Unreleased interview from Dec. 1, 2017 in Los AngelesBy Rave Curious

A previously unreleased conversation with Chris Liebing recorded in 2018.By Rave Curious

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From the melodic glitches of the debut Telefon Tel Aviv album Fahrenheit Fair Enough to the fury of Nine Inch Nails live, Josh Eustis is a consummate electronic music artist—one who struggles over every byte playing off his trusty laptop, the musical tool that has been the center of his world since the mid-90s. Through two-plus decades of musical t…

Some might call his music punk techno, but Perc insists that everything he does on his Perc Trax label is all in good fun. Maybe that's why the UK DJ and producer has become a favorite at hardcore-yet-cheeky events like Bangface Weekender and Even Furthur. Perc talks about the secret to surviving in the tough world of techno—from loosing records in…

Leading up to the 15th-anniversary celebration of Droid Behavior, Los Angeles duo Raíz recap a decade and a half of delivering uncompromising techno to a city better known for house, trance and dreaded EDM. Brothers Vidal and Vangelis Vargas offer insights on the city's unique Latino electronic heritage, trying to throw techno events during the dar…

Dutch DJ Steve Rachmad is one of Holland's original techno producers. He's also one of the truest in term of his undiluted commitment to the music in its original Detroit-manufactured form. No wonder he carries with him a "Detroit pass" like fellow European greats Laurent Garnier, Maurizio and Luke Slater. Whether making and playing music as Sterac…

DJ Garth is one-quarter of Wicked Soundsystem, the legendary San Francisco crew of British expats that brought UK acid house to the Bay Area at the dawn of the 90s. Along with Jeno, Marky and Thomas, Garth pioneered the full moon party scene in Northern Cali before hitting the road in a vintage Greyhound bus and a massive purple Turbosound system t…

Mike Huckaby is best known as the former manager of Record Time's legendary Dance Room, a store that helped define the musical taste of an entire generation of Detroit DJs. Since the store closed in 2011, Huckaby has come out from behind the counter and has made his own way as an international DJ, surprising many by mixing Tresor's 20th Anniversary…

The annual Dirtybird Campout has become a major event on the West Coast festival circuit, by presenting every shade of the label’s beloved sound—from house and techno to bass and hip-hop—and combining it adult updates on good old-fashioned summer camp activities (sexy musical chairs, anyone?). DB boss Claude VonStroke sat down with the Rave Curious…

Josh gives some good news in this 4-minute update on the state of Rave Curious following the closure of our partner, THUMP.By Rave Curious

Heidi Lawden Is Much More Than DJ Harvey's Manager. The dance music "den mother" is more than DJ Harvey's manager. // Running off to London as a teenager meant that Heidi Lawden was hanging at the coolest clubs at an age when most ravers are still dreaming of big nights out from inside their parent's suburban homes. And Heidi hit the capital at jus…

Jesse Rose Wishes More DJs Would Retire. // By pretty much any standard, the life of a successful DJ is a good one. Sure, social media is perpetually flooded with DJs complaining, but the cons of long flights, lost luggage and logistical meltdowns pale in comparison to the pros of global travel, VIP accommodations and endless afterparties. Oh yeah,…

Joel Mull Is Saving Swedish Dance Music From It’s EDM-Sullied Reputation // As some of the pioneers of the Swedish techno sound, Joel Mull and friends Adam Beyer and Cari Lekebusch dominated much of the late-90s scene with unforgiving bangers that defined the looping minimalism of the era. Today, Mull—the Stockholm-based DJ and producer—has broaden…

Baikal Proves How Hard It Is to Quit Techno. // It seems like every producer eventually moves to Berlin, but Baikal might be the only one to do so while taking time off from his musical career. Having achieved some success under the name Mark August with releases for Innervisions, the Dutch producer needed a break—and decided that decamping to Germ…

The Former Fabric Resident Freed Himself From Tech House Purgatory. // On the new episode of Rave Curious, the former Fabric resident explains building new brand especially for American audiences. It'd be easy to blame Lee Burridge for some of the stuff you hate. He's one of the founding fathers of tech-house, a loose genre that still holds its col…

The underground vet brings Chicago's industrial music to Berlin techno. // Growing up in the house music capital of Chicago, one might not expect Karl Meier to make the sort of abrasive industrial techno found on his debut album as one half of Talker (with Johnathan Krohn). But as he tells Rave Curious, the city's industrial scene—famous for the Wa…

Oakie Learned About Ibiza From A Famous Transexual // When the books are written about the history of acid house—and there have been several already—one key fact seems to elude authors as they regurgitate the old story of how Paul Oakenfold and friends visited Ibiza, took some ecstasy, and came back to kick off the Summer of Love. "I was working fo…

The Dirtybird JD Explains Why Guest DJs Can be a Waste // Christian Martin will play well over 150 gigs this year around the world. Some will be solo, but many will be as part of the Dirtybird crew, which Martin founded with his brother Justin and friends Claude Vonstroke and Worthy. Today, they might all be international headlining DJ, but when Di…

