For the latest instalment of Speaker Cone – a series of talks with heads from the music industry – we catch up with German production duo Kruse & Nuernberg.
Speaker Cone /\ Kruse & Nuernberg by Cone_Magazine on Mixcloud
Florian Kruse & Nils Nuernberg both grew up in rural areas of Germany. After meeting each other at a party during the early 2000’s, the pair decided to collaborate with each other. Their seminal house productions would later lead to them releasing records on revered labels such as Off recordings and Exploited.
When speaking to the pair about their respective cities Berlin and Hamburg, they tell me about how Hamburg was, and still is, an amazing city to live in for a DJ. But then Berlin took over. “We were playing sets from 5am to 8am on a Wednesday. We thought no one will turn up, but it was packed. It’s great.”
“I started DJing 15 years ago and have played on vinyl for 10 years – then I shifted to the laptop and used a Native Instruments controller. But it wasn’t convenient so we just decided to use USB sticks.” – Nils
They tell me about how Berlin is changing. “It’s not that easy to find a house anymore.” Nils remarks, “once a city becomes super popular, the house prices go up.” This is the downside to any thriving area.
I then talk to the pair about production. I was quite keen to get inside their minds and find out more about their processes. When asked about their studio setup they tell me they just use “a computer with Logic & Protools, alongside some software synthesizers.” I find this quite surprising. No hardware synths? For producers of this caliber I tend to assume a greater emphasis would be placed on hardware, but no. Still, they seem to create great end results, so why should this matter? Flo tells me “it’s really important for us, and always was important for us to have good acoustics. The most important thing is that you get used to the acoustic sound in your room.” Nils agrees!
The pair use FTTP servers to work together remotely. Again, this is a rather unorthodox but modern approach to production. Highlighting with the boys at the innovative DAW, Ohm Studio, Flo then remarks “I think the internet is the future, of course – and the opportunity to jam with someone in another city is perfect.”
“I prefer to work collaboratively, as it improves your creative output.” – Nils
We then touch on to their latest venture: Save Room Recordings – a label the pair started at the beginning of 2008, with the intention being that they treat its releases with the seriousness of vinyl but in digital format. Launched during the digital revolution, it seems the pair have stuck to this format, regardless of vinyl’s resurgence. “It’s a reputation thing. Your label is mainly digital and now it’s pushing out vinyl. Okay, now we are a little cooler because we are pushing vinyl. It’s for lovers.” Flo also highlights that it is more work, with special mastering processes involved and the costs being too high. “It’s very expensive running a label. We’re losing money each month.” It seems like it’s the passion that takes precedence over the format for these boys, with a touch of pragmatism too.
“Nobody is making big money out of vinyl. It’s just a reputation thing. It’s super cool to do it but it just doesn’t make any sense. It’s a lot of effort too.” – Nils
As we round things up, we talk about the processes of moving through the industry and changing distributors to maximize the ROI. We conclude with a look to the future, and the path Kruse & Nuernberg are headed on. Speaking with Kruse & Nuernberg, you get a sense that they are just two mates, having a laugh whilst taking their approach to production seriously – fun loving and pragmatic. It’s a balancing act that the two seem to have mastered artfully.
The boys have also very kindly provided Cone Magazine with an EXCLUSIVE 75 minute mixtape. Check out this puppy below /\