It’s a rare week as we present the second GVR of the last 7 days, this time from 2pole. A German duo composed of well-respected producers, DJs and live acts Marcus Schmahl and Mark Ullrich, 2pole have enjoyed releases on Tronic Music, Phobiq and Hydrozoa.
As single techno acts they produced and released tracks on labels such as Octopus, Get Physical, Noir Music, Senso Sounds, Last Night on Earth, Systematic, Terminal M, Herzblut, Elevate, and many more.
Both played as DJs or live in clubs and on festivals like Berghain (GER), Cocoon Club (GER), Woodstock NL, U60311 (GER), Borderline (CH), Flex (AT), Nature One (GER), ADE (NL), Lehmann Club (GER), Loft Club (GER), Magdalena (GER), to name a few. In 2016 they founded 2pole – a new techno duo.
We are happy and proud to welcome them to the GVR family. Listen to the mix below and read on for our exclusive interview with them and for full track listing.
Hi guys, thanks for the mix! Where was it recorded?
Mark: You are welcome! The mix was recorded in our studio on two Pioneer CDJ 2000nexus and a Pioneer DJ DJM 900nexus.
What kind of vibe can we expect from the mix?
Marcus: It’s that kind of vibe we spread on our live gigs, too. It’s techno with a bit of melodic elements. And that’s the sound of 2pole!
Any standout tracks from it you’d like to talk about?
Mark: “Rob Hes – We Rise“ (Tronic) – Rob is on fire! We really like the breaks and the explosive moments, especially on the dancefloor. Christian Smith & 2pole – Wind“ – this is one of our collaboration tracks with Tronic mastermind Christian Smith when we three met in Marcus’ studio – nice times with a great outcome! “TVA – The Cally Bridge“ (AEON) – This track has a nice atmosphere and vibe – this is what we like about melodic techno!
How did you two first meet?
Marcus: We first met at a festival in Germany four years ago. Mark wanted to produce a remix for my label Yes We Can. We talked about studio stuff, hardware and software. This was the beginning of 2pole. We both share quite the same feelings about music and how to create it.
You’ve both been prolific producers with your solo projects. How does your synergy work in the studio? Who does what?
Marcus: This is the best thing about our project: two studios at different places and two music producers. We both work on song layouts, exchange them and the other one remixes the idea to a final track. Each of us has a different equipment, so there are a lot of sounds and influences in all of our tracks. But sometimes we meet in my studio for a week to find new ideas and to jam together on my analog synthesizers and my modular synth. Tasks are not specifically assigned to me or to Marcus. We are both 50 percent involved in each of our final tracks and in all of the music business stuff.
You have similar names (Mark and Marcus) and coincidentally my name is Marco, haha. Do people ever confuse you two?
Mark: Oh yes! This is hilarious indeed! But we do not have any problems with that.
Back to studio talk. What kind of hardware are you both fond of?
Marcus: We both like fiddling on my modular synth, of course, but we also like all the elektron stuff and my Moog Voyager, Oberheim SEM, the old and new Roland synths, mfb Dominion 1, Novation Bassstation 2 and Ableton Live. You see, we do not prefer a certain hard- or software – we like all sound machines. The result is important.
Any studio tips for finishing tracks you’d like to share?
Mark: Finish your tracks and begin a new one. A lot of our friends never finish their tracks because they always try to improve them until they do not like them anymore. And keep your track simple and minimal. Try not to add thousands of tracks to a song. Less is absolutely more!
As individual acts you’ve both played quite a lot of great venues. Do you perform out as a duo also?
Mark: Sure! We are 2pole and want to play as a duo only. Sometimes it doesn’t work, because we have different bookings on different places. Performing back-to-back is really nice and we have a lot of fun playing as a duo.
Do you do DJ sets or also play live?
Marcus: We usually play DJ sets. But we are just about to create our first artist album as 2pole. I think we should play a live tour to promote this one. I played live sets years ago, so I’m looking forward to doing this again!
Techno has many forms. Can you summarize your style of techno in one sentence?
Marcus and Mark: 2pole is warm melodic techno with a lot of drive!
Who are some of your current musical inspirations, electronic and none electronic?
Mark: In my spare time I like to listen to Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode.
Marcus: I really like to listen to Air and Björk besides melodic techno made by Tale of Us and others.
What’s the true objective of your 2pole project?
Marcus: We want to produce that kind of techno we like most. It’s a fun project, but with a nice success from the beginning that we never expected. We hope we get the chance to present our music to a lot of interested people around the globe.
Track listing:
Rob Hes – We Rise (Original) / Tronic
Matt O´ Brien – Radio Slave – Serotone Family Bizness Reshaped / Reshaped
Christian Smith, 2pole – Wind (Original) / Tronic
TVA – The Cally Bridge (Original) / AEON
Recondite – Thorn (Original) / Dystopian
Hush & Sleep – Hysteria (Marco Effe Remix) / Ertruria Beat
Fur Coat – Sustain (Slam Remix) / Oddity Records
Cari Lekebusch – Cygnus (Original) / H-Productions
Victor Calderone – Parallel (Ray Kajioka Remix) / Mood
Flug, Hans Bouffmyhre – Flight Mode (Original) / Sleaze Records
Spartaque – Raindrops (Original) / Tronic
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