Interview: 5 minutes with Junge Junge

Junge Junge are an electronic duo based in Germany. One half Rochus Grolle has remained one of Germany’s most prolific DJs of the early 2000’s, along with notorious music producer Michael Noack, the duo formed Junge Junge as an experiment to fuse together their own unique and individual styles, as well as an opportunity to boldly merge similarly charged influences. As Junge Junge, their first official single titled ‘Beautiful Girl’ was released in April 2015 via Get Physical Music, spawning from a spontaneous jam session which took place at Helene Beach Festival in 2014 and showcasing a deeply, melodic-pop oriented sound. The single gained significant attention from Universal Music Sweden earning Junge Junge an immediate and deserved record deal.

Junge Junge’s latest single titled ‘I’m The One’ is an atmospheric cruise through texture and emotion. Complete with warm, enticing, synth-fueled melodies, methodical percussion and serene vocal work, ‘I’m The One’ further demonstrates the German duo’s impressive attention to detail, and effortless aim in songwriting ability.

We caught up with Junge Junge on stage chemistry and future excitement:
(Be sure to stream Junge Junge’s latest single ‘I’m The One’ via Spotify below!)

Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?

Most of the time, the sound comes before the idea.

Does your material feature any collaborations?

Our current single “I’m The One” was written and produced last year at ADE in a writing camp arranged by our publisher.  As for the rest of our material, it’s a mixture of solo productions and features which are primarily with vocalists.

What’s on your current playlist?

In our playlist you will find again and again songs by Ruede Hagelstein, Emanuel Satie, SuperFlu, Audiojack, Sven Tasnadi, Cuatero as well as remixes of our tracks from Leeto to the Ramon Zenker remix of our song “Run Run Run”.

Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.

It depends on the event and surrounding, but for us it is always important to maintain visual contact.  This is obviously easier to do at a club and more of a challenge at a festival for example. If all goes well, we have a packed dance floor in front of us, free drinks from fans which we also offer as well. We think you should give something back to the audience.

What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound?

We like to use analog equipment to create the sound as well as guitar or bass.

Sounds from synths like the Moog, Roland JV Series, OB6 and more. The idea it to produce a different feeling than just digital.

Take us through a day in the recording studio.

We usually meet in the studio in the morning. With us it’s a bit more comfortable so the overall vibe is relaxed. If guest artists are scheduled to join in on a session, we usually start with something to eat and slowly get into the groove. This process can sometimes be drawn out into the evening or early the next morning. Once the ideas are collected they will edited together. This is best when done in the morning directly after waking up the next day.

Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought, “this is what I want to do”?

We always had the feeling that we only wanted to work on music so it’s hard to pinpoint an exact date/time/moment. We’re just so happy that it’s finally happening!

What do you keep close by while you’re playing a set?

Nothing out of the ordinary, but obviously the right music to play. We always feel the need to go forward and progress which is a big part of our chemistry as a duo. Keeping our hospitality rider near also helps sometimes…

Any emerging artists on your radar?

In the acoustic pop area definitely Mogli. We produced a single with her in the last year and she, in turn, made an acoustic version of her album. She is an incredibly talented musician. The original mix will be released on our upcoming album.  In the Techno genre, definitely Drumcomplex. We are excited to be working with him on another remix contribution.

What gets your creative juices flowing?

Having enough time to be in the studio making music. No pressure or stress to be in the right mood. And above all, you have to really want to produce a song so the motivation has to be there and cannot be forced.

Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.

As previously mentioned, we use a lot of vintage analog synths. They sound so warm and organic.

Synths:

Moog Minitaur, OB6, DX7, ….

Effects:

Lexicon PCM 91, TL Audio, Music and More, …

How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?

You have to get into a certain process first…like a creative flow. Some things have changed with us from the sound quality to mixing so you also have to stay in the loop with the tech possibilities in the studio, but more importantly for us was to craft our “Junge Junge sound”.

Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you this year?

In December we will release our remix package for the new single “I’m The One”, after that, in 2018 excitement continues with the release of our debut album coming out on Universal.

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