Oliver Lieb has been at the forefront of electronic music for more than a quarter of a century.
With ten LPs under his belt, plus over a hundred EPs, with singles on such legendary labels as Harthouse, Superstition, Platipus, Hooj Choons, Yoshitoshi, Bedrock… he has remixed everyone from stadium-filling acts like Faithless, The Human League, Moby, and Yello, to the best up and coming producers in the underground scene.
Releasing music under many aliases, including L.S.G., Paragliders, S.O.L., The Ambush, Lieb has covered the full spectrum of underground techno, house, trance, and ambient sounds, and continued to evolve his own distinctive style and presence that is immediately felt, with his productions.
In 2007 he took the natural step of offering mastering and vinyl-cutting services, updating his studio to allow him to guarantee that both his own productions and those of his clients enjoy the highest possible sound quality.
More recently, he founded Solieb Digital, as a plaftorm for re-releasing remasterings of his classic material, along with previously unreleased material.
As a DJ, Lieb continues to rock some of the biggest clubs and festivals in the world.
With his brand new double album DOUBLE VISION under his projectname L.S.G. and his remix of NETHERWORLD - both on Bonzai Progressive - he continues to cement his position at the cutting edge of contemporary music remaining a true original, a creative force, and an inspiration to many.
Interview is written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Music Journalist and 1mix radio host
Interview is written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Music Journalist and 1mix radio host
Dimitri: First of all congratulations for your brilliant L.S.G. Double Vision album out now on the legendary Bonzai Progressive. Let me start with the questions and of course as you have such a long history we should go back a little bit.
Oliver Lieb: Thank you very much
Dimitri: Do you have in your family any member who is involved in music and do you recall music to be part of your childhood?
Oliver Lieb: No it was coming to me somehow listening to a lot of different music when I was young. Then later I wanted to do this as well...
Dimitri: What was your dream job when you were a child and did you ever wish to be a DJ and produce techno music?
Oliver Lieb: There was no techno back then...also DJs were not really known like today. I had the usual kids dream jobs like pilot for example but around 13...14 years it was clear for me to make music.
Dimitri: When did you took the decision to get involved with electronic music and how did you manage to set up your first studio and start producing your music?
Oliver Lieb: I started seriously at the age of 14 when I got an electronic bass and did practice a lot to get better and played in bands for several years. Five years later I had to see that you can not get anywhere with a band at that time and made the decision that I need to do something else so I sold some of my bass equipment to get my first sampler and sequencer. Now I was able to do something on my own and also something that sounded like the electronic music that started to interest me around that time. I had this stuff at home and was slowly working on my bedroom studio.
Dimitri: Which record was your first ever release and in which record label? How did you manage to persuade the record label to take you on board?
Oliver Lieb: In October 1989 my first ever release was “System” by “Force Legato”. It was released on “Abfahrt” - a label by producer/DJ Torsten Fenslau who was resident at the Dorian Gray club at the Frankfurt airport. A friend of mine told me he gave him a cassette demo and so I went there and gave him some demos too. Then he wanted to release System. This was just a year after I started to do this.
Dimitri: Of course following the first release you manage to release some brilliant records characterized with sublime melodies that mainly work deep into the subconscious quite dark and highly unique. From where do you get the inspiration to compose all these melodies and unforgettable trance synthy riffs?
Oliver Lieb: Hmm I don´t really know where it comes from. It just comes out naturally when I play around with sounds and get lost in it.
Dimitri: Can you pick up from your back catalogue and from all your projects the top 5 tracks and give us a short comment why do you think that stood against the test of time and today are considered as classics?
Oliver Lieb: Well for me a classic is an older track – in this case from the beginning of what was later called trance or techno. For some people it might also be important that it was quite big back then. It is really hard to pick 5 of my tracks as I like them all and so maybe:
L.S.G. - Netherworld
L.S.G. - Hearts
SOL - Pollenflug
Oliver Lieb – Subraumstimulation
Utah Saints – Lost Vagueness (Oliver Lieb remix)
check it on his DJ set at CREAM Reunion / Liverpool / UK
L.S.G. - Netherworld
L.S.G. - Hearts
SOL - Pollenflug
Oliver Lieb – Subraumstimulation
Utah Saints – Lost Vagueness (Oliver Lieb remix)
check it on his DJ set at CREAM Reunion / Liverpool / UK
Dimitri: You did remixes for the biggest names in the pop scene including Faithless and Moby. How did you treat your remixes for the commercial singles? Did actually the record labels asked you to give them a certain sound or you had the artistic freedom to do whatever you like with them? Is there any artist that you didn’t accept to remix and if yes tell us why?
Oliver Lieb: Most of the times all freedom and some said to do it a bit like this or that track or remix from myself. Yes, a few times it was a matter of having no time due to working on an upcoming album or some releases I had to finish or the deadline was really too close.
Oliver Lieb: Most of the times all freedom and some said to do it a bit like this or that track or remix from myself. Yes, a few times it was a matter of having no time due to working on an upcoming album or some releases I had to finish or the deadline was really too close.
