DEFTR is the project of Jan Wagner and Patrick Gräser (also known as Answer Code Request). They started out with their first two releases DEFTR001 and 002 in 2021, which they then followed up with last year’s album Run Away on npm. Intrigued by the album’s captivating soundscapes and rhythms, we reached out to Jan Wagner for a short interview about the album, the duo’s working process and their approach to playing live.
How did you first meet Patrik Gräser and what led to you making music together?
Jan Wagner: Max Kobosil brought us together. Patrick wanted me (Jan) to mix his album Gens for Ostgut. So we met in the studio, talked a lot, and later decided to make music together for a score — but unfortunately, due to the pandemic, that score got cancelled. So we had a ton of unreleased music ready to go, and that music then became the first three EPs.
What was the process behind your album “Run Away”? Did you work together in the same studio “real time” or did you bounce ideas back and forth remotely — or both?
The process was a bit of everything I would say. We collected some ideas in a big Dropbox folder. I was using Ableton’s Note a lot at that time. Patrick shared a lot of drum loops and ideas. After some drafts, we met in the studio and decided on which tracks we want to work on and what we need. So we have that big Dropbox folder full of ideas that we can work on whenever we want on it, which is great, because there are no restrictions.
The album is quite melodic, with what sounds like hints of trance and Balearic to our ears —was that a conscious decision and were there any particular musical influences that drove the direction of the project?
Yes, we wanted it to be melodic, but there weren't any particular musical influences. We just got started, bounced around some ideas and did what felt right at that moment.
Were there any particular pieces of gear/software or any particular techniques that had a big impact on the sound of the album?
Good question, I would say it’s a mixture between analog and digital. We started mostly in the digital domain, because the sharing process is much easier, but after a while we decided to put the "analog feeling" in it. The bass is a lot of MOOG Rogue, and leads are from the old Critter & Guitari Septavox Synth. It just felt right to give the mostly digitally created music those analog „mistake“ to bring it alive.
What made you choose Ableton as the center of your live setup and what has your experience with the Push 3 been so far? Do you find that it integrates smoothly into your live workflow?
Ableton is the heart of our production and we really use it as an instrument, and sharing sessions is so easy. And the fact that we really don’t care about the names or companies of synth [plugins] gives us total freedom to use the incredible sounding onboard instruments and plugins! Although so far we haven't used the Push 3.
Your music explores time signatures and structures that are somewhat unusual in comparison to a lot of 4/4 techno. What has been the reception to that been in a club context so far — do you feel like crowds are more open-minded these days than they might have been in the past?
Yes, we know our music doesn’t really fit into a typical techno structure. We didn’t want to be limited in terms of its sound and structure. While making the album we didn’t even think about the club or the audience or what people might think, if they’re going to like it or not. We didn’t care and we wanted it that way. As always: music finds its audience!
Do you still surprise each other when performing live together?
Of course! We still surprise each other because every time we play, the set sounds different. And that’s exactly what we want with this music. — to see what happens and where it brings us at the end of the set. That’s the joy of playing live.
Do you have a protocol for dealing with mistakes or accidents that can happen during a performance?
No, there’s no protocol. If something crashes, it crashes and we will tell the audience, because it’s live! We are pretty sure the audience would understand. But we do play with a lot of analog stuff, so if an instrument or the computer drops out, we still can play and jam. That give us a backup plan.
Do you have any upcoming releases or live dates for the DEFTR project you would like to mention?
Right now, we are focusing on being creative and collecting ideas, samples, moods. Then, at the end of the year, we are going to meet in the studio and we will see what happens!
You can find out more about Jan's music and DEFTR over at his Bandcamp.