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 Unless you've been living in a hole all your life, Funk D'Void is a name that should sound familiar to you when discussing the different genres of house and techno music. For years, Funk D'Void aka Lars Sandberg has been producing hit dance records, while touring the world promoting his emotional electronic music sound. Some of you, if not many, probably have either come across his tracks in most record stores, heard of his track being hammered out by DJs, or have his smash single "Diabla" tucked neatly somewhere inside your record crates.
HKClubbing decided to check up on Lars to see how things were going, and what to expect from him in the near future. PL: So tell us a little something about yourself…….What did you aspire to be when you were growing up? What got you into house music and more importantly when did you decide to take that leap into the music industry? FDV: I was lucky in that I have always known that music was going to be the driving force in my life; my mother is a pianist and I have three other brothers involved in bands. There was always a musical backdrop to my childhood so everything felt right when I started Djing at the tender age of fifteen. I didn’t feel the need to further my education into something that my heart wasn’t into – it just didn’t make sense! I was already juggling three club nights by the time I was sixteen, so I wanted to concentrate on that. The production side of my career started later – when I was 24 years old I was taken under the wing of a music technology lecturer at Glasgow University and he taught everything I needed to know about how to work in a music studio environment. That was my real training… PL: Im sure many people across Southeast Asia have heard of your records…..is there anything you find different about the scene in Asia as opposed to Europe, or other parts of the world? Do you enjoy yourself in Asia and can you see yourself playing here more often? FDV: I always jump at the chance when the opportunity arises to play in Asia, it is acyually my favourite destination. I love the people, culture, food, clubs, shops and general attitude. There is an unspoken respect that you feel off everybody you meet. If I wasn’t already settled here in Spain I would definitely be living in Japan right now. I wish I could play more often, because there are so many places I haven’t been to yet, for example China. PL: You’ve come out with many records that were well received by DJ’s around the world like “Technoir”, “Emotional Content”, “Jack Me Off”, and of course “Diabla”……When you sit down and decide to write a track, what is your process of writing a track from the beginning to end? Do you experiment and fiddle away until something sounds good, or do you wait until you get inspired by something, and quickly translate those inspirations onto a 12”? FDV: I usually am inspired by beautiful women! It’s true. I am inspired by the unavailability of true beauty so much so, it becomes a longing inside that produces a kind of melancholic vibe when I play. I then translate this into a production that also work on the dancefloor. PL: Out of your list of killer singles, I actually want to focus on “Diabla” for a second. I’m sure this song was undoubtedly one of your best selling release, and probably regarded as one of the most ground breaking techno tracks to be released in recent memory. How did you come up with Diabla? In what state of mind were you in when you made that devastating bass line? It must have taken you days… FDV: Funnily enough it came after a few minutes once I had listened to the 4 chord sequence. The last note just fell into place. I was kinda infatuated with a girl at the time and I wrote it for her. The whole process took around two weeks. PL: Where you surprised that “Diabla” was such a big success? Or did you realize right from the beginning that there was something really special about it? FDV: Being a DJ I could tell that it would appeal to people. I didn’t expect it to do as well as it it did though, it was a nice surprise. PL: I think we can all agree digital technology has become a prevalent influence in the way music is made nowadays. Are you still an old school analogue junkie, or do you find yourself incorporating digital technology more and more into your productions? Lastly, what is your favorite piece of gear that you could never live without? FDV: I’m happy finding a way to use both. I can’t bring myself to sell any of my keyboards as they still have the sounds that I know and love. My studio looks like a proper music studio, I have around 20 keyboards and various drum machines everywhere, all hooked up and working. I suppose my all time favourite piece of kit is the Roland TR808 drum machine. It was the sound that I remember first as a child, even before hearing my mother’s voice…. PL: Let’s fast forward. Your recent collaborations with Ken Ishii, Phil Kieran, and Alexander Kowawski have been quite impressive. I’ve noticed the releases have been a bit more punchier and upbeat. Is this something we can expect more of from you? Are you trying to push into a new direction of music? FDV: I’m just making a point to work more with my friends as a way to produce more. Sometimes on your own it becomes a stale experience and a fresh input and someone else to split the work with. I love working with Phil because he’s super fast with arranging and the results are always new and exciting. PL: It’s been a while since your last album “Volume Freak”. What are you currently working on? Can you tell us a little more about forthcoming projects? FDV: A new twelve inch on Soma with Phil Kieran, another project with Dave Tarrida, a remix for Audio Soul Project on Kill Brique, a remix for Swoop on Craft Music, a remix for Life Project on Electrix records, a track on the new Soma 200 compilation, a new mix compilation for Immigrant Records and a new LP for Soma. PL: Finally, I think a lot of house and techno listeners have been quite disappointed in some of the formulaic and uncreative electronic music that have been released by artists in the past few years……do you find that this is the case? What are your thoughts on the current state of house and techno at the moment? Do you like what you see? FDV: I think it is having another transitional phase and we are about to emerge into a more visceral, emotional form of dance music. The minimal stage is just us taking a deep breath before we return back to substance, not style. Thank you for all your time! To contact Funk D'Void, please visit:
http://www.funkdvoid.com http://www.elitemm.co.uk http://www.somarecords.com http://www.myspace.com/funkdvoid
Interview by Philip Leung
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