‘I House You But Love’ is the latest EP from HDSN. It’s a solid drop of house and made with a vintage spirit. We caught up with the producer and put him through our QnA.
Why Music?
No music no life.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Helping people or being a forester (at least that’s what my 3rd grad vocational testing said).
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t expect happiness from success and don’t expect success from happiness.
What inspires you?
Life.
What’s the next big thing?
I wanna make an album.
Best club experience?
JAW Family Reunion at Prince Charles Berlin 2016.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Office administrator.
How do you know when a track is finished?
When I’m noodling around and nothing’s changing anymore.
What was your last day job and when did you realise you could give it up?
Office administrator. I needed to give it up in order to be happy and follow the music.
Which song do you wish you wrote?
Roy Davis Jr – ‘Gabriel’
What’s the easiest way to make it in the music industry?
Be relentless. Do things on your own terms.
What’s the worst track you’ve ever released?
HDSN – ‘Curiosity’
Recommend us a film.
Cadillac Records.
Recommend us a book.
‘It´s All In Your Head’ by Russ.
What or who is underrated?
Realness.
What or who is overrated?
Today’s fame as it’s disconnected from greatness.
What are you addicted to?
Pretty much everything you put in front of me. Music is the worst or best.
What do you lust over?
Snacks.
What is your greatest regret?
Not being self-aware enough in times when people tried to hold me down.
What one thing would most improve your life?
A full tour schedule.
What’s the worst gig you’ve ever played?
I’ve played lots of gigs that people would consider bad in my early days.
I grew up in the countryside you know. Sometimes I carried all my equipment through a knee-deep field of snow only to play for five people in some hut in the middle of nowhere.
The good thing about loving what you do so much is that you don’t really care as long as you gotta play music somewhere. Nowadays I am more selective when it comes to shows to avoid disappointment. That’s important but I always remember where I came from so if the gig isn’t that great it’s just me and the music.
Life is what you make it.
Collaboration: rich creative experience or pain in the ass?
I actually would love to collaborate more with people. But it’s not that easy for me as I feel music is something very personal and honest and I really gotta fuck with your energy to go and make music with you.
What’s the secret to a great mix?
Trust your ears and don’t chat to nerds too much 🙂
If you could only listen to one more track, what would it be?
Hard one but I probably would go with D’Angelo’s ‘Untitled.
How do you relax?
In my jacuzzi aka my bathtub.
What one piece of software/kit could you not do without? Why?
Ableton because it’s the heart of my productions.
Art or money?
Art always and forever!
Ronaldo or Messi?
Ronaldo. I respect Messy though…
Strangest place you ever wrote a track?
After-party at a friends house where people were going nuts living their best lives at 7am in the morning while I was sitting there on the couch making beats.
Must-visit record store?
I think there are a couple of great record stores around Europe.
Next to more common ones like Rush Hour or Phonica Records I really like Record Mania in Amsterdam or Piccadilly Records in Manchester.
One of the secrets in Munich though is Best Records; a very small vinyl exchange shop in town. They have a lot of great stuff from soul to disco to jazz and beyond; mostly second hand so you can get some real nuggets for a good price.
Some untypical heavyweight diggers, mostly 50+ individuals, call it home on the weekends. They meet in the shop every Saturday to talk music and dig for some black gold this is what I love most.
Oftentimes I spend the whole afternoon in the shop chatting to the people & listening to music. I bought a lot of the old Strictly Rhythm stuff there mostly for one Euro each. It’s fantastic.
What’s your single biggest frustration in the music industry?
The corrupt system.
What’s your favourite label? Why?
One of my favs is XL Recordings. They never stopped bringing fresh new talents and diversity to the table since day dot.
What’s the worst thing about making music?
To put it out afterwards cause if you don’t do it the right way nobody will listen to it in this oversaturated market.
For me, it’s more hassle to promote the music than to actually make the music.
What’s your motto?
It’s a life thing.
Name something timeless.
Being kind never goes out of fashion.
What’s the best production advice you can give in 140 characters or less?
The idea that you need a technical skill to express yourself in any meaningful way is one of the greatest illusions of Capitalism.
Complete this sentence: At heart I’m just a frustrated …
Mofo with lots of self-doubts that holds the world right in his hands.
Can music change the world?
No cause, in the end, we the people gotta do it.
Music can have a positive impact on people which can result in change. One of the most beautiful things I love about music is that when a song is really good and it touches my heart and soul on a deeper level I feel so much gratitude for this life, the people around me and everything beyond; it really makes me appreciate the beauty of life to it’s fullest which creates a better persona of myself and that makes the world a little better.
What are you listening to right now?
Daniel Norgren – ‘Moonshine Got Me’.
What should you do before you die?
This is a hard one to answer for a 30-year-old still figuring out what this life’s about but I think the most important thing is to really live your life and not live down to society’s expectations of yourself.
So many people out there live a life pleasing the expectations of their parents, their spouse or friends. That’s not only a waste of time but also a limiting belief which is limiting theirselves and their own potential.
Every man has two lives and the second one starts when he realises he has just one. This always hits home for me. Go out out and live instead of settling for survival.
Find HDSN on Instagram.
HDSN – ‘I House You But Love’ is out now. Listen on SoundCloud.