Hades man

DJ Hell is happy, and with good reason. After nearly 20 years of tireless work, his efforts have paid off. To the uninitiated, Hell is the German DJ/producer who runs the International Deejay Gigolos label, an outlet that has played a central role in the revival of the electro sound. He is also one of Germany’s biggest DJs, an adventurous spinner who started off spinning punk and hip-hop in local clubs before making a mark internationally with his debut single, ‘My Definition Of House’. Airing the track at one of Berlin’s first Love Parade events, ‘House’ was signed up immediately by R&S and Hell’s DJing career went into overdrive.

Although he admits this sudden jump from the local to international stage meant he “saw too much too quickly,” this heightened profile also allowed Hell to bring techno music to a wide audience.

“I was obsessed with this music and I believed in it so much that I felt like a soldier for the movement,” Hell remembers. “At the time, techno was very new and fresh and I felt it was my mission to go out every weekend to let people hear what’s new.”

However, by the mid-’90s, techno’s direction had changed and Hell set up International Deejay Gigolos. Borne out of frustration with electronic music’s love of anonymity as well as a need to provide a platform for new, exciting music the label debuted with well-received records from Jeff Mills and Christopher Just. The label also cultivated newer artists like Hacker & Kittin, David Caretta, Terence Fixmer and Fischerpooner.

“There were many reasons to set up Gigolos,” he maintains. “The techno scene was serious, but we were having such fun in the clubs. The music had no image, there were no faces or superstars, so acts like Fischerspooner opened doors for electronic music. They’ve given it an identity and made the listener think who is behind this music. Times change and people want to see faces on stage nowadays,” he adds.

However, as the fickle music industry looked for the latest underground style to pounce upon, it wasn’t long before Gigolos new school electro sound came to the attention of the mainstream, aided no doubt by Tiga’s ‘Sunglasses At Night’ hit and the hype surrounding Fischerpooner. Hell admits that Gigolos played a role in talking up the music, but is dissatisfied at the way electro has been hi-jacked.

“We were doing this kind of music for years,” he insists, “and now the major labels and Ministry Of Sound are band wagon jumping and releasing electro-pop compilations because they need new faces and names. Suddenly, all these bands that looked great, but didn’t make good music wanted to be part of the scene to get a lucrative contract. It’s a shame for the other artists who were making music for so long: many of the original acts don’t want to be associated with electro.”

Despite his reservations about electro, Hell’s label is moving onwards; Gigolos plan to release ambient music as well as electronic rock that Hell simply calls ‘Gigolo Rock’. In the absence of any new material from Hell himself – it’s been four years since his last album, Munich Machine, the German DJ is releasing a new double mix CD, Electronic Body House Music on React this month.

Adopting the same open minded direction as his last DJ mix, 2000’s FUSE release, the new mix sees Hell uniting classic EBM music from Nitzer Ebb and Front 242 with their modern day equivalents - Terrence Fixmer and David Caretta, representing big techno names like Underground Resistance and Jeff Mills. The new wave of electronic house music is also included with tracks from Justus Köhncke, Losoul, Perlon and Derrick Carter.

“Dance music has many different colours and I’m into a very wide spectrum, so it’s necessary to represent these influences,” he explains. “I grew up in the ’70s and ’80s so I’m lucky to be in a position where I appreciate diversity.

“I get bored quickly and playing across the board is what keeps me fresh. Normally chaos reigns in my crate,” Hell jokes. “I don’t know where the records are and have no system, so I never play the same set twice. I hope the CD surprises everyone who thought I was just a techno or electro pop DJ.

“I realised ten years ago that music was the most important part of my life and that I will never tire of it. I’m nearly forty years old, but I’m a music lover, this is my life.”