When the Coronavirus shut us down, clubs and festivals ceased, and everyone was essentially forced inside with no definitive end in sight, DJ Times wondered: How is our tribe coping? How are DJs getting by?
So, we sent out our “Coronavirus Questionnaire” to DJ/producers from all musical genres to find out. During this period, DJ Times will continue presenting the questionnaire responses from talented music-makers from all over the world. Here’s our latest entry, this time from Germany, the Berlin-based electronic talent Cle (aka Clemens Kahlcke).
What’s it like where you’re living? How are you spending most of your time? Here in Berlin we are facing a “soft” lockdown, which might change into a real lockdown again any day soon due to the growing numbers of infections, with a lot of confusing rules regarding school, shopping, meeting friends, etc. Eva, my wife, her son Adam and I keep mostly to ourselves in our cozy and beautiful flat in Prenzlauer Berg, enjoying the sensations of home-cooking, home-schooling and home-producing a new LoYoTo album – a project of Eva and myself. Eva also helps out at the vaccination center in the former Tegel Airport. We try to make the best of the situation from day to day by taking long walks and playing table tennis at one of the many public ping-pong tables. We also make regular back-to-back DJ sets happen in our living room and we have a super-cool local bar, which supplies us with bottled, old-fashioned cocktails sometimes.
Have you lost important gigs, or income-producing work? Two years ago, I started focusing more and more on my second career as a restaurant manager in a very cool place called PeterPaul, run by a friend of mine – which is closed down right now, of course. So I used to play way less than the previous years anyway. It was more about playing small clubs and bars, which I really liked, but couldn´t pay much… so there was not too much to lose. Missing these few gigs awfully, though.
Are you doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income? Apart from working on the LoYoTo album, I occasionally meet up with my old buddy Steve Bug to hang out in his studio and play around a bit with the synths and drum machines. The results may produce income, but I’m not counting on that. Now, that’s even more like playing the lottery than in the good old days. But our latest releases are “Gentle Push” and “A Pinch of Space” on Poker Flat.
What are you doing now that’s ultimately constructive to your music life/career? We are very glad having a cozy home studio in our house, where we can spend the crazy amounts of free time right now. I feel lucky to have a partner who inspires me on a day-to-day basis.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? The joy of talking to friends on the telephone. I never enjoyed speaking on the phone at all. These days I even use Facetime occasionally, just checking in for a few minutes really brightens up my days – and I truly hope my friends’ days as well.
Have you considered doing anything online? Have you seen any DJ video streams that impressed you? During the first lockdown in spring 2020, Eva and I recorded a little sofa session. But it was more like a show where we played some of our favorite records from all different kinds of genres and we talked in between the songs and just had some fun. Most online DJ mixes didn´t appeal to me at all, so I never cared about doing one myself. I found them all pretty static and boring. I just saw the thing Dixon did with the guys from Fondation Beyeler, and that was a very impressive show, as it was all digital, including Dixon being his own avatar! That was an interesting approach.
Any theme tunes recommended for the moment? Divine’s “Shoot Your Shot.”
Any advice on staying sane & relatively positive through this situation? Long walks help me clear my head and focus on positive things, so get out there and explore your city: beauty and inspiration may lay just around the corner! And read a good book from time to time. Netflix and company can wait.
To check out more Life in Lockdown interviews, click here.
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