Dimitri: Of course the fantastic Netherworld is back with must have remixes and yours has reached the beatport progressive house top 10. Can you explain us what did you try to convey in your remix of this classic and how difficult or easy was to remix your own older records? Is there any plans for a full remix album of your classics?
Oliver Lieb: I wanted to have a remix that sounds up to date but also has the main sounds in there from the original. But I also didn't want this to be too commercial or sound like a sell out. It was hard since I had so many different ideas for doing this. But once I started I was getting there quickly. Still feel like I could have done another five or ten versions all different. There is no plan for a remix album as I am more interested in doing something new. Would I do all the remixes or also other producers, how many tracks would be on there? Would be too many to release at once I guess unless also on something like double or triple CD and not sure if this makes sense at the moment.
With Netherworld it was something special as I did not want to have the new album coming from out of nowhere. So it made sense to start on Bonzai with the remix and then releasing the new album.
Dimitri: Let’s now look at your brilliant Double Vision album. The sound of it is truly immersive with variety of styles from ambient and electronica to more club friendly progressive techno tracks. Is there a concept or better call it a Vision behind Double Vision and if yes tell us about your goal and ambitions for this album?
Oliver Lieb: After such a long time it was really hard to do a new album for this project. My own expectations were very high and it took a while until the concept made sense for me. Having in mind that The Hive album was the last one with new music the project needed some updates but should still sound like L.S.G. For everybody that knows the project. L.S.G. itself had all kind of different styles on the former albums. Into deep and The Black Album were really different than the other one before. I started with the downtempo album (Vision 1) and when it was done it did not feel finished as I also wanted to have something more clubby on there too and so the double album was the way to go for me. I think I could have done another one more darker hypnotic techno or another one oldschool...but this as the first one after years I think brings back what the project was known for and from there I will see how to go on. Also nice to have a first double album for the project with new music.
Oliver Lieb: After such a long time it was really hard to do a new album for this project. My own expectations were very high and it took a while until the concept made sense for me. Having in mind that The Hive album was the last one with new music the project needed some updates but should still sound like L.S.G. For everybody that knows the project. L.S.G. itself had all kind of different styles on the former albums. Into deep and The Black Album were really different than the other one before. I started with the downtempo album (Vision 1) and when it was done it did not feel finished as I also wanted to have something more clubby on there too and so the double album was the way to go for me. I think I could have done another one more darker hypnotic techno or another one oldschool...but this as the first one after years I think brings back what the project was known for and from there I will see how to go on. Also nice to have a first double album for the project with new music.
Dimitri: How long it took you to produce the album and do you usually work with schedule and careful planning or you prefer to wait for the inspiration to come and then translate this into sound?
Oliver Lieb: The very first start was a few years ago on some track that sounded to me a bit like something that could have been on the Into Deep album. The track is last on Vision 1 and called Perfect Blue. But I did not actually work on the album then. It was just playing around. It took a while until I really made the decision to do a new album and start with that project again. Then as said before once the downbeat album was finished it took a bit to see that this is actually not finished yet as the complete album.
Dimitri: Do you have any strange incidents happened during the recording of the album or everything was truly smoothly?
Oliver Lieb: Nothing really strange but then as well nothing smooth. With all former albums everything was clear and I just did it. With this I had to play around a lot of times and just wait. Especially in the beginning as I wanted to be sure about doing this and what I do. I replaced a few tracks of the Vision 1 and two tracks of Vision 2 as I was not 100% happy with them. Normally I produce an album from minute one until the last second and not change too much.But I guess this is normal after such a long time and when you had a few releases of that project before. Also the album idea was growing while I was working on it rather than having the idea and then just doing it.
Dimitri: You have of course wealth of original samples and you have released your own library of sounds. Do you actually make use of those classic Oliver Lieb sound or you started from scratch with new grooves, drums, beats, basslines and synths?
Oliver Lieb: Everything is done new. Although some typical effects like the gated pads or grain sounds are in there that are typical for this project but a bit updated in the way to do them. Newer synths like the Elektron Analog 4, Virus TI Polar etc. as well as the one's I have very long like the Juno 106, Matrix 6r etc. Some Plug Ins also.What is new and a big difference is the way I work. Before I used to have complete control of everything until I was recording to DAT. Now I prefer to commit at an early point and rather record or render some lines and do modulations that I might use or not and continue to work with the resulting audio file. That's for everything but the drumming. This way I can also start at home and continue in the studio or go on back home again etc. It also helps me to not get lost too much in searching for sounds.
Dimitri: Double Vision is released on Bonzai Progressive. It would be great to tell us why did you choose this label and of course your opinion about the legends owners DJ Fly and Marnik.
Oliver Lieb: I spoke to Marnik a bit about the idea and we got along really well. So as they are a long established brand and know what they are doing I felt like this is a great label to have this project on.
Dimitri:You started your career in the pre-internet social networks era. Nowadays everything is promotion on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Do you enjoy this new era of endless feeding of information and can you catch up with it?
