Berlin-based DJ and producer Housemeister is set to release his latest full-length album, Transfer, on Detroit Underground.

With over thirty releases under his belt and heralded as of the longest running members of the BNR crew, Transfer will be Housemeister’s sixth album. Straying from his staunch and aggressive electro sound, Transfer is an album that consists of spacious, ambient, and poignant hardware-only compositions, showcasing the artists creative depth and ability to produce electronic sounds of all shapes and sizes. Ahead of his new release, we managed to get in a few words with Housemeister to discuss his new composition, the recording process, and the parallels between Detroit and Berlin.

You can purchase the album by going here.

After previously releasing albums on your own AYCB label and the infamous Boysnoize Records, you are putting out your latest release on Detroit Underground, an artistic collective established in 1997. How did you meet the guys behind the label? What prompted you to create an album for such a legendary collective?

Thats a good story actually. The first releases I did in 2000 on Ellen Allien Bpitch Control, Kero (DU label owner) also had some releases there, so we even played sometimes together in Germany, but in this time we didn’t really know each other. Last year my girlfriend Dinamite (she is DJ and producer too) and I were invited to my sister’s wedding in Toronto for two weeks. Ana told me that her good friend Annie Hall (they are both from Madrid) lived in Windsor with her boyfriend Kero. We decide to visit them for a few days, so we rented a car and drove over there and thats how I met him. We had a good time and had some nice tech-talk in his studio, visiting Detroit and checking out the underground resistance house. When getting back to Berlin, I was kind of inspired and made my first track from this album, “Multiversum.” Dinamite loved it so much that she suggested I make more music like this. So from there, I decided I would make one ambient track each week. I slowed down the machines, added more reverb and delay, and after 2 months the album was done. Then I sent it to Kero and he really loved it.

This album seems to stand out as a more original piece in comparison to your other works. Has this album been a challenge for you working solely on hardware?

Yes this album is special for me and I’m very proud of it. It was lots of fun to make. Production wise, I only used drum machines, samplers, and synthesizers. I’m used to it and this kind of music is perfect for live-recording. The only thing I had to take care while recording was not touching the instruments too much, this type of music needs time to flow. Just little knob moves or pattern-changes. Whenever I wanted to change something, I stopped myself and did it 64 or 128 steps later.

Berlin to seems to share a dismal history of a large industrial powerhouse which saw an unfortunate migration of people, whether war or the exportation of manufacturing, leaving desolate empty spaces. Why do you feel the sounds of Detroit translate so well to Berlin? What about this album represents Berlin to you?

Berlin and Detroit go hand in hand. These two cities have many things in common and Detroit has always been around in Berlin. I bought my first records at Hardwax, which was also the main Europe distributor for all the Detroit labels. We had enough dirty dark clubs where that Detroit sounds works really well. Tresor and E-Werk used to bring all the artist from overseas to play and I used to go dancing there all the time. There is no denying it’s a big influence. Another thing that both cities have in common is that both cities have hard winters, which is a good time to make and listen music like this. It just fits. Its dark, deep, and beautiful…