In the shadowy intersection where industrial machinery meets emotional vulnerability, few artists navigate the terrain as masterfully as the enigmatic producer behind the evocative genre label “Post-Wave-Cold-Pop-Acid-Romance”, Jennifer Touch. Fresh from the release of her compelling new album Aging At Airports, this boundary-pushing artist has spent the better part of a decade crafting a sonic identity that refuses to be boxed into conventional categories.
From her early days merging the raw energy of punk with the synthetic textures of 80s synth-pop, she has evolved into a singular voice in the electronic music landscape. Her latest work explores the liminal spaces we all inhabit – those airports of the soul where we find ourselves suspended between destinations, aging in real-time while grappling with the pressure to remain perpetually perfect.
In this interview, we dive deep into her creative process, exploring how she balances “true and honest emotions” within the “artificial surroundings of synths, digital sounds, and clean mixing.” We also discuss her recent collaboration with Paranoid London, her extensive touring experiences across multiple continents, and her vision for spatial sound composition.
Check out her exclusive guest mix for our “In The Basement” series, a carefully curated journey through the influences and sounds that have shaped her unique artistic vision. The mix serves as the perfect companion to this interview, offering insight into the musical DNA that informs her “undefinable” sound.
1. Looking back to 2014 when you released your first record, what drew you specifically to combining dark 80’s synths with industrial soundscapes? Was this sound something you have always been interested in?
Already as a teenager I was drawn to raw punk energy but also songs with emotional synth sounds. I could never really separate those worlds, so when I started producing my own music it felt natural to merge synthetic, cold, machine-like textures with a very emotional and human songwriting approach. The early ’80s synth bands and East German Krautrock records I grew up with had a huge influence, as well as the roughness of early Minimal Wave and 90´s Techno, great songs by Depeche Mode or the weird sadness of Lacrimosa. Industrial harsh and simple appearing sounds were like the platform of my musical ideas, synth pop gave me the melody, and I always needed both.
2. You describe your sound as “Post-Wave-Cold-Pop-Acid-Romance.” That’s quite a specific and evocative genre label. How did you arrive at this description?
I wanted to find a playful way to describe something that is basically undefinable. My music has always been influenced by many so called genres so I invented a label that reflects that. Each word points to a part of my musical DNA: Wave, Pop, Acid… and “Romance” because even in the darkest sound there’s always a tender, emotional core. But tbh, I think genres are crap. More like roadmaps for music critics to put art into boxes. For the artist themselves, it’s rather hindering. I think it’s better not to think about it when creating your own stuff.
3. What was the main inspiration behind your new album Aging At Airports? Did certain tracks emerge directly from specific airport experiences?
Yes, airports are the main metaphor. They’re in-between spaces where you feel both anonymous and visible, where you wait, age, reflect. I had many moments sitting at airports feeling the fragility of time passing, of being “in transit” in my own life. The songs reflect this pressure of perfection, of disappearing, of fading out and the inner protest against that. So somehow at an airport this sentence popped in my mind and I thought, this must be a great record title cause basically all my songs come from that place of „in-between“, it describes my own relationship to art and life. Also, it sounds so silly, even having that dramatic background.
4. The contrast between “true and honest emotions” within “artificial surroundings of synths, digital sounds, and clean mixing” sounds central to your approach. How do you navigate the process of making music?
For me it’s all about balance. I love the clean, artificial architecture of synthetic sounds, but I always put my voice at the center. My voice is used unpolished, I dont really edit it, there is just a bit of reverb in the mix and that’s the “human” part. My earlier releases also sound more dirty than my stuff now, which relates to a certain knowledge I gained over the years and I still like the imperfect mix. But this time I wanted everything to be more clear in the final mix, more accesible. My studio process is like sculpting: I build these artificial structures, then I break them open with emotion. That tension is what excites me. Mostly I start with a synth sound, (often a bass sound) and then I add the kick and snare and when the basement of the track is quite clear I add fragments or whole parts of melodies. This can be my voice or a synth, or a guitar. In between I try to build the structure of the track quite soon, means i focus on the songwriting and then I add details like percussions or any fx.
5. Can you walk us through your studio setup for this record? What synthesizers and equipment were essential to achieving the sound you were after?
Usually I very rarely work with plug ins cause I love to touch and physically work with synths but this time I also wanted to use some sounds from the SH 101 and D-50 that were only available as plug ins to me. I previously also recorded samples from my Kawai R100 and the DDD1 to use it in a digital drum sampler, paired with other drum samples like Emu, Linn and beats from the Alesis SR16 drum machine. And I worked with my Blofeld Waldorf Synth again, the Korg Poly Synth and my Micro Korg. Also the Doepfer dark time was used on a lot of sounds, mostly with the Dark Energy analogue synth. Everything goes through a Drawmer as Amp and Compressor. The whole process should be as accessible as the sound I wanted for the record. The deepness of the record comes with my voice paired with the bass sounds that I focussed on the most. I finally decided to use my voice unapologetically intense and free which I was always a bit afraid of before.
6. The final track Rumble (Defiance) is described as “made for the darkest dance floors.” How important is the dancefloor context to your music, and how do you balance intimate, personal themes with communal dance experiences?
The dancefloor is very important for me, because it’s a safe place where people can transform my music into their own movement. My songs often start from a very personal, intimate place, but I want to give them a structure where others can connect. Rumble is like my statement of resistance, and the fact that people can dance to it makes the defiance collective. I create tracks or songs so they can attribute vibes and energies to a community, to the society. When I wrote the song Anthem I constantly imagined myself performing the song and moving my body to it. It’s important to me to let the music move through me, and also through others. And the moment when a song hits a dancefloor it becomes a bigger story and a part of the night. Most of my songs are made with straight drums and a clear rhythmic even if I dont primarly do dance music. But I think music just belongs to dancefloors.
7. Do you prefer performing live with instruments and vocals or DJing? How does each format make you feel as a performer?
I prefer playing live with my voice, because that’s when I feel the strongest connection. Singing is my core instrument and I also love to create and play synth sounds live. But I enjoy DJing a lot because it’s more free and playful. When I DJ, I can share my influences, travel through different genres, and connect with people on this curated level. Both sides are important for me.
8. You’ve toured extensively across the UK, Europe, Mexico, and Colombia. How do different audiences respond to your music? Do you have a favourite region where you like to perform?
Every country has its own energy. In Mexico and Colombia people are incredibly passionate. In the UK the audience listens very carefully, and in Germany it’s often a bit more reserved but very loyal. I can’t say I have a favourite, I love the contrasts, and I feel grateful that my music can resonate in so many different places.
9. Can you tell us about your collaboration with Paranoid London? How did that partnership come together, and what was the creative dynamic like?
I met them through Alex, the head of FatCat, and we clicked instantly. Their approach is very raw, pure acid house energy, and they invited me to contribute vocals. I loved the roughness of their setup, it reminded me of early stories Robert Görl once told me about working with analog gear, one take, no safety net. That energy in music influenced me a lot since I was a teenager, because it encouraged me not to over-polish, to keep the dirt alive in the sound. It’s honest. Paranoid London are amazing and very experienced producers, I’m looking forward to do more with them.
10. Now that your album is out in the world, what can fans look forward to from you this year and beyond?
I’ll be touring Europe in November and I’m already working on my next release with FatCat Records. What is also very interesting to me is composing and performing songs for spatial sound and I plan to dive more into that. Also I want to open myself again to collaborations, explore new sonic territories, and also build my own label for self-releases. It’s an exciting and weird time, things are shifting. I feel the urge to become more independent and to share my experiences with others. Let’s see what comes next, def some new music for the world.