Following a slew of critically acclaimed releases on the likes of Terminal M, Tronic, Suara and Filth On Acid over the course of 2019, longstanding German techno kingpin Felix Kröcher looks to kick off the brand new decade – and his twentieth year in the music industry – in emphatic fashion as he announces the forthcoming release of his latest juggernaut single, Faceless Fears.
Out on February 7 via his very own self-titled imprint ‘Felix Kröcher’, Faceless Fears sees the Frankfurt-based talent team up with Australian singer Haptic for the pair’s debut collaboration, and one of Felix’s finest vocal cuts to date.
Making his intentions known from the off, Felix delivers pulsating kicks, sweeping pads and minimalist drum patterns before making way for Haptic’s hypnotic vocal line, which soars across deep basslines and mesmerising synths to provide the harmonic direction for the euphoric, seven-minute cut. An impressive amalgamation of dynamic beats and pure melodic rapture, Faceless Fears is yet another exquisite addition to Felix’s already impressive discography, as the German makes his first move in what is set to be a landmark twentieth year in the music industry.
A truly iconic artist of the underground techno scene for two decades now, Felix Kröcher has gathered a loyal legion of followers with his unwavering output of quality and uniquely styled productions. Consistently playing over one hundred gigs a year at some of the biggest events on the world stage (including Awakenings, Timewarp, Nature One, Parookaville, Love Parade, Nocturnal Wonderland, EDC Vegas and Ikarus to name but a few), his productions and selections can also be heard on German radio broadcaster Sunshine Live as part of his longstanding weekly residency for the station.
With more new music already in the pipeline over the next few months and a large number of high profile international shows already confirmed, 2020 looks set to be a career-defining year for the ever-prolific German icon, who will celebrate his twentieth anniversary in the music industry with some very special projects, soon to be announced. You can listen to the full premiere of ‘Faceless Fears’ while reading the great interview with Felix. Enjoy!
WWD: Hey Felix, welcome back to When We Dip! How are you?
Hey guys! Great to chat with you. I am doing great. We just started off the year with some great shows, which couldn’t have been better!
Also, a lot of stuff is planned for the next twelve months, as we are celebrating my 20th stage anniversary, so I am pretty excited and a bit nervous to be honest! In a positive way of course 😊
WWD: We understand you’re celebrating a landmark twenty years in the music industry this year. Firstly, congratulations on such a huge achievement!
Thanks, guys! Well, it’s a huge honour to have been doing what I love for such a long time! I couldn’t be happier to have collected so many memories during these years 😊
WWD: How do you think the music industry, and more specifically the techno scene, has changed over the past two decades?
The last two decades had a huge impact on the music scene of course. Let’s start with the way how people are consuming music. Two decades ago nobody knew Beatport, Soundcloud or Spotify. Nowadays these are the DSP’s you look on and kind of evaluate if your release is a success or not.
Next to that the whole club/festival developed in a lot of ways. Clubs nowadays sadly struggle more and more to get enough people in, festivals are getting more attention and are there in an amount they never have before.
Of course, I am in a fortunate situation, as I am playing so many of them every year, but still, I really hope we keep the club culture alive, especially as it has such a long-standing tradition here in Germany.
In addition to that the technical site totally changed as well on the DJ / Producer site. Everything is super easy accesible today, which of course is also a big change compared to twenty years ago.
WWD: What can we expect from you over the course of this benchmark year? Any exciting projects we can look forward to?
Twenty years Felix Kröcher will be celebrated in a special way. Working on a lot of new music at the moment and we are going to release a new album, with the first single being released Feb 7th. It’s a pretty special one for me, so I can’t wait for the reactions.
WWD: Let’s talk about your brand new single ‘Faceless Fears’ which we’re premiering today. What was the inspiration behind the single?
Faceless Fears shows a pretty melodic site of my musical spectrum. For the first single, I wanted a melodic & more emotional piece of music. The vocals of Haptic just underline these emotions in such a great way. I couldn’t be happier about it.
WWD: The new record is a collaboration with Australian singer Haptic. How did you guys connect?
I knew Haptic from several collaborations with guys like Einmusik, or Marc de Pulse and always thought that this voice is pretty special. So I just contacted him via mail and he directly was up for it, which was great!
WWD: Can you talk to us about the creative process that went into making the record, and the logistics of collaborating with an artist on a different continent? How did it work?
It was a pretty straight & fast process with Haptic. It all went super fast, and we sent stems back and forth until we had a result we both were really happy about. Only thing is that the time difference between Australia and Germany is pretty huge, but even that did not make it difficult at all.
WWD: The track is being released on your label ‘Felix Kröcher’. Why did you decide to self-release?
Basically, for me, it’s about freedom. I want to decide how my artwork look when we put out the release, how the marketing campaign looks like etc..
Especially for this year and for all that, what is planned we need to stay flexible in terms of timings. Basically, that is the main reason for it 😊
WWD: Would you say you had an eclectic set of musical influences? Who or what has most inspired your twenty-year-long career in the music industry?
In my early days, I was really inspired by the scene within Frankfurt. Guys like Chris Liebing, Sven Väth or Ralf Hildenbeutel were real inspirations to me and of course, still are today. But still I also love to listen to radio music/pop music during my free time, so yes I’d say I have an eclectic set of musical influences.
WWD: Who are some of the standout producers, live acts and DJs that resonate with you these days?
In today’s scene, I love the stuff of Artbat, Moonwalk, Victor Ruiz or T-78. But there are so many great artists right now, so it is hard to pick just a few 😊
WWD: What non-musical projects do you fill your time with when you’re not DJing or in the studio?
I love having a walk-in nature during my week and spend a lot of time with my daughter, as it is just so refreshing during the week 😊 In addition to that I
WWD: Finally, what’s next for you in 2020?
Well, the first single of the year will be out Feb 7th and I can’t wait for the reactions on it. The year is filled with a lot of music and great gigs already so I can not wait for everything!
WWD: Thanks, Felix!
Release date : February 7th, 2020.
Follow: Felix Krocher