The Smart Bar resident isn't afraid to name and shame. // As product of the Midwest rave scene, Chrissy has seen his share of sketchiness—from gunplay in Kansas City to troubles on the road in England with DJ Rashad. He admits that the underground environment through much of dance music's history can be a beacon for bad players eager to take advant…

The house legend lost the Grammy, but he's still won our hearts. // DJ, producer and bandleader Louie Vega knows something about partnerships. His collaboration with fellow NYC producer Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez is one of near mythical status. That pairing has produced tireless dance floor bangers like "Deep Inside" and "The Ha Dance" (as Masters At Wo…

The LA producer rips formulaic DJ sets and talks about hanging at Björk's house. // Much love to the Windy City, but Bryan Hollon (aka Boom Bip) and Rave Curious host Joshua Glazer are two Midwest boys who can't help hold a bit of distaste for a town that, by their estimation, spawned the condescending hipster archetype. Hollon also has some unkind…

The Robot Heart On the Rise of Playa Tech. // DJ Three is a name that's been on a lot of lips lately, thanks largely to several successive years of extremely popular podcasts recorded live at Burning Man. But this Robot Heart regular, who dismisses, "playa tech is the new dubstep," discovered dance music about as far from the Black Rock Desert as y…

Get to Know Iceland's Other Timeless Musical Export // Averaging one album every other year for the past two decades has made GusGus one of the most consistent units in electronic music—despite the fact that the group has had anywhere from two to ten members over it's 20-year run. Currently a duo made up my constant producer Birgir Þórarinsson (Big…

Moby on Aphex Twin Calling Him a "Buffoon." This week's guest on Rave Curious is one of the most iconic yet misunderstood musical minds to come out of the electronic music scene. To many, Moby will always be the face of electronic music, an avatar for all things techno. This is, of course, despite the fact that only a portion of his sizable musical…

Neil Landstrumm Wants to Save Us From Fossil Fuels On this episode of Rave Curious, the techno stalwart considers how we can help the world beyond the club. Neil Landstrumm has been releasing confounding techno floor-fillers since the mid-90s, with releases on Tresor, Planet Mu, and his own Scandinavia imprint. The Scottish producer has no obvious …

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Heidi's Love for Prince Knows No Bounds The Jackathon founder talks strip clubs, shoegazer and keeping it underground on the BBC on the latest episode of Rave Curious. Before she became a house music hero on the BBC, the bold DJ who goes by just Heidi was a punky kid from Canada in love with single-name stars like Prince and Iggy. After sharing a l…

How Drumcell Helped Turn Los Angeles Into A Global Techno Capital How the Droid Behavior co-founder built a scene from scratch. For all its reputation as a rave and EDM capital, Los Angeles never had much resembling an international techno scene until Drumcell and his Droid Behavior posse started throwing event in the early 2000s. For 16 years, the…

Eric Cloutier Opens Up About His Past Life as an Internet Troll The Detroit-Berlin techno traveler now makes musical waves. Like many DJs of his generation, Eric Cloutier came out of the 90s Detroit rave scene and migrated east. He first went to New York, where he became a resident at influential club night The Bunker, and then made the pilgrimage …

Danny Daze has lived the lives of a dozen different DJs—from a 14-year=old playing electro at giant Miami raves to time spent doing actual time, rising among the ranks of mash-up masters under the tutelage of DJ AM, breaking into the deep house (or as he calls it, "social techno") scene with Jamie Jones, and finally discovering his own direction in…

Fighting Off Hangovers With Gorgon City and Rudimental The Rave Curious podcast catches up with the British bands, plus former Beatport CEO Matt Adell talks breaking capitalism. When two of the hottest bands leading the UK electronic scene hit the road together, even a Monday night is alright for a party. Rave Curious spoke with Gorgon City and Rud…

Max Cooper Wants to Explain Our Existence Through Music The musical philosopher takes on life, the universe, and, well, everything. Max Cooper had more than a few things on his mind when sitting down for his Rave Curious Podcast. Top of the list was his new Emergence show, an A/V experience inspired by concepts in math and science that seek to expl…

The Rave Curious podcast hits a California highway with the Bunker NYC resident. Derek Plaslaiko is one of the finest DJs to come out of Detroit's mid-90s techno scene. The current Berlin resident is known for playing extended sets that test the very limits of what might be considered house or techno, with a fearless attitude that's guided him thro…

Cassy Dug Deep Into the Heart of Techno and Instead Found Soul The European techno favorite talks about the challenges of getting funky. As the daughter of an Austrian mother and Barbadian father, raised in Vienna with a British passport, the appeal of Cassy as an international DJ has always matched her own global upbringing. Yet in practice, the D…

