T.H.E Interview – Kyau & Albert

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Ralph Kyau and Steven Moebius Albert, better known to the electronic dance music world as Kyau & Albert are one of the most original DJ/Producer duos on the dance music circuit.

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The two Germans have produced a collection of massive club hits. When not in the studio, Kyau & Albert are working hard at their record label ‘Euphonic’. Founded in 1997, it is the longest running trance label in the world today.

Their radio show ‘Euphonic Sessions with Kyau & Albert’ is syndicated on 24 FM stations around the globe and has over 27,000 podcast subscribers on iTunes.

The duo deliver explosive, cutting edge DJ sets and their energy behind the decks is simply infectious. Catching them live is an experience you won’t soon forget!

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After pairing together successfully in the EDM world for two decades, Kyau & Albert are all set to embark on their highly anticipated fourth studio album, “DISTANT LIGHTS”.

We had a chance to talk to them in a bit more detail about the album, their experience of working with artists like Stoneface & Terminal, Neev Kennedy and Adaja Black, and loads more. Read on to know what they had to say. :)

T.H.E – Hello Guys! Firstly, where in the world are you while taking part in this interview.

Ralph – On the way to Calgary in Canada.

T.H.E – Your upcoming album, “Distant Lights” is highly anticipated. Tell us a bit of how the album name came along.

Ralph – As always we both had a list of ideas for a new album title. On our last 3 albums we never used an album song name as album title. We prefer when the album name stands for itself. So for the new album we finally decided to take “Distant Lights”, because for some reason, to me it gives a meaning of hope, like the light at the end of the tunnel.

Steven – For me “Distant Lights” holds a pleasant, comforting sense of optimism. Exactly like this album sounds when listening to all tracks from the beginning to the end. “Distant Lights” is also the name of our new tour.

T.H.E – Your track, “Down” featured on Above & Beyond’s Group therapy Radio show had a lot of people wondering about the vocalist involved. As we now know, it is the highly talented, Sofia. Tell us how the collaboration came along.

Steven – We got in contact with Sofia, which is her real first name, through our publisher Sony/ATV. Sofia was just signed to Sony/ATV, trying to live from the music, wanted to work with other artists and looking for a deal with a big label. While we finished the production of “Down” she then has signed a deal with Warner Music. Her management told us that she wants to get in a different musical direction, so we were no more allowed to use her real artist name as featuring for the release.

Ralph – We have asked her mangement a few times, if we can use her artist name on the album, but the management did not want it.

T.H.E – How was the experience of working with so many talented artists like Stoneface & Terminal, Neev Kennedy, Adaja Black etc? Are there any funny behind the scenes stories you would like to share with us?

Ralph – We already worked with Stoneface & Terminal and Adaja Black on our last album “Nights Awake”. We met Australian singer Adaja Black the first time in Sydney in 2012 and in January we had a show in Brisbane with her performing her tracks live. She is a very nice person. Stoneface & Terminal are good friends since many years. They released tons of tracks on our label Euphonic. We gave them demos which we wanted to use on the album and they picked “One”.

Steven – We never met Neev Kennedy in person, but we were really interested to work with her on “Distant Lights” for at least one track, because we love her voice. We sent her an intrumental track and told her the direction, which we wanted to get the lyrics from her. We are really happy about the track “Let The Thunder In”.

T.H.E – Apart from Trance, the album also features other genres like dubstep and Drum ‘N’ Bass. Considering how electronic music is vastly spread over a myriad of genres, is it necessary for producers to dabble out of their comfort zone by experimenting with other genres?

Steven – Yes, if you mean the track “Follow The Waves”, which is a dubstep version on the album now. It was originally made as trance track, but then we thought for the listener of the album, it is too boring when one 4-to-the-floor track follows the next one. So we produced “Follow The Waves” in a different direction to keep the album more diverse.

Ralph – “Follow The Waves” gets released as proper club single in Spring. We just wait for a remix now.

T.H.E – What is the message you want to give your fans through “Distant Lights”?

Ralph – There is no message. It is just music we love and as we still release our albums on CD, we want that the real flow of the album comes when listening all tracks of the album, I mean from the beginning to the end.

T.H.E – Along with the release of the album, you have also lined up a “Distant Lights” album tour. Is there a chance of India being on the cards?

Steven – Yes there are also India dates planned in 2015.

Ralph – Just follow us on our social media such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. We will announce all confirmed tour dates once we know them.

T.H.E – Finally, we know its difficult, but if you had to choose your top 5 tracks from the album, which ones would you select.

Ralph – A very hard question! For me maybe “So Easy”, “One”, “The Same”, “Let The Thunder In” and “Relevant Angel”, but this may vary. All album tracks were the best ones which we have chosen from a lot of ideas and demos in the last 1.5 years.

Steven – I have no top 5. Sorry.

T.H.E – Thank you Guys for taking out the time for the interview! It’s been an absolute pleasure to have had the chance to learn more about the album from you Guys! Wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

Ralph – No problem. To all your readers: you can find out more information about “Distant Lights” here.

The album will be out on February 13, 2015 via Euphonic. You can pre-order your copy of “Distant Lights” here.

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