Throughout his career, Jon Gaiser has been synonymous with forward-thinking techno and sensory stimulating live audio visual shows. Mixing up both analogue and digital recording techniques, his abstract music delivers both cerebral and cinematic feelings placing the audience right in the centre of his own universe.

We had the chance to talk with Jon Gaiser aligned to the recent release of his latest album ‘III’ on Richie Hawtin’s seminal label, Minus.

Electronic Groove: Hi Jon, thanks for the time to chat with us. Congratulations for your new album ‘III’. When did you start to work on it??

Jon Gaiser: Thanks guys. I always take off from touring the beginning of each year to focus on studio duties. The sessions where I recorded the album started at the beginning of 2016. After working almost every day for a few months, the project started to show its final form.

MINUS164 – “III” by Gaiser from Minus / Plus 8 on Vimeo.

EG: ‘III’ follows 2014’s ‘False Light’, what would be the difference between them?

Jon Gaiser: This album is a good representation of where I’m I at the moment, and where I’m going. I get bored really easily, so I’m constantly pushing myself to create new and unique sounds that become the defining focal point of each track. I always keep experimenting and try to give a new approach to every idea until I find something that stands out with its own individual character. There are so many new pieces of gear and sound tools being developed every day, and I get so much inspiration by testing and experimenting with them to create something new and unique.

EG: What is the inspiration behind this new album? Are you always working on new tracks?

Jon Gaiser: Since I only perform live I’m constantly in the studio, recording and experimenting with new ideas to test in the live sets. If you want to stay excited with what you’re doing on stage, you need to keep writing new material to keep things fresh. The best way to start recording an album is to tell yourself that you’re not recording an album. It’s really important to take the pressure off from the beginning, and let things develop naturally. This way nothing is forced, and everything falls into place where it should. I wanted to put it together in a way that it had a few chapters of different moods and energies, so that each part would lead on to the next. But in the end, it’s basically the same format as the way people have listened to albums in the past. The whole series, or album, would be a fluid dynamic that told a complete story with lows and highs, from start to finish.

“I’m constantly pushing myself to create new and unique sounds that become the defining focal point of each track”

EG: As usual the album was released on Minus. Would you say Hawtin’s sound has been influential to your music and career?

Jon Gaiser: The first time I heard any techno that I liked was the first time that I heard Rich play, so I would say that is quite an influence. Minus has been my natural home from the beginning. Not only from the artistic side, but the overall support and inspiration of working with good friends is priceless. Richie is an amazing person and one of my closest friends. I’m incredibly lucky to have a friend like him, not only in music industry terms, but in everyday life. The support and inspiration that we have shared over the years, in all aspects of life, is really something uncommon. We’ve been lucky enough to travel the world together, sharing ideas and experiences, and getting into some of the craziest situations imaginable.

EG: First single ‘On the Way’ has a Dubfire remix. Is that something you decided? Why him?

Jon Gaiser: Ali (Dubfire) and I, have been really good friends for a long time and we’ve always supported each other artistically. I’ve always felt that remixes are more meaningful when they mean something personally, like remixing a friend’s track or one of an artist that you have a lot of respect for. In order to balance the full-form of the original, Ali decided to take the track in a more deep and druggy after-hours vibe, which complements the elements of the original perfectly.

EG: You recently attended Miami Music Week. How was it? Any special gig worth mentioning?

Jon Gaiser: The first gig was a SCI+TEC night at Heart, and I played along with Dubfire and his label mates. We had a lot of fun together as usual… and the crowd was great. The next was a Play Differently event on the terrace at Space, with Richie Hawtin, Luciano and some more friends. There were a lot of friends playing and hanging out, and it’s always fun on the terrace during Miami Music Week. There is something special about the atmosphere on the terrace after the night has turned into afternoon.

EG: How the summer looking like? An album tour is scheduled?

Jon Gaiser: The album tour has just started around the same time as the album release, and will continue until later in the year. The tour begins in Europe and will also be continuing to include North and South America and Asia. And of course, the summer will be full of many festivals and the usual places like Ibiza, for example.

“I’m always working to develop the live show to keep things evolving, and allow enough new ideas to create spontaneous and surprising moments for any situation”

EG: We saw you playing live at Miami’s Ultra livestream. What would you say are the most important challenges when you are playing live?

Jon Gaiser: I’m always working to develop the live show to keep things evolving, and allow enough new ideas to create spontaneous and surprising moments for any situation. Of course, when you are on an album tour the main point is to showcase the album material, but I think this is just a loose framework and the live set should always be changing and moving through from start to finish with a fresh dynamic. Each artist has their own preference when it comes to his or her setup for a live performance. It all comes down to what it is that you are trying to achieve and which tools you want to use. In the end, I think it’s important for each artist to know their tools and create a setup so these instruments become an extension of yourself, and help you tell the story you want to tell through music. It’s also really important to have a proper visual representation that fits well, and adds to the feeling of the music to create an atmosphere that is a completely immersive experience.

EG: What’s in the pipeline for Jon Gaiser?

Jon Gaiser: What is always next for me, is more experimenting and recording. And as I mentioned before, the album tour will be starting around the release of the album, so most of this year will be spent on tour. While I’m on tour, I’m always brainstorming new ideas of how to make the live show more of a complete experience, bringing both the audio and visual together to create a unified and immersive atmosphere. Unfortunately, not every club or venue has the possibility for visuals, but we try to bring it wherever we can. A properly executed visual representation of the audio can take the entire experience to the next level of the senses. But beyond music and touring, I’m always looking to find the next interesting thing to explore…