Gerd Janson Interview

Image: Gerd Janson

Gerd Janson is a busy man and one talented in many disciplines. He hails from south-west Germany and is best known for co-founding and A+Ring for one of the most respected underground dance music labels in Europe, Running Back. The label has issued some brilliant music since it was founded in 2002, including releases from the likes of Theo Parrish, Prosumer, Todd Terje, Move D, KiNK and Radio Slave.

Gerd is also an incredibly gifted, multi-genre DJ. No less than masterful Theo Parrish sung Janson's praises as a DJ to this writer. A disco obsessive, Gerd has held a renowned residency at Frankfurt’s famed Robert Johnson club for several years, playing mainly house and disco. 

Combined, these two endeavors have made him an incredibly in-demand DJ who regularly crosses the globe. 

When not working in music, Gerd is a bit of a wordsmith, to say the least. He's a well-respected journalist in his own right and so, ahead of his date at the Baltic Weekender at the Baltic Triangle between 2nd - 4th June, we revisited one of our previous conversations with him.

What was your experience of doing one year National Service in Germany?

A rather interesting and educational one. I was working as a lifesaver/ambulance driver for the German Red Cross. So, for 13 months I got a glimpse into the very urgent matters of everyday life and death. It was funny, macabre, obscure, happy and sad, all at the same time.

What did you study in academia? Were you influenced in choosing this subject by the music you liked or did these studies influence what music you went on to appreciate?

The influence was rather subconscious, I might say. I enrolled for American Studies, Political Science and History. As pop culture often is informed by all three of those – and since, especially in the Nineties, there was a certain academic discourse in pop music journalism – there was a certain overlap of topics. But I think that I'd have studied those topics anyway, even if I'd been cursed with musicphobia.

How do you feel about being asked to play back to back sets with other DJs (watch him above with Prins Thomas)? Do you think they always work?

Flattered and cajoled. They always work with me. I'm the submissive one.

Does politics belong in dance music? If it does, why is politics relevant to a music that is largely instrumental?

That is a valid point: it's instrumental music. But, if you will, dance music can be political at heart. Without turning into an ethnologist, the communal experience of dancing to a pounding kick drum in a dark room with a lot of strangers, who sometimes come from all walks of life, (in theory!) can be a liberating and tolerance-inducing experience, for some.

Substance abuse might help, too! From hearsay, it's hard to have a fight on MDMA. And I remember seeing lots of football hooligans in Mannheim, Germany being pacified by repeated overdoses of pills and piano broadsides. I heard the same is true for a certain generation of brutes in the UK. 

Having said that, I think it's also a common mistake that two people who listen to the same kick drum would vote for the same party or even have the same views on personal liberties. With dance music, techno, house or rave culture having reached mass appeal like it did, I guess the assumption that people enamoured with it share the same cultural or political beliefs is a bit naïve.

Every weekend, all over the world, thousands of dancers come together, joining their fellow man for a celebration of music and dancing. But what are we dancing for? Is there any end product? Is there anything that separates or could separate these people from others who don't do that, other than hedonism and music appreciation?

Ruined footwear and hopefully a broadened sense of good manners and tolerance.

Is there a finite amount of good disco that you can buy?

As is so often true, that lies in the ear of the beholder. I would rather say it's infinite, really.

Name your 3 favourite disco producers and say why they matter to you.

I think in disco – at least for me – it's more about the re-mixers or DJs touching the recordings. So, Larry Levan for a great sense of pop music hooks and drama while keeping it on the dancefloor, John Morales for his surgeon-like precision and Tony Humphries for that special hump.

Is the popularity in releasing re-edits in any way detrimental to dance music?

No! Why should it be? An edit is, first and foremost – next to a cheap excuse of having your name on a record or steal another person's creativity and put yours on top of it – fuelled by the urge to make something more dance-able or functional.

A good edit is better than a bad original composition. It just shouldn't lead to delusions of grandeur.

Has the death in popularity of internet forums affected the exchange of music and the knowledge of music?

Are they dead? I thought John and Jane Wisenheimer have just moved on to haunt the social media channels?

For anyone who has never been, describe what makes Robert Johnson such a special club and explain what it is you try and do at your nights there?

Intimacy, a room with nice acoustics, a balcony and sometimes a sunrise. I just try to play records. Some that I play everywhere and some that I only play there.

Is there an ethos to Running Back? How would you describe the kind of records do you put out? Are there limitations on what you would release on the label?

I put out music that I like to listen to or DJ with in the realm of dance music. Limitations? Yes, of the same diffuse nature that fuels the output.

Berlin has been regarded as the world's capital of electronic music for a few years now. But house and techno are originally from Chicago, Detroit and New York. Of course, each of those American cities often sound different from each other, but can you tell me what you think is the difference between the music coming from Berlin and the music coming from these originating cities?

The difference might be that all those people have various influences, different upbringings and cultural idiosyncrasies that shapes the musical output. House music from Chicago can be very different to the club music from New York, but sometimes very much alike, while the same goes for Detroit. And Berlin? I don't know... I think it's a free for all by now.

I think dance music as a genre is - as much as it's self-referential or cannibalistic for that matter - focused on its past and future at the same time. For proof, you only need witness that every other “legend” gets his or her second, third and fourth spring granted. I mean this as a compliment.

Are German club audiences different to UK club audiences? If yes, how?

Yes. They are much less sing-a-long and maybe a bit “cooler” or marathon-minded when it comes to those long and never-ending parties. With German audiences you basically have more time to get a point across. The UK seems to like its peak-time anytime. Which is nice as well.

What have you got planned for the future in terms of releases for the label, other releases or with your writing?

More of the same. No writing though, please.

If you were curating a festival line up, what three DJs who are currently playing would you invite to play alongside you?

Resident Advisor's Top 3. Should make for the most successful festival.

Translate a good German joke into English for us please?

There are no good German jokes.

Gerd Janson plays at the Baltic Weekender between 2nd - 4th June, find tickets below. 

Tickets are no longer available for this event