Interview: Christopher Coe & Hannes Bieger on their collaboration

Amongst their hectic summer schedules we managed to hold down ASW family member Hannes Bieger and label co-founder Christopher Coe for an in-depth discussion about their recent happenings, the hectic but ever so rewarding first gig together, their output on the ASW label and much more. Let’s get to it…

Hi guys, how are things? And where are you talking to us from today?

H: Hey, all good here! I just returned to Berlin from a 10 day tour with shows in Switzerland, Denmark and France and a masterclass retreat in Ibiza. Still a bit exhausted, but I can’t wait to get back to work at the studio. There is some mixing work on my table, and I am also keen to finish the new tracks I’m currently working on. 

C: Hey lads.. Well I am super relaxed because I am in my homeland of the west of Ireland (where I made MNTNS of SLNC all those years ago) and the weather is amazing! I've been swimming and every day has been sunny! This is most unheard of in the West of Ireland! I came here directly from touring with Carl to Egypt where he did an amazing show in front of the Pyramids (FFS!!) And then I did a show at Creamfields South which was amazing because I invited my friend Harper Lake to come join me on stage and sing a new tune we've been working on and are soon to release! Good start to the season!

Tell us a bit about how you both met?

H: I joined Analog agency at the beginning of 2019 when they decided to put more emphasis on the live branch of the agency. They obviously represent Carl and also Christopher, and the goal was from the start to create synergies. At the time ASW existed for a year or so, and Christopher asked me right away if I was interested in releasing an album with them. What an exciting prospect that was… we’ve been in close contact ever since, but it would take us a while until we met in person for the first time.

C: Yes, Ian Hindmarsh from Analog Agency first introduced us online and suggested we would have lots of things in common! And yeah, I really felt an affinity with Hannes and asked him to make the record! Which he went and put his heart and soul into ! He was delighted to be given artistic freedom the whole way. I believe it is important to give artists carte blanche when making their work for us.. 

When was it that you were both on the same bill for the first time?

H: I don’t remember exactly, but I believe this was in Madrid in the summer of 2019, for a „Carl Cox invites…“ show that involved a full stage of Awesome Soundwave live artists, maybe even the first event of that kind that we did? It was remarkable also because it was the first time ever my equipment didn’t arrive for a show, and everyone from Christopher to Carl to Onyvaa was so kind with all theit emotional and practical support, having my back mentally, and lending me some synths and stuff so that I could go on and play the show. Even Carl to this date hasn’t forgotten that night and keeps talking about it...

C: yep, Madrid, Fabrik. Poor Hannes was gutted because his cases never arrived (we found out later that they never actually left Berlin for some unknown reason!) And he thought he was just gonna have to give up on doing his show. But I was having none of that! He had his laptop with most of his live projects on there, Mat Playford lent him his Moog Sub 37, Saytek and I lent him additional cables and stuff and we all insisted that he stick to the plan! As we were all in this together! That's what ASW is about actually! And it was amazing to be able to actually enact that for real on one of our first shows together as a crew! Hannes show was awesome!

Hannes, your ‘Poem For The Planet” remix EP will land on ASW this year, with a couple of singles out and in close proximity. There are quite some names involved with the release, how does it feel to have your work remixed by such artists?

H: The whole release is so special to me! This was the first single of my 2020 album „Pele“ on Awesome Soundwave, and it was a lifelong goal for me to collaborate with Ursula Rucker at some point. She really proved to be a prophet with the lyrics, as it was released early during the first Corona lockdown. For obvious reasons nobody could really dance to the music at the time, so I am very happy we can make up for this now. Christopher’s remix added so much fuel to the fire with its faster tempo and raw energy, and it was fantastic to see some techno heavyweights getting behind it. Steve and me are friends for quite a long time, and I am proud he remixed one of my tracks for the first time now. It’s closer to my original but sooo deep! I am very happy with both remixes, and who knows, maybe I will do my own updated version at some point, as the track somehow continues to stay relevant for so many people...

