some day I want to play in Bermuda, so that we can do another Permanent Damage record release party at the label headquarters!

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