With all his heart, every pore and all his blood cells Torsten Kanzler is feeding us with his definition of impulsive, powerful techno – touching mind and body.
While his early years were stamped by hard techno, Torsten Kanzler is nowadays known for trendsetting international techno-sound. His live sets are known to lead to controlled excess like no other. Like a chief engineer, he takes his crowd into a universe of mind-blowing drum-arrangements, creaking synths and warm growling basslines.
No doubt – Torsten Kanzler stands for techno. Lives techno. Breathes techno.
His gigs in all popular places around the world as well as festivals such as Nature One, Rave on Snow or Amsterdam Dance Event stand for powerful and profound techno as well as his numerous productions, headed by his album “Analog Systems” (2015).
His records are spinning on the desks of artists like Richie Hawtin, Sam Paganini or Adam Beyer. His releases on Naked Lunch or his own imprint TKR are to be found in countless DJ Charts, being supported by the whole scene. His mix sessions and podcasts for CLR always get some international love and show Torsten’s high demand and love for the details.
You are playing gigs every weekend – How has the last months been for you?
No time to relax, to be honest. The only time I took a little break was at the beginning of this year, after the release of my album – then back to the studio. I can’t stay away from my studio for a long time. For the near future I have planned a few releases and remixes.
If you could change anything about your job as a DJ, Label owner & producer, what would it be?
I would buy myself a beamer to get from A to B faster and have more time for all the other things ;D
Techno has slowed down in the scene – Do you ever get tempted to produce lower tempos?
A long time ago I gained my first experiences as a house DJ, before playing hard techno. Nowadays I play deep techno with techhouse influences, but I don’t think it was the scene that lead me to do so. Over the years I’ve grown and got inspired by parties, DJ’s and labels. That’s how I found my sound.
You are a passionated producer, working for example with Maschine and Elektron – Which studio equipment inspires you most?
That’s different every day. One day I sit for hours in front of Maschine or my Analog Four, looking for the perfect synth or THE kick and then I get frustrated, start my Moog and find exactly the synth I was looking for the past 2 days. However the “Analog Four” is my favorite toy at the moment.
What are you working on for your label TKR right now?
I am finishing a personal release for TKR, which will come out in November. Including remixes of Drumcomplex and Sven Wittekind. Besides that there will be releases of Distale, JulieZ & Erikson this year, also with cool remixes.
How would you describe the techno that is being released at your label TKR and what is your future plan for the label?
TKR always stood for massive, impulsive techno. Thanks to my development, my sound preferences changed to more groovy and melodic. This you can hear in my latest releases.
Nowadays there are so many free mixes and podcasts. What do you think makes a mix really interesting?
That’s true. I like spontaneity and love it when a groove runs like a thread throughout the entire mix.
Do you think local scenes are still important in the era of internet for the techno scene?
I hope I got the question right. It sure is a cool thing to have access to all forms of entertainment over the internet but that’s not comparable to a live party, a concert or a Youtube video. This is very important to me. I mean, I can’t listen to techno at home only, right?! I love the feeling in a club or at festivals, the direct contact with people, communicating with them and to get inspiration from other acts.
Have you ever imagined doing something else than music?
Yes, as a child I always wanted to become a cosmonaut.
