Jan 2008

Da Funk Audio Interview on the Deep House Cat Show

Interview for the Deep House Cat Radio Show, USA (Archive, 2008)
Today’s interview section features talented DJ, producer and arranger Dany "Da Funk" Kneubühler from Winterthur, Switzerland. I am Philipp Eirich better known as philE and this is the Deep House Cat Show from Chicago.
Welcome to the program Dany! It’s a pleasure having you on the show today.

Your biography states that you have evolved from being "just" a clubber to DJing and eventually becoming a producer and arranger. Tell me more how all this happened and when you started to actually produce music. Soon after i've started to go out to parties i've noticed that the DJs there mixed records in a way i haven’t heard before. That caught my interest and i had to find out how they do it. Just a few months later and equipped with a bunch of records i ended up playing' my first set ever in front of 300 party peoples at the age of 16. The need to make my own music was always present. I remember how obsessive i was to find out how my favorite records where done. My dream was to make such records myself. I started to save money for a synthesizer, a sampler and some effect units to spent months with learning how to write down tracks.

Is there a defining moment that you can recall, which was the trigger for you to become a producer?
The defining moment was more a continuous flow of really good records that came out these days and the urge i had to write such music myself as a result of that.

Your tracks have great melody sections and offer a very distinct atmosphere. Where do you get your inspiration for your arrangements?
Life inspires me. May it be a walk through the park, watching a movie, cooking fine food, reading a book, travelling, watching the sunset, chilling' with my girl, track down new music...you got the picture.

I noticed that some of your tracks have a jazz influence. Is there a particular jazz artist that comes to mind when you sit down at the mixing board?
No there isn't to be honest. The jazz influence is coming from the sounds i use in a track. If there is a flute i like with a particular, let's say "swing" feel, i’d write down an arrangement to underline that feel for example.

You seem to be a multi-talent when it comes to producing genre-based house music like deep, techy or funky house. Have you ever considered going more main stream and maybe comprising your style to produce a chart success?
Thank you! No I haven’t cause i use music to express myself. If i’d write music with a chart success in mind, i’d betray myself. It's important for me to stay true to my soul and don’t make music just for the money.

In 2004 you founded the label "Acryl Music". Was this a logical step to further promote your own music?
I've founded Acryl Music basically cause i was tired of sending around demos just for the fact that most of the time you don’t hear anything back from them or they tell you to change this and that. Running an own label gives you the complete freedom you want as an artist. I don’t have to write music with a specific formula just to stay on top of what's just hip now. Labels tend to look at sales and charts when it comes to sign or release a record, that something i’ve never done with Acryl. I've just released what i personally liked the most and to be honest; i never ever imagined Acryl went off like it did!

Which artists are currently signed with "Acryl Music"? Maybe you can give our listeners a short overview where they are coming from and what styles they produce.
The first Acryl releases were all done by myself but with a wide variety of remixers from all around the world. I can give you an overview of some of the artist we had and have on Acryl.
Let’s start with our latest addition to the roster that is Subsky from Turkey with his fantastic deep tech house tunes on labels such as Plastic City and Vivid Trax. Then there's Scope from Ireland, well known for his excellent releases on Urbantorque, DJ Meri who is one half of the infamous Rulers Of The Deep with his signature sound somewhere between progressive and tech house, Jon Silva the man behind Pesto Music from Germany and many others. Check our website
www.acrylmusic.ch for the complete roster.

Visiting Switzerland often myself, i have found the Swiss House Music scene to be very vibrant and lively. Where do you rank cities like Zürich, Basel or Geneva on an international scale when it comes to clubbing, DJing and producing dance music?
I guess Zurich is internationally know as a nightlife mecca, and it definitely was "the" city to go out in the early nineties in Switzerland. Nowadays the "super-clubs" have taken charge of the nightlife, dictated the musical direction and that often resulted that people didn't go out for the music anymore. Clubbing was about music and should always be about music, if that not the case, something has gone terribly wrong in my opinion. And that’s exactly what happened to the nightlife here. You really have a hard time to find a cool night out, if you’re not into "super-clubs", superficial crowds and boring records you hear 5 times a night!

What is in for Da Funk and Acryl Music in 2008? Do you have any releases planned in the near future? Do you want to expand your label?
Off course, i have a bunch of releases coming up the next few weeks, some on Acryl and some on other labels. I can’t tell you more about it at the current state but there will be some surprisingly hot, new and established Artists with their releases on Acryl. 2008 will be a huge one for us, promised :)

Where can people find you and your label online?
Just point your browser to www.dafunk.ch for all and anything Da Funk or www.acrylmusic.ch for anything about the label.

Any last words for our listeners?
I'd like to thank you for all the love and support.
You are House Music!

Thanks very much for being my guest today. I wish you much luck and success for the still new year of 2008. Keep up the great work!

2008, Deep House Cat Show
Interviewer: Philipp "PhilE" Eirich
www.deephousecat.blogspot.com

Da Funk-What You Are To Me on the Sixty Radio compilation

Da Funk's "What You Are To Me" has been selected for Zyx's
Sixty Radio compilation alongside artists such as Stephan Bodzin,
Tom Novy, Pascal Feos and many more. Sixty Radio is the sound of the fashionlabel
Miss Sixty and Energie. This sound is to be heared in all Sixty stores in Germany and
Austria and is featured on an own radio show on Sunshine Live Radio. Get a copy

Edmund-Listen To This (Da Funk's Wild Card Dub) out now!

Check out the remix i've done for Edmund's Listen To This, released on Connected Musik!


Da Funk-Electronic Love exclusively on Pesto’s New Compilation!

Da Funk's "Electronic Love" has been selected for Pesto's brandnew
2.0 compilation alongside artists such as Replika,
Khaan, The Mulder and many more. It's now available on beatport.com!


Da Funk-Way To Go E.P. out now!

Da Funk's Way To Go E.P. marks the first single in the Conya Digital series. Due to our tight release schedule in 2008 we thought we delight you with some digital only singles to not cut down our musical bombs. Our man from switzerland Da Funk delivers these 5 tracker. Deep House from the Mountain top! Get it here!

Da Funk@Club FM Radio

Club FM Radio Macedonia with special guest Da Funk
Monday, January 7th, 2007, 7.00 PM CET.
Tune In!