Think City is a music project of two music producers, Anup KC (from Nepal) and Chris Habernol (from Germany), currently based in Dortmund, Germany. Previous releases included labels like KATERMUKKE and Pipe & Pouchet. Their musical creation is a melting pot of natural sounds, live instruments, vocals in different languages, layered with electronic beats & different synth sounds.
We caught up with Think City to talk about their new release ‘Alma Zen’ via HMWL and future projects.
Electronic Groove: Hey Anup and Chris, thanks for your time today. How and where did you guys first meet and what was the result of that meeting?
Think City: Hi, it’s our pleasure, and thank you too for having us on EG.
We first met via our common friend Neil Richter together with whom we started this project Think City, and when we first met, directly on the first day we produced our first single ‘Last Day Of Our Life’. That song gave us our first big break charting on different Charts.
EG: Who does what in the studio? Do you each take certain roles and parts of the track?
Think City: Since both of us are music producers, we do things together in the studio and our tracks are the product of our creative work together.
EG: Your new EP on HMWL has 2 featuring artists, Ivano Ovani & Ernest Oh, how did you come about collaborating with them on this EP?
Think City: Ivano is our friend from the Ruhr area, we know him for quite a while now. We always wanted to do a song together with him, and finally, for this EP we made it.
Our Spanish bro Ernest Oh, from Madrid, we came to know him from a various artist compilation album called ‘MOON OF MANAKOORA’ by Shango Records, where we both had a track in that release. After we got connected, we exchanged few messages via Soundcloud, we vibed and decided to collaborate together.
EG: What is the best practice when collaborating with artists and getting your sounds to meet?
Think City: For us, it’s all about good vibes, respect, and appreciation for each other’s work. We work on a collaboration with ping-pong method sending stems. When there is a nice understanding between people involved it is imperative that good music will come out of this kind of collaboration.
EG: What you have prepared for the coming months?
Think City: We have worked on quite a few new collaborations, originals, and remixes that are going to be released in 2021. We are excited about the future!
EG: What were your first contacts with electronic music like?
Anup: I started listening to electronic music when I was studying at the University in Dortmund. Groups like De-Phazz, Bedrock, Thievery Corporations, and Prem Joshua left a deep mark in my pool of musical consciousness.
Chris: Electronic music was always a big part of my life. I listen to this genre since I was a little kid. In the ’90s Eurodance and happy hardcore were big in Germany. These sounds were my door to electronic music.
“We try to stay optimistic and look forward to seeing you all with fresh energy and a new perspective!”
EG: Do you remember the moment when you decided to leave it all behind and devote yourself 100% to music? Was it a big leap of faith for you?
Anup: Yes, totally, because it was a big decision to devote myself to creative work such as music and social creative projects after working as a chemical engineer for over a decade. It was the beginning of 2019 where I quit my full-time job and started focusing full-time on my creative side projects. I’m very glad that I made that decision. I know I have tough years ahead but I am ready to face the challenges and move forward giving my 100%. For me, it’s all about music, meditation and the wonders of nature.
Chris: I am still working full-time as a dialogue marketing instructor for young adults. Before that, I worked as a project manager in the event business.
EG: Now, back to the present…How do you envision the future of clubbing? What changes would you like to see from the industry moving forwards?
Think City: We hope things will normalize soon. We are sad to witness that art and culture are shoved in the backburner currently, which definitely got to change!
In short term: Maybe clubs and festivals can open with the help of a fast COVID-test. And in long term we wish we all boost our immune system by adopting a healthy lifestyle that no virus can disturb us at the current level. With all the viral mutation taking place that’s the only sustainable long-term way out from this chaos (in our opinion).
Think City’s ‘Alma Zen’ is now available via HMWL. Grab your copy here.
Follow Think City: Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud | Spotify
