[tape recorder wrestled from him]

Coming from a small country like Slovenia, was it hard getting into the international scene?

Umek: We had to release 30 records to get any gigs outside, so it was really hard to break through, but I think DJs now have an easier job than we do.

Valentino: It's still hard for people.

U: yea, but if you’re an artiste coming from Slovenia, then it’s easier than say five years ago.

Do you see yourselves as pioneers in the music scene in your country?

V: Yes, we are the pioneers in our country! [laughs] I mean there were a few guys playing electronic music before us but not a proper DJ. [at clubs it would be] Top 40 hits for an hour and then maybe some early acid house. We were the first DJs who really presented the music and specialised in it.

And today, what is the scene like in Slovenia?

V: In '91 and then in '93 and '95 there were loads of DJs playing. Techno is the most popular form of club music.

What about the underground scene?

U: The techno scene is underground but at the same time, it is so strong that it is mainstream… it’s hard to say.

V: It’s typical for Eastern European countries for the underground to be so big that you have to call it mainstream. Because people are really into music, they’re not just following the magazines. So, if they like something they will search for it, and they will go to the underground DJ, the underground act to have fun.

So it’s very real would you say?

U: it’s surreal! [laughs]. We as underground DJs have gone to pop charts with our records and all.

V: We’ve been interviewed by all the mainstream magazines, pop magazines, music magazines, newspapers and political magazines.

U: They just want to know how we got so popular. There are rock bands and they sing in Slovenian but they just stay within the country, nowhere else. We as underground DJs, we fly every Friday, Saturday, around the world and sell our music outside Slovenia, so that’s why they’re interested.

The music that you play contains no language...

U: There’s no language, yeah, there’s no borders you know. Every music is good to play.

How would you compare the scene in Slovenia to other countries, like, Britain?

U: The crowd is similar, I don’t want to go into that much detail, but basically when you go on stage, people put up their hands and they go crazy you know. It’s the same in England, Holland, Germany, Slovenia, everywhere.

Except Austria. [laughs] Austria… is a disaster.

V: yeah, Austria is the worst!

U: They dress nice…

V: But they're not interested!

U: Not even a noise, I mean…

V: We played in Love Parade just few months ago, and there were like 100,000 people on the street and we couldn’t move them. Maybe a few hundred people behind the stage were... showing some interest.

How did you get into DJing?

U: Because.. no I cant say this. [laughs] I wanted to be a DJ, and this guy at a school dance he was playing cassettes and such. He was making the crowd dance and all, so I thought yeah I’d like to be a DJ. This looks nice you know?

V: I was also a young kid and I went to my first club experience because I knew a guy whose brother was a DJ, so we got the chance to get in the club at a very young age, like 11 or 12 years old.

We were just the kids, and when I came into the club it was this early house playing, new beat, and I was just blown away. I was like, who’s playing this music? Where’s the band? I didn’t know who was playing it and then I found out there was a guy that plays records.

Who are your early influences?

V: I must say Ritchie Hawtin, Carl Cox, Terry Francis, Marco Bellini

U: I don’t want to say who my early influences are.

V: [laughs] Because he’s a top secret agent.

U: otherwise I'm going to be killed… But [my influences] have changed so much [over the years].

Are you guys satisfied with your accomplishments so far?

V: I’m ok [laughs]

U: [laughs] and I’m ok!

What kind of music do you guys play, individually and together?

U: My individual music and what I play with Valentino are more or less the same style. Sometimes I’m harder and he’s softer and vice versa.

So basically you complement each other?  

U: Yeah when we play together we complement each other.

V: We play mainly funky tech now, sometimes techno, sometimes tech house. Whatever we feel like.

U: We don’t have boundaries. The main thing is funky techno.

In three words, describe your music.

U: Tribal, funky techno.

V: Funky techno, tribal… tech, funky, tribal… [laughs]

U: We love lots of percussions, rhythm music

As for Recycled Loops, what were your main motives when you started the label?

U: The label was started following the success on Primevil. We released an EP on primeval, and it was our first release with Prime distribution and it was quite successful, and we asked them if they want to start a label with us called Recycled Loops. And they said ok and we started from there.

Why the name Recycled Loops?

U: Why Recycled Loops? Erm... because at the time, we thought we were going to use lots of old samples, recycling old loops and then we changed the label but the name still stayed.

Because it’s a nice name!

V: And we’re still recycling loops!

What do you find most interesting about your work these days?

U: I don’t like to travel, I hate traveling! [chuckles from Valentino]

Any nightmare experiences?

U: Well I can remember one… when we were together in Czech Republic [more chuckles] there was this hole on the stage… and I fell down and I broke my rib-cage and like ten minutes… two hours later, I still didn’t know my ribs were broken. Then Valentino fell behind me, so we both stood there with broken ribs leaning on each other for support!

Was it at a club or...

U: It was not at a club, it was at a party… because in Europe you can find parties from 10 in the morning to ten in the evening, you can have outside parties... You can find anything you know.

V: Yea, you can find parties behind a bush, or in swimming pools… ski resorts, everywhere.

Are you working on anything new?

U: Always. [chuckles]

U: We are releasing EPs for Recycled Loops 2, EPs for Consumer Recreation (the duo's own imprint), one EP for Irresistible, remix for Marco Bailey, remix for this big Japan band (X-Japan).

U: And my experimental album is coming out on Technica, it’s a Slovenian label, in about a month.

What can we expect from that album?

U: crazy stuff, really fast or really slow music. It’s not breakbeat, but it’s not a straight beat, so… I don’t know, it’s a little bit different from my usual stuff.

Where do you see yourselves five years from now?

U: I’m seeing myself as the king of Slovenia, I will have my own ski resort!

V: Me, I’m ok… ill still be doing what I'm doing!

-matt & kathia / Nov 02

-with thanks to Umek, Valentino and GCI.

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