Oliver Lieb: I started to be on the internet very early. Back then in the mid nineties via IRC in music chatrooms. Unfortunately when Facebook started I was in the middle of a big change with building a new studio, moving my studio and flat, setting up my mastering and cutting company and getting things started there which was taking ages and I did not have much time then to start or think about my profile. These were the times when people were looking for DJs and artist pages and where it was possible to get a lot of followers. Today in the music business there is no more filter. Everybody needs to promote himself as the best and like with the music it is the consumers and fans that need to decide from so much content what they like or if they even want to spend time searching for something they might like – especially something they don't know yet. So I think in general this is good but not sure if we have the proper platform yet as it it easy to create the impression of a “big” artist by using a lot of money.
Dimitri: Do you believe that the younger producers who know how to handle their internet promotion are luckier and can become easier well known or do you see disadvantages in this era as well for upcoming artists?
Oliver Lieb: Well at a certain point you need money for advertising and people to take care about the profiles for you as you need the time for developing yourself and your work. First you need to make “good music” or something special. Also you need a lot of luck! Promoting yourself will help you but is not the main thing as this can be done by others too. But then we will see in some years if still the one or other good self promoter is there or if it is more about the music.
Dimitri: You play in many events and festivals including Legacy and Retro Beach. Do you enjoyed performing in them and do you see the same passion for quality music in the eyes of the audience? Is the spark or spirit if you want still alive or has been destroyed from the hunger of big drops and easy to consume music?
Oliver Lieb: Yes I really like and enjoy them. There is so much great music from the past and I am sure that there will be some changes soon – also as things always come back after some time. The recent sounds are interesting but too much the same and also younger people get interested in coming to some classics events to discover something else. I think there always is and was easy to consume music that is big – not only in electronic music.
Oliver Lieb: Yes I really like and enjoy them. There is so much great music from the past and I am sure that there will be some changes soon – also as things always come back after some time. The recent sounds are interesting but too much the same and also younger people get interested in coming to some classics events to discover something else. I think there always is and was easy to consume music that is big – not only in electronic music.
Back in the nineties as well was really commercial stuff. Most of the times big money is behind that and so it gets pushed a lot. It is not that often that big companies with a lot of money invest in something underground as they don't care about the music but the money. The music is more in the hands of the underground producers and musicians but for them it is hard to develop and keep doing their thing if they can't make enough money to live. So we have to see what will happen. It would be an absolute disaster if we get back to the times where only “rich kids” can constantly make some music as they don't need the money. There is too much talent and inspiration that would be lost. It was like this before Techno and the whole underground scene.
Dimitri: Are there any plans for special Double Vision tour with special visuals in clubs around the world?
Oliver Lieb: Not really. We have to see...but then as well I am already working on so much new music.
Dimitri: You have your own mastering company. Why did you decide to set it up and what exactly your clients can expect to get as a service?
Oliver Lieb: Mastering and also vinyl cutting – yes. I wanted to offer a service for a sound as good as possible digital and on vinyl. For people that care not only about the highest possible loudness but the compromise between quality sound and volume. I did learn a lot over the years and especially when producers just listen to the finished product and compare it to their master it might lead to very disappointing results if they adjust the sound without knowing the limits of vinyl.
So I offer a cheaper plugin mastering and an analog mastering where I can really work out details in the music and create width and volume without just making it sound over compressed and annoyingly boring.
If there is some problem the client gets back some detailed feedback about what it is and what to do to get a better result.
Dimitri: Finally what is your top 3 tips that you would like to offer to any upcoming producers and are you available for any production courses?
Oliver Lieb: You have to know what you are doing and since this is not something new it is good to listen to a lot of different music on different speakers, headphones etc. to train your ears and compare this to your own sound and think about how this and that was done.Take your time and develop your own style and sound. Find the compromise between doing something new and what is big atm. You need to focus on this, improve and give it some time. It might take long but do your thing
Well I could think of doing something here and there as a guest but prefer to have real people talking to rather than doing some video tutorials...but I did not do anything so far.
Many thanks to Oliver Lieb for taking some time out of his busy schedule to answer all these great questions.
Many thanks to Tim at Stark Profiles PR for organising this interview.
L.S.G. - Double Vision is out now on Bonzai Progressive
Additional info:
http://www.oliverlieb.com/
https://www.facebook.com/oliverlieb/
https://twitter.com/oliverlieb
www.bonzaiprogressive.com
https://www.facebook.com/bonzaiprogressive/
https://twitter.com/bonzaimusic
Many thanks to Oliver Lieb for taking some time out of his busy schedule to answer all these great questions.
Many thanks to Tim at Stark Profiles PR for organising this interview.
L.S.G. - Double Vision is out now on Bonzai Progressive
Additional info:
http://www.oliverlieb.com/
https://www.facebook.com/oliverlieb/
https://twitter.com/oliverlieb
www.bonzaiprogressive.com
https://www.facebook.com/bonzaiprogressive/
https://twitter.com/bonzaimusic