Breger
by Mister Mime
23th August 2021
Breger is a well-known force in the electronic music scene in India. The Goa-based German artist has been propagating his unique brand of techno/house/psychedelic music across seas for over 15 years, and it’s not possible to spend even a week in Goa without landing up at one of his parties. His subliminal style varies from minimal to savage techno, and reflects his dark and groovy approach with a psychedelic twist. He has always pushed the boundaries of dance music, bending genres seamlessly to create his unique sound.
In this ‘Innerview’, Breger talks about his musical background and influences, how he conceived his signature sound, and also some fun facts and interesting tidbits about his last 3 EPs which includes ‘For The Culture’ - an EP that he made in his jungle studio in Goa during the first lockdown, and is evidently in support of the underground music culture that he has been such a vital part of. His vast body of work and contribution to the underground electronic music scene speaks for itself, and I’m stoked to see what he has in store for us in the future!
MM: Can you tell us a bit about your musical background and how your journey began?
Breger: Inspired by my family’s vinyl collection I developed a passion to go to record stores and explore for myself. At the age of 12, I started to collect Indie/Rock, Punk and some Hip Hop records. A few years later I started to play bass for some Street Punk Bands, but we never made it out of the garage. During this phase, I even wrote some of my own lyrics.
With the discovery of acts like the Prodigy, Chemical Brothers or DJ Shadow I got sucked deeply into electronic music. My taste shifted to genres like Drum and Bass, Breakbeat and Nu Jazz. Eventually, I got the opportunity to DJ at my first few private parties just short of my 20th birthday.
The next step for me was to get my first computer and with it the software “Reason" for electronic music production.
At the same time I teamed up with a bunch of friends to form the art collective „Beatplantation“. We began organizing raves, exhibitions and smaller festivals in the west part of Germany, which we continued to develop over the next 14 years.
MM: Can you tell us briefly the meanings behind these 3 Eps of yours? - “Garstic", “Public Secret”, “For The Culture”. And also “The End Of The Tunnel“ and “Pushed”
Are there any stories or interesting incidents, challenges that you faced during the making of these Eps or any individual tracks, that you would like to share?
Breger: For the Culture:
I wrote this track during the first lockdown, which was a very productive period in my life. The vocal is sampled from Roy Wood Jr. a comedian of Trevor Noah’s Daily Show, which is a real treat and was a shelter in the time of Trumpism.
The End of the Tunnel:
“In order to see the end of the tunnel, you must still be inside the tunnel.“
Shoes are gone:
Once after a long beach party, I wasn’t able to leave because someone walked off with my shoes. It took quite a while to figure out that of all the people it was the event promoter!
Your Visa Has Questions:
Visas, fill forms and authorities are unavoidable while touring the planet. The track was inspired by several experiences, some funny some less funny.
MM: Can you talk about how you conceived your signature sound?
BREGER: My personal sound is indeed very much influenced by the area in which I am present. The places I spent most of my time are Germany and India and they can be quite opposite to each other. Like the way to celebrate and organize (club) music differs a lot. These contrasts can be productive since I love to explore and combine different vibes into one story.
Another element is the influence of psychedelic music in my production. When I first came to Goa in 2010 I re-discovered my own roots in this music. Back in the day, there was a well organized Psy scene in the part of Germany I grew up (“Ruhrgebiet“). Some elements from these events impressed my friends and me and so we sampled and carried them around.
As I came to Goa more often, it became a natural habit for me to dig deeper. Today I still use Psy patterns and techniques to experiment in my Techno productions. Same counts for the sound layers I use, which are inspired by Ambient and Dub Techno as well as for Voice Samples.
As a DJ I love to transport Minimal Techno into India and to smuggle Psytrance into german Techno clubs in return. Playing the tracks pitched up or down, accordingly to which country I perform in. At the end of the day I don’t consider myself as a classic Techno Act, but as a DJ / musician who navigates through Techno and Psy to discover his own vision of groove.
MM: Would you care to share any signature tools, techniques, workflows, instruments, plugins, etc. that you believe are unique/essential to your musical process and shaping your sound?
BREGER: The best tools are your own ears. To train them it can be helpful to listen to all kinds of music, even the one which you don’t like: you will still learn from it.
I enjoy recycling old or unfinished projects of mine and browsing through my own sample bank which I have created over the years. That way I stay connected to the sound of my past, while I am able to save a lot of time when it comes to searching for a golden sample or just background noise.
Most loved plugins :
Pro Q serial by Fab Filter
Crystallizer, EchoBoy, Microshift by Soundtoys
Bazille by u-he
MM: Who are some of your favourite artists that you listen to and that have influenced your own music?
BREGER: Early Influences:
Atari Teenage Riot, Aphex Twin, Crass, Dead Kennedys, Easy Tempo, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Mittelstandskinder Ohne Strom, Moving Shadow, Peter Kowald, Portishead, The Doors, Ton Steine Scherben, Toxoplasma, Thievery Corporation, Ursula 1000
Later Influences:
Aphrodite, Burial, Deepchord, Grouch, Heaven Shall Burn, Kliment, Marc Houle, Megamull playing Synapsenkitzler (Fusion Festival 2010), Minilogue and Sebastian Mullaert, Sun Ra
MM: Can you talk briefly about your own record label Copycow? Also, the various labels you are associated with
BREGER: Copycow started around 2015 as an outlet for romantic and organic, minimal and slightly experimental music. I formed it together with my great buddy Timboletti. In the beginning, Copycow was also part of my side project '“Falling Cows“, which was a groovy Live Act.
During the time our agricultural label, how we like to call it, developed more and more into a label for Downtempo, Slow rave, organic House music. After we had a bit of a covid break, we are now back with a lot of new EP’s and also our serial '“Cowpilation“ returns with a new chapter this year.
Soupherb is like a Techno family label to me, I love to work with Ash Roy and Calm Chor since the first day.
Zenon Records links me to the psychedelic world, which I will always be grateful for.
My next project will be a brand new label which I will run by myself - stay tuned!
MM: Could you give a special mention to the artist(s) who have done artwork for your releases?
BREGER: Javan Van Zandt, from my home town Essen in Germany for Copycow and Amir Daäna from Canada for Zenon Records and Techgnosis. Both do completely different work, but they both are amazing artists.
MM: Who/what are some artists from other disciplines, people, places or things that inspire you outside of the musical world?
BREGER: David Lynch, George Orwell, Rosa Luxemburg, Malcolm X, Max Ernst, Victor Serge,+ all sort of 4 legged friends :)
MM: What do you like to do apart from making music?
BREGER: Chai, Politics, Swimming, Literature
You Can Follow Breger on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/1breger
All Images Courtesy of Breger
