Germany's Steve Bug- Techno is Shrinking, But in a Good Way

As well as running acclaimed Berlin independent label Poker Flat Recordings (home to the much hyped electro duo Martini Bros) Steve Bug is one of Germany's best known DJs, regularly touring the world alongside his old mate Sven Vath. Spinning house, electro as well as the harder end of electronic dance music he nevertheless avoids using the term techno to describe his own music.

"If you use the word techno today people think of really hard electronic music though that's not the kind of music I play," he told Skrufff's Jonty Adderley.

"I don't play Adam Beyer type stuff, instead I play much slower and much deeper than most of the techno DJs."

Recently releasing his third solo album Sensual, he also remains optimistic about dance music's future, despite Germany's failing economy seriously hitting certain elements of the country's club scene.

"The economy is a problem right now because the record stores are struggling with record sales, but for the vinyl market it feels the same," he revealed.

Techno is dying here, that's the feeling I have anyway, I could be wrong, but it seems to be skrinking. But I don't think that's connected with the economy, rather the music was over-hyped way too much and the clubs got too big. I've always had this feeling that this music was special and was meant for a few special people rather than being for the masses," says Steve.


Skrufff (Jonty Adderley): You just did a label tour of Australia with Martini Bros and Glowing Glisses, how is the country perceived in Germany-

Steve Bug: "I guess lots of Germans also consider it as paradise, the weather's always good, for example. Lots of my friends would love to take holidays there but it's so far away and the travel takes so long. If you go there you need to stay for a long time and having been there you never feel like making the trip again for at least 12 months. The flight is so long. People regard Australia and also New Zealand as good countries to live in, in the future, to be far away from all the world's troubles and politics."

Skrufff: As a German, does Australia appear closer to the UK or the US-

Steve Bug: "Errm, I actually find that Australian people are nicer than the Americans, it seems like they have more time and are less rushed. If you go for dinner with Australians, you're not getting herded out of the restaurant the moment you've finished, like you are in the States, for example. Americans seem to be friendly initially but usually on a different level that doesn't go too deep."

Skrufff: You toured with Sven Vath last year, is techno a word or a movement you strongly associate yourself with-

Steve Bug: "I don't have a problem with the word though it means different things to different people. To me, everything that's been happening has been about house, and I still have the feeling the music is the same. If you use the word techno today people think of really hard electronic music though that's not the kind of music I play. I don't play Adam Beyer type stuff, instead I play much slower and much deeper than most of the techno DJs. So if I use the term for myself, I think people might misunderstand what I'm doing."

Skrufff: Your label signing The Martini Bros feature on Tiga's upcoming K7 mix CD, do you feel part of this upcoming electro wave-

Steve Bug: "On my last album I did a couple of 80s sounding tracks but I think a lot of the electroclash records sound too cheap and too cheesy for me. They've got very simple basslines and stupid vocals and I'm not into that. I still listen to the stuff because some of it is really nice, I just bought a new Black Strobe record for example, the Me & Madonna one. It's kinda' cheesy in the middle but I really love the track because it has something special and it's really cool. I've never tried to stick to just one style. A lot of DJs totally follow hype playing one kind of music which leads to an overdose of electroclash or hard tec Tags