Franz Kirmann Written Interview

Listen to the mix here: https://www.fwd.dj/mix/fwd152-franz-kirmann/

Hey Franz, thanks so much for putting together a beautiful mix for us, it explores some really amazing sonic territories and introduced us to some fantastic artists. Tell us a little bit about the mix, where was it recorded and how did you go about crafting it?

Hi, my pleasure! I recorded it in my studio in London. I just wanted to create a mix that reflects music and influences that have fed into my latest EP “In Waves” with Roberto Grosso, so there is some older stuff, like Cluster and more recent music, as well as favourites like Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe or HTRK who always seem to end up on my mixes.

To those who may be unfamiliar with your work could you give us an overview of your sound and various projects as well as your label - Days of being Wild.

This is always hard to do so I tend to say cinematic electronic music, because this is how people usually describe it! And it seems to encapsulate more or less the different periods I have been through. My early music was more melodic for sure, and became more experimental with time. As for Days Of Being Wild, I run it with Sam Berdah and we are primarily a dance music label. We put out disco, post punk and italo influenced dance music. We’ve been going for over 10 years with 50+ releases now.

You just released an EP with Roberto Grosso on Days of being Wild, how would you introduce this work and how did it come about?

Roberto is a friend who makes augmented reality artworks based on music and we decided to collaborate together, I was going to write some music that would then inform some new paintings. But I discovered Roberto is also a guitarist so I invited him to take part in the music side as well. The EP was made fairly quickly, we recorded live jams over a few days and then edited them down to the final pieces with a bit of overdub. Roberto created the artworks while we were making the music, as a visual answer to the sound.

The EP comes with some pretty epic visual accompaniment in the form of prints with augmented reality content embedded in the design. As far as I can tell this is your first foray into heavy visual accompaniment - is this something you will explore more on future releases and live performances?

I have actually collaborated in the early days with filmmakers Elektrikzoo, who directed some videos around my first album Random Access Memories as well as live projections for the gigs. I’m hoping to be able to play live with Roberto at some point and yes we will definitely incorporate some visual elements to the performances. Not sure how yet but we’re talking about it. Visuals are important in electronic music for sure as they add something to the often boring man with a laptop performance. But they can sometimes distract from the music, it’s a tricky balance to find. Roberto is also working on an exhibition project that we are soundtracking together.
I also think that with the streaming age we have lost that physical and visual relationship with music that we had with the sleeves and designs. Spotify have come up with the canvas format and we are using it on In Waves but I don’t know if people are really watching those while they listen to the music!

Ardent followers of your instagram are occasionally treated to pictures of what you are reading (mixed in with shots of your cats, music gear & industrial cityscapes). The books appear to be an assortment of french novels, philosophical works and writings on music. Do you consider books and writing to be an influence behind your music?

Yes absolutely! My album Elysian Park is based on a novel, while Madrapour takes its name from the French novel of the same name. 


One of the high points of your mix is the track Alouatta (hembra) by Lion’s Drums - it’s an incredible amalgamation of tribal and contemporary music. Listening to it and reading about it placed me in quite a philosophical mood. I thought about the history of human engagement with music, going back thousands of years. From this perspective what would you say music is?

Yes it’s a great piece of music by a French producer from Marseille.
Every civilization has music. I think it’s something that all human beings had a relationship with from the dawn of time. In his book “Noise” Jacques Attali argues that being an immaterial force, music moves faster than economics or politics and therefore is a more potent source of new social relations. A position I find very interesting. Think of the acid house movements or punk for example. 


You have also had experience working with musicians who have had an almost tribal relationship with their craft on your trip to Senagal to record the Piano Interrupted album ‘Landscape of the unfinished’. When you compare your approach to creating and engaging with music against the musicians you worked with in Senegal, how do you define your relationship with music?

I’m constantly trying to engage with music in a similar way to the Senegalese musicians we worked with on Landscapes. They have a very joyous, direct and fluid way of creating and playing music that has defined my relationship with music over the past few years.
The idea of making music in a live, improvisational way using a modular system comes from that experience.
It’s spiritual, it’s about the process more than the finished piece in a way.
That’s also why I love Philip Jeck’s performances, for example. You don’t know where it’s going, it’s very fragile and could go wrong at any time, sometimes it doesn’t work! I find that very human. The music is created in the moment and that’s it. It’s the voice of the soul. With my early work as well as with Piano Interrupted, I was very focused on the end result, spending a lot of time on arrangements and structure etc. I’m more influenced by the spirit behind techno now, although my music doesn’t necessarily sound techno.

Speaking as someone who has made music across the spectrum. Why do you think one person can hear a piece of music and think it is the most incredible thing they have ever heard while another may want to turn it off as soon as possible?

I think it’s often a question of context in which a piece is played, or one’s musical education or how much interest you have for music. Not all music is made to be listened to the same way. The same goes for cinema. I mean you don’t watch an Avengers movie like you watch a Tarkovsky movie. I find that if a difficult piece of music is put into its context it might still not be appreciated but at least it can be understood.
I didn’t necessarily like my favourite records the first time I heard them!
Also perhaps streaming is partially to blame? Because listeners will tend to stay in their musical “safe zone”, listen to what they know and be suggested similar things by algorithms rather than be encouraged to venture towards new genres of music.

It’s been an immensely challenging year for artists, especially those who perform regularly. Do you have a positive outlook for the future? Can you imagine a packed standing room only show happening anytime soon?

I think we will have concerts again for sure. Touring is problematic anyway right now because of the pandemic, but long term there is also the environmental impact, whether you are a big band or a city hopping weekend DJ. In the UK now you have Brexit, making it difficult for British musicians to tour abroad but also for foreign artists to play here. It’s never been more difficult to make a living from music, add to that the economic model of Spotify... I’m sure we will find new ways for music to thrive, because on the other hand there is so much great music being made right now, but yeah the conversations going around with fellow musicians are pretty bleak.

One final question, other than the artists in the mix you recorded for us - who are you listening to at the moment that you are really enjoying and are there any albums slated for release in the near future you are really looking forward to? What about films?

I have been listening to a lot of Chris and Cosey, Nina Simone as well as “Stardust”, Faith Coloccia’s collaboration with Philip Jeck.
I also like the Claire Roussey album “A Softer Focus”.

And coming up, well my album with Roberto if we manage to finish it!

As for films, I have been watching a lot during the lockdown. Riight now I’m working my way through Bong Joon-Ho filmography, I have just watched Memories of Murder and it’s fantastic, he’s a unique filmmaker.
Also the remasters of Wong Kar Wai films are now available so I’m looking forward to watching them all again. He’s another true master of cinema.