For the benefit of any readers new to the music of Isolée, after a handful of early singles released on Frankfurt's Playhouse label, it was the club classic 'Beau Mot Plage' which paved the way for Isolée's first album "Rest", released in 2000 to great critical acclaim.

Surprisingly, in the year following the release of "Rest", Isolée's Rajko Müller took time out from production while undertaking teacher training studies and living in an apartment without a studio in Frankfurt. After subsequently moving to Hamburg and putting together a new studio, it wasn't long before he was able to resume music production once again.

After a number of remixes and the release of three singles in 2003, May 2005 finally saw the release of his long-awaited second album, "We Are Monster"; the reception from the music press once again as enthusiastic as that for "Rest" - and perhaps even more so.

The Wire (June 2005) described "We Are Monster" as "hard to imagine a better electronic record coming out in the next six months; it will likely be one of 2005's best albums of any genre", while Stylus (June 2005) also heaped on the praise, "Although the year is only half-over, it’s already hard to imagine many electronic albums that will be able to surpass the webs of beauty and intensity drawn out here".

Since the release of "We Are Monster" in May this year, Isolée has been on tour performing tracks from both that album and "Rest", taking in Fabric London, The Loft in Barcelona, Blasthaus in San Francisco, Spacelab Yellow in Tokyo and many others venues around the world. Upon his return to Europe after a 4-date tour in the Far East, RA talked to Rajko Müller to find out a little more about the monsters and the machines behind Isolée.

Are you now engaged full-time in music production? Any plans to return to teaching at any point in the future?

Yes, I make my living by music production since it fits in with my everyday lifestyle. I abandoned the idea of being a teacher a few years ago as I hadn’t finished my studies. So I'm not a teacher.

You've said in other interviews that you have a preference for hardware-generated sounds as opposed to software. What pieces of equipment did you look for first when building your new studio in Hamburg? What computer software do you use?

There wasn’t a specific piece of equipment when I built my (home) studio in Hamburg. First, I took the equipment I had and used that. Then I felt the need to change to a better mixing desk. I started looking on the internet; getting more information makes you want to try it out.

I tried to work with plugins but I was also curious to know what the hardware, which is often emulated in plugins, sounded like. I use Logic Audio in the studio, and Abelton Live for live-performance.

Your new album "We Are Monster" was released this year, and again has received an extremely favourable reception from the music press and from your fans. Do you think it will be more successful in commercial terms than "Rest"?

Of course I hope so. But since “Rest”, it seems a lot has changed in the way you can bring music to your home. The feedback from the labels and distributors in general, is that it's more difficult to sell records today than 5 years ago as people are used to downloading mp3s. As far as I know, “We Are Monster” has yet sold as much as “Rest” so I don’t have anything to complain about.

The album seems much more dancefloor-friendly than most of the tracks on "Rest". Did you have a plan for the album when you started, a design, or did it grow more organically?

I had no plan, for the album. It was a long procedure to find the sound I was satisfied with for this album. At least I can say that this time I was aware of a bigger public potentionally listening to the album. So I wanted to make an album which was original but accessible as well.

You've also gone on record saying that 'Enrico' and 'Mädchen Mit Hase' are your favourite tracks from "We Are Monster". Let me ask a broader question: excluding tracks from that album, which of your own individual tracks, including singles and remix work, are your favourite pieces?

This is not easy to answer as I can’t listen to my own music very often after I’ve finished it as there is just no surpise left. It can be very pleasing to hear a track by surprise in an unexpected situation at an unexpected place with other people; like when a DJ plays it. The satifying thing is, when a track fullfills what it was made for, to please other people. So there are a few I’m more satified with like: 'Tout Se Complique' or 'Text' on "Rest", the 'Cardiology' remix, and of course 'Beau Mot Plage' but often I just can’t make up my opinion any more because I'm too close to the tracks.

One of your trademarks in both "Rest" and "We Are Monster" seems to be the constant metamorphosis of music within your tracks; so that the listener never knows quite what is coming next. How do you work out which ideas can combine within a song i.e. what will work well - is it more "inspiration", or more "trial and error"?

It is probably a bit of both, I work a lot with “trial and error”, trying out several options in order to surprise myself but then there must be some inspiration that makes you create new structures, melodies and sounds.

I noticed that amongst your many remixing credits are the "Dawn" and "Dusk" remixes of Louie Vega's 'Africa'. Were you pleased to be asked to remix tracks from a producer who wouldn't ordinarily be associated with the same "scene" as you? How did that come about?

Of course I was pleased by this opportunity and a little under pressure as well as I felt there were expectations. I think it is because of “Beau Mot Plage”, which was played by DJs from many different scenes, that I had this chance.

Do you go to clubs often? If so, which are your favourite clubs and DJs? And - in terms of the catalogue of work they have done - what producers "impress" you, and why? Who impresses you for the work they are doing right now, and why?

I still go to clubs quite often and try to catch some of the new tracks in clubs. I go to listen to the DJs because I read about them or because I know them. I really like DJ “Zip” from Perlon, or DJ Koze. Most of the DJs are producers as well. I’m very impressed by Matthew Jonson's work because of its very fresh and classic techno sound. DJ koze is an impressing producer who just doesn't fit in with any stereotypes, and he is really grooving. Of course there are much more, for example, Ricardo Villalobos. And Jamie Lidell - his live-performances are like some kind of voodoo… and his productions are impressive as well, especially from a technical point of view.

Do you enjoy performing live? Does it come easily, from a confidence point of view? And how are you finding touring?

Playing live doesn’t come easily, as in my production “chain”, there is no live. I make music with machines in order to make a recording. I’m used to “hiding” the tricks to make something “sound like”.

I have no interest in making someone listen to how I work in the studio as I imagine they wouldn't enjoy the final track because they'd often had to listen to unfinished loops and patterns.

So when I finish a track, almost everything is programmed as I do not play any instruments. When I was asked to play live, I had to first think about “What is live?”. I'm not in a “band” so there is nothing “live”.

What I do is arrange my tracks so they match. I use the parts I keep for remixes, the bass, the drums, the synths etc, and put them on different channels on a 12-16 channel mixing-desk, so I can play with them, and add effects. So when I play “live” I kind of do some remixing and dubbing of my own tracks.

You have a CD coming out next year on Playhouse of some early Isolée releases, with some re-mixes by Ricardo Villalobos, Lucien n. Luciano and (perhaps less expectedly) The Glimmers. I've also heard about some other remixes - you mentioned Dixon, and Tiga in another interview recently, as well as the remix of Egoexpress's track "Aranda" (on Ladomat 2000). Can you tell us anything more about these upcoming releases, or alternatively - perhaps give us a hint regarding your plans for Isolée (or indeed, for Rajko Müller) in the near future?

I’m looking forward having more time after finishing the tour. I would like to upgrade my studio a little, maybe get a few new machines, and start producing without the pressure of the last album. I have a few remixes to finish but I don’t want to do more remixes after that, as I’ve done quite a lot in the last few months. So basically I’m looking forward to having time to experiment without any deadlines or dates.

Author: Brian Hird.

Published: Thursday, September 22, 2005.



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