German artist ASA 808 will make a return to releasing music and for another great cause, following his parties at spots like Berlin club ://aboutblank in aid of refugees.
Now his forthcoming mini-album will bring several years of work with all the proceeds being donated to LGBTIQ NGO’s to help communities that he says have given a lot towards his musical career.
We spoke to ASA 808 about the album, as well as his TOYS label and party brand and where he’s playing in the coming months, grab the full interview below now.
Hey ASA, thanks for taking some time to chat, we hope you’re doing well at the moment?
Thank you, yes, I’m really happy, lots of exciting things are happening.
You have been working on a ‘mini-album’ for some time, tell us about the project in terms of production?
I’ve written most of the tracks on this release within the last two or three years. After a couple of clubby releases on ManMakeMusic and our own TOYS imprint, I tried to go back to my ambient / post-rock roots and merge them with club influences. I would say half of the mini-LP is dance-minded music, while the other half is for home listening. It’s also my first release in a long time with a singer, some natural drums, guitars and bass. Some very talented friends helped me with that.
And it’s a not-for-profit release, with all proceeds going to LGBTIQ NGOs?
Yeah, I wanted to give something back to the communities I received some of the most enriching and inspiring musical gifts from: the LGBTIQ+ communities. House music was born in these communities, but lately it seems to be mostly about big fees, agencies and managers. The equality and diversity of love as well as the diversity of our understandings of love are issues that are very important to me. That’s why I decided that the proceeds of the record should go to NGOs who offer advice, support and information services to LGBTIQ people, regardless of their race, gender, (dis-)ability, religion or ethnic background.
And the track ‘Love Trumps Fear’ also comes with a music video, did you have any input in the creative direction?
Yes, actually the editor of the video is one of my best friends, Vincent Tirpitz, who already edited the music videos for ‘Ignorance’ as well as ‘Colour’, a single under my ‘hasta la otra méxico’ alias. He had a clear vision of the kaleidoscopic effects when Jakub Kaliszewski first sent his drone footage to Marie and me, but he was still very open to my input. We spent a few days arranging and editing the video so that it underlines the themes of the song: an open state of mind, a buddhist understanding of non-selfcenteredness and the omnipresence of love.
What about DJing, where can we expect to find you playing soon?
I just played a vinyl only set 48 hours ago at Golzheim, an amazing underground club in Düsseldorf, where I have a residency. I’ll also be playing at Farbfernseher in Berlin next week. And I’ll be traveling through Europe when the mini-album drops, with shows in Vienna, Budapest and the UK.
And will you be focusing on any live performance in relation to the album?
I’m actually thinking about playing live again, but I can’t promise yet at what point that’ll happen.
You also manage the TOYS label and party promotion, where you recently threw a party in Berlin’s ://about blank, have you thought about what’s next for TOYS?
Yeah, we’re continuing our regular nights at ://about blank, Farbfernseher and Golzheim. Besides, we’re already working on plans for the 7th TOYS anniversary next spring. We also had our first TOYS night in Cologne a few months back. We’re always excited to explore new spaces and music.
Thanks for taking the time to talk, we wish you the best of luck with the album!
Thank you so much. Have a lovely day!