Austria’s Ken Hayakawa has been wowing record buyers for the last fifteen years with a constant string of well-received records on liebe* detail, Upon. You and his own Schonbrunner Perlen, amongst others. We caught up with him to discuss his new record for the Stripped Down imprint and more.
WWD: Welcome to When We Dip, Ken Hayakawa. This February, you’ve released a three-track EP on Stripped Down Records, featuring a remix from duo APNOEA. Were you excited to get the release out?
I was really looking forward to the release! The entire EP is the beginning of a new era. Musically as well as technically, it is a milestone for me. It’s one of the first EPs where I’m particularly satisfied with the mixdown. Paired with Blackhead Studios mastermind Klas Lindblad’s top-notch mastering, and the remix by Apnoea, I feel we have a really well-rounded offering in this record.
WWD: You’ve released on the label before, ‘Hollow Ghost’ being your third entry. What’s your relationship like with the crew at Stripped Down?
The relationship with Stripped Down is a very friendly one, I would say. I’ve known label manager Henry for a few years now, we’re in regular contact and philosophize a lot about music and more. We exchange ideas and also give criticism, but always in good faith, with a constructive common denominator. I also think it’s great that Stripped Down always strives for a long-term collaboration. Good things take time, and as you can hear from the forthcoming EP, it’s already bearing fruit!
WWD: Your music is often minimalistic, yet ‘Hollow Ghost’ is a very intricate, cinematic piece. Does it tell a particular story?
It does not tell a story directly; I see it more as a feeling. In my opinion, you must make a general distinction between different types of music. If you pick up a song where someone is telling you a personal story, something completely different happens than when you experience purely functional techno or deep ambient tracks. Anyway, with ‘Hollow Ghost’ it was more of a feeling that I had. The situation surrounding the pandemic, the vibration in the air, where is it going, how do you deal with it, family and financially. I was very tense, but I always had a ray of hope in mind. You can hear that in the track after the main break, where this synth comes along that pushes away all the clouds, and your inner energy is kindled for a moment.
WWD: While melodic, there are many industrial elements present across the tracks – could you tell us something about the influences behind the EP?
The biggest influence on my music is life in general. Situations that I have experienced with the respective feeling of weather, taste and all the nice little things that go with it in life are written down as music and archived like a diary. Life is never just a bed of roses, so I always like to combine these two sides. Harmony and madness, hate and love, sweet and sour. I like this seasoning on both sides. Aphex Twin is probably one of those artists who nailed harmony and chaos pretty well.
WWD: You were classically trained in piano from a young age, do your roots as a classical pianist still inform the music you make today?
Yes, definitely. My mother is a music professor and got me well trained from a young age. Now it is of course quite good, but I hated it back then. Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Co, I had to be able to play everything, in different versions. That’s the most boring music there is for a child, isn’t it? Unfortunately, you weren’t able to get sheet music from your favourite artists from the internet back then in the 80s. I knew even as a child that I wanted to play something different, but when I expressed this criticism to my mother and piano teacher, their solution was “Boogie Woogie”. But yes, we’re back to hate & love. At that time, I couldn’t imagine ever doing something with music, now I can’t do without it anymore.
WWD: You also skated commercially and professionally when you were younger. Do you have any passions outside of music you are still pursuing?
I still love to skate. This passion also led to me breaking my elbow 6 years ago. But yes, shit happens. It was probably a good thing because at the time I wanted to build a small concrete skate park in the backyard. I gave up on the idea and since then I’ve been more relaxed about rolling with my daughters. That keeps me fit alongside the studio work, which is very time-consuming.
WWD: You are a pretty active DJ in the Austrian industry. What’s the Vienna music scene like currently?
Unfortunately, it’s very quiet in Vienna at the moment. The clubs have closed due to the pandemic. It is set that they will open soon, but let’s see what’s going on then. Otherwise, the rest takes place behind the scenes. Acts like T Raum, Artrik, Andreas Weisz, Perlen On Acid or Theo Meier fly the underground flag and have a lot of output. Labels like Luv Shack, Luv Lite, New Tomorrow or SubjekTon keep impressing me with top releases. There will be a lot more to hear this year, I’m sure!
WWD: Are there any more exciting releases, projects or events lined up for you this year?
2022 will be a very exciting year! After the Stripped Down release there will be one on Gigolo, apart from that I was allowed to do a rework of a DJ Hell classic, we are celebrating the 10 year anniversary of my label Schönbrunner Perlen and there will be a few live gigs again after a long time.
Ken Hayakawa: Facebook