We met Vince probably around 10 years ago in the Munich rave scene. Now he is a resident Dj at Blitz and he is also the booker for the Lighthouse Festivals. Enjoy!
Hello Leo how are you and what have you been up to recently?
Hello there, I feel pretty relaxed and happy. Just came back from a short vacation with friends in Croatia. Still one of my favorite destinations. I’m grateful about these last days off, because from now on I am intensively working on a couple of different projects at the same time. Programming and preparing the South African and Croatian editions of Lighthouse Festival 2020; working on a detailed concept for our upcoming club in Vienna and I hope finally moving my home studio/office to a proper place.
You live in Vienna. How would you describe the city and music scene there at the moment?
The city is just the perfect place for me and my girlfriend Wanda right now. We both do what we love as a day to day job. I work in electronic music and she in contemporary dance/choreography. We have a cheap but spacious apartment in a cool, central area. Lot’s of friends living nearby. I can’t deny it.. it’s kind of lovey. The city itself, I would describe as laid back, even lazy. That’s just perfect for us, as we walk on the wild side often enough. So the Viennese vibe can be the perfect compensation for my weekend nights without sleep or Wanda’s weeks full of teaching, training and rehearsals. There’s a lot happening here in the culture scene. Especially once you look further than the obligatory night life venues. The Contemporary dance, performance and art scene in general seems to be very vivid and versatile. When it comes to clubs it appears to be difficult. Vienna is a student city with a lot of fluctuation. I have the feeling that it is really difficult for clubs to keep long-term regulars and staff. But I guess that’s a problem everywhere. Nevertheless there are sooo many different crews and collectives, young and old, who never give up promoting events, producing, running labels, DJing. I guess that’s a pretty strong vital sign… Aside from that we’ll be opening up a small music venue, too, by end of the year.
You are a resident Dj at Blitz in Munich. How would you describe the club and what was your favorite moment there?
What can I say. It’s just so dope. What makes me really really happy is to be able to follow the whole progress. The location scouting, planning and negotiations, the construction, the opening, the first receptions, the first excesses, the emergence of the Blitz family, the arising routine, the first changes and improvements and of course the SOUND and the MUSIC.
What’s really mesmerizing is that it’s getting even better and better. And there seems to be no end in sight. There was a time when I had doubts about the club culture in Munich. I just couldn’t see new music loving ravers following up… But now weekend after weekend I look around at Blitz and I see the club full of dancing people. All kinds of people. super young ravers, old ravers, queer people, tourists, the notorious‘ „posh“ Munich office people wearing collared shirts, boys and girls wearing no shirts at all, you name it. It’s just the social melting pot we’ve wanted it to be….. Further Blitz really managed to reinstall a music- and dance-focused nightclubbing for many people. I’ve experienced a time when I had the feeling other things were more important.
What annoys you or has pissed you off lately?
Social Media is the devil to me.But don’t get me wrong. I’m an active user, too. Facebook, Instagram, whatsoever…, I Post, I tag, I like, I comment. But for me personally it’s poison. It’s proven by science that it’s not only highly addictive but also creates anxiety, depression and whatnot. And I can feel this effect really real already. Especially for artists in entertainment. The whole thing is a lie. I admire the artists who are able use it just as a stripped down marketing/communication tool or have agents who do that for them… For me it can be painful. While scrolling, sometimes I catch myself being jealous or judgy, feeling useless or just smaller than I actually am. Or even worse: the other way around. So I am looking for a way (and I might have found one ) to quit the whole thing without destroying the little career I’ve managed to build.
And then politics of course. right-wing extremism and its whitewashed, presentable little bastard brother right-wing populism. It’s disgusting. It’s like a disease spreading all over Europe, poisoning the minds of everyone who’s not educated enough, or just too desperate or too hateful to resist.
What excites you besides music?
Nature. I love to check out the the forests, lakes, rivers, mountains, villages nearby. Austria, Bavaria, Slovenia, Croatia have terrific sceneries to offer.
Food. I love to cook. We cook every day. But not just in our all day live. I also regularly invite friends over for dinner. It’s also cheaper then. When I want to cook something special, I ask a couple of friends to split the grocery shopping and then I do the cooking for all of us.
Dance. Wanda is a professional dancer & choreographer. When we met I didn’t really know or like dance as an art and form of expression and communication. I thought it was all about this very stiff ballet opera thing…
But now I’ve done my homework and watched a lot of pieces, checked out dance companies like Batsheva or the Wuppertal Tanztheater. It’s just an awesome form of art and huge fun to dive into. Also so many great musicians in electronic music work together with choreographers. I’d love to create something combining these two disciplines one day.
Anything coming up you want to share with us? Any shout-outs or final statements?
Shout out to Wanda for supporting me, no matter what. Shout out to the Blitz and LHF family, it’s so much fun!
I really really hope that I can present my new own label and „blog“ soon. I’ve been announcing this for ages now. But it is in progress. And it will come, eventually. 🙂