Christopher, how does it feel to remix such a timeless piece of work from Hannes? And especially to have someone like Hannes as part of the ASW family. Did you already have a grasp of where you wanted to take this one?

C: What a tune! And it was such a pleasure to have Ursula Rucker feature with her prophetic and important lyrics! A topic that is so important to all of us! I felt honoured to be able to remix this and to have Hannes's trust in doing so. I wanted to create more of a dance floor version of it and use my modular gear to do so, so I had an idea, but it came out way better than I expected!

And then for Steve Bug to come on board with his beautiful remix! This is a truly proper package! And we will do the vinyl later in the year..  

Having Hannes be part of ASW is very special to me as he joined us so early in the piece and it's been such a pleasure to watch his career in live performance grow and grow over the last few years!

When working in the studio with someone you have never worked with before are there any tips you can give to the ASW readers? Have the both of you made music together before?

H: I think the most important tip is something that is also great advice when working all by yourself. Sometimes listening is better than talking! Or, paraphrasing Mark Hollis here – „learn how to play two notes, and then find a reason to play one!“ Obviously it can be delicate to collaborate, especially for the first time. For the whole thing to become greater than the sum of its part, which I believe is the ultimate goal and reward of a collab, it’s important to have a gut instinct for when to leave space and when to step in and push the envelope yourself.

C: Couldn't have said it better! And I love the Mark Hollis reference! Only my favourite artist of all time being the front man and main songwriter of Talk Talk! A band that every single producer and engineer I know references as being in their top 5 ! 

After both being involved with the teaching side of things with various projects, are there up and coming artists in particular you think we should be keeping an eye on in the coming period that we might not already know?

H: For me it’s not just the teaching – for example, I also used my Balance Series release last year to showcase some up and coming artists I have been working with for a while. One of them, Yet More, is now releasing with Innervisions, Tripolism from Copenhagen are on to something, and Rafa Silva, my man from Chile who is now in Berlin did some nice stuff on Ritter Butzke Records. There are many more to mention, but the bottom line is that there is so much exciting music, and it’s a great feeling to give something back to the community and help them evolve until they don’t need any help anymore...

What have you both got planned for the remainder of 2023?

H: I haven't had a proper artist release since the Balance album, and I have a few tracks lined up now which are starting to generate quite a bit of buzz already before they are out. I can’t wait to see them being released over the next few months. Besides that I’ll continue my touring with some nice shows coming up, and I am also still doing a lot of client mixing work at my studio. Never a dull moment!

C: I have a bunch of amazing shows coming up over the European summer season that I am very excited about, as well as this I am planning to release a collab I did with Colin Benders (who is another hero of mine), also I have a beautiful tune I made with a great vocalist and songwriter called Harper Lake  coming out midyear. On top of this I am intending to do lots of writing and recording of my modular stuff in weird locations! In fact tomorrow I am going out to Clare Island to set up my gear in an ancient castle (owned in the 1600's by Grainne Uaile who is a famous Irish pirate queen!) and have it filmed.. awesome times!

Last of all, a top tip from each of you for someone who has just started to think about electronic music production…

H: Nowadays everything is so fast and hectic. Technology has made it so easy to quickly create something that sonically already reaches a certain standard, so the possibility and temptation is there to jump into this treadmill right off the bat. I think an artist needs obstacles to grow, and I also think it’s important to give yourself time to find your own voice and create something as unique as possible. Of course at some point it’s time to make that leap of faith, but until then – give yourself time to learn, to absorb, to grow!

C: Make great music, don't follow trends too much, find your own voice and make stuff that resonates with your soul. This will always find a way to others with whom it also resonates.. never give up. 

Play live, this is the way to break the code and find new ideas and sounds. 

Play with love.

Originally released 2 years ago, the original track POEM FOR THE PLANET has endured, its message imparted through Ursula Rucker’s powerful poetry is still so strong.

Now re-released as a special Remixes EP, featuring Christopher Coe and Steve Bug, as part of the vinyl package of both remixes and the original.

▶ Hannes Bieger - Poem For the Planet Remixes by Christopher Coe and Steve Bug are available now.