The Chicago house producer won't suffer fools, even for the Rave Curious Podcast. This week's Rave Curious podcast features the house gangster himself, DJ Sneak. The Chicago icon has deep roots in the city's house music culture, learning his craft both in the club and behind the counter at the city's legendary Gramaphone Records. He has also become…

Jean Michel Jarre Reflects on His Life as One of Electronic Music's First Superstars Think EDC is huge? The French electronic pioneer once played for 3.5 million fans. Everybody likes to talk about how huge EDM has gotten, but you'd have to take the single day attendance at EDC Las Vegas (134,000) and multiply 26 times to reach the 3.5 million folk…

Matthew Dear Holds the Secret to Techno Longevity The Ghostly International star on almost 20 years in the game. DJ, producer, and bandleader Matthew Dear has been heading towards the top of the techno game since he was straight out of the University of Michigan, helping to kick off the Ghostly International label, one of electronic music's most ic…

Adam Beyer and Ida Engberg Are Techno's Coolest Parents How techno's top DJ duo are also raising three kids together. Adam Beyer and Ida Engberg are a rarity in the world of techno, a couple who are managing to raise three children while maintaining a hectic DJ career that demands both parents stay up way past bedtime. But as Beyer explain it, thei…

Why Kate Simko Took a Break From Techno to Learn Classical Composition She talks new project with the London Electronic Orchestra on a new episode of the Rave Curious podcast. After years of textured electronic production, Kate Simko's shifting gears a bit with her new project, Kate Simko & London Electronic Orchestra. The album sees the Chicago-br…

Mr. C Thinks Everyone Just Needs to Relax and Meditate The techno elder statesman and Further Future founder Jason Swamy impart wisdom in this week's Rave Curious podcast. Before he was a beacon for underground techno and house, Mr. C was the leader of proto-rave band the Shamen. In the 30 years since he discovered dance music, the Los Angeles resi…

Dustin Zahn Reflects on His Rise from Midwestern Monotony The Drumcode regular gives the lowdown on the latest Rave Curious Podcast. Dustin Zahn's uncompromising techno—which has found a home on labels like Adam Beyer's Drumcode and Radio Slave's REK'D imprint—has its roots in childhood boredom. Raised in a small town in Northern Michigan, he says …

Ambivalent Is Certain About His Life After Minimal Techno Kevin McHugh spreads his wings with new labels and artistic ideas. Kevin McHugh didn't set out to be a techno musician. But when his work in the world of NYC's modern art scene crossed over into the realm of minimal techno in the early 00s, he caught a wave that took him all the way to Berli…

Erick Morillo Is Back From the Abyss The house hero and photographer Michael Tullberg stops by this installment of the Rave Curious podcast. The prospect of speaking to superstar producers can be a daunting one. Like all ceIebrities, A-list DJs can come off as difficult divas who long ago left the underground club scene in favor of Las Vegas reside…

Tommie Sunshine Is Just Trying Fix the World's Problems The Chicago-born DJ is ready to revolt and Underground Resistance's label manager gets real about race on the Rave Curious Podcast. This week's episode of the Rave Curious Podcast goes beyond the usual dance music discussions and tries to tackle some serious issues facing the world in 2016 wit…

Chris Liebing Loves California and Classic Cars, Hates Cheese Dairy and EDM get dissed on the Rave Curious Podcast. Chris Liebing has a long-running reputation as one of the nicest dudes in techno, but that big smile doesn't mean he suffers fools. As such, our Rave Curious conversation covers both his love of Los Angeles and his vintage Ford Mustan…

Danny Tenaglia Has Seen It All Behind The Decks From Yoko Ono to overdoses, the New York legend talk about 30 years of DJing on the Rave Curious Podcast. The first Rave Curious Podcast of 2016 offers a nice long conversation with New York's genre-hopping veteran Danny Tenaglia. From his legendary series of NYC residencies in the '90s and early '00s…

Meet The Man Who Replaced Jeff Mills in Underground Resistance Buzz Goree tells Detroit techno tales on the Rave Curious Podcast. As we wrap up 2015, we wanted to give you one last special holiday treat—a bonus podcast with Underground Resistance DJ Buzz Goree. Buzz is one of the true pillars of Detroit's electronic music scene, starting as a teena…

Sneak Into Berghain With Lady Gaga BFF Lady Starlight and Techno Titan Surgeon We learn the stunning cosmic coincidence that brought these two "aliens" together, and learn the importance of following your instincts. Just in time for holiday travel, we're giving you a hefty does of techno talk with the latest episode of the Rave Curious Podcast. Thi…

Honey Dijon Dishes On the Essence of DJing, Canada, and Being a Trans Person In a Gay World Next on the Rave Curious podcast, Josh and the New York-via-Chicago DJ dig deep. The Rave Curious Podcast continues to engage the world's best DJs in open and honest conversations about the life behind the beats. In Episode 003, host Joshua Glazer spend a be…