BEAM 1.2/GALAXY & ELECTRIC UNIVERSE

ELECTRIC UNIVERSE AKA GALAXY

Boris Blenn, the first local talent signed to the Hamburg-based Spirit Zone label, has developed a following as Electric Universe since the early 1990s, with the newest release, "Waves" now in distribution. While Electric Universe offers tight, rocking psy-trance, Boris has recently cultivated another musical persona focussing on ambient sounds as Galaxy. His first release, "Angel" was released in late 1998 by Blue Room. Boris performed both a kicking trance set as Electric Universe and an uplifting morning ambient set as Galaxy in San Francsico this past March.

So, we just want to find out what you’ve been up to in the last few years. Are you from Hamburg originally?

BB: Originally I’m from Hamburg, yeah. I’ve been there for many years producing music and now I’m in Ibiza. It’s nice there, warm and lots of nature. It was time for me to go out of the big city and so I’m in the countryside now. Yeah. It’s very nice.

How were you exposed to trance music?

BB: It’s a long story. I’ve enjoyed electronic music for many, many years. It started with the very basics. I was listening to Tangerine Dream and developed slowly with Chicago House and stuff like that.

What do you listen to these days that is particularly stimulating?

BB: The most stimulating for me these days is ambient and good electronic home-listening music. It’s not so comfortable for me to listen to all the hardcore, full-on music styles when I’m at home. I’m very much into ambient, and this is what the Galaxy project is, a part of my heart, really. I really love this kind of music.

So you had Electric Universe originally as more of your trance project, and you are going to continue that?

BB: At the time I had produced enough of this party-style music, so I started to make some floating, peaceful ambient tunes and yeah, it got more and more and then I came to the point where I thought about making a record with all the music that was collected over the years. The Angel album came about one and a half years ago. This time my new stuff will be on the second Galaxy record on Blueroom.

Well people have seemed to respond quite favorably to the album, it’s gotten really good reviews.

BB: Yes, I heard. Especially in America that the response was very good.

It’s kind of interesting to see how ambient has become it’s own genre. How distinct it is from on one hand New Age and then on the other hand, World music. How do you view this new ambent music?

BB: I wouldn’t say this is new for me. I think ambient has more roots than even trance or house music has because the beginning of electronic music was very ambient. It has been produced over all the years.

Do you have a particulary cosmic inspiration? it seems so from the names you’ve chosen for your projects.

BB: Yeah, I like music that has a bit of these technological, future, feeling space, I would say. So this is also why I choose names like that.

How about the Galaxy name, is there a spiritual connotation to that or more one of science fiction?

BB: What do you see as the spiritual aspect of Galaxy?

I think the album has a really spiritual, really warm feeling and having an affinity for our galaxy is kind of a spiritual thing, like it’s our larger ecology. I was wondering if you were tuning into this larger body with your music.

BB: Sometimes this happens, yes. Somehow I am a quite spiritual person I would say for myself, and this is something that is expressed in my music.

Are there any teachers or particular schools of thought that have influenced you?

BB: I have been reading lots of books, always searching for some direction or things that can help me in my life. I’ve found very interesting information in all the different kinds of spiritual ways but actually in he last two years I’ve very much inspired by Buddhistic information that I get. It’s quite interesting for me at the moment for me especially these meditations are very helpful.

Are you playing out quite a bit? Do you travel much?

BB: I would say not that much compared to other people. I’m trying to get really good parties where I go otherwise it’s really exhausting if you travel a lot, especially if it’s a bad party and you don’t get paid. So I take care of where I go and so maybe one or two gigs a month, somethimes more, sometimes less. I’ve come to very different countries, with different party people at different kinds of parties. It’s quite interesting to see for me, I’m very happy that my job is making this possible for me, that I can go around and see very interesting places.

It does seem like the trance scene is a religious experience for so many people, it’s not described very specifically but it’s a given that it’s got that dimension to it. It’s really cool to see the connection between people all over the world with it, and it’s you guys that are travelling that are connecting all of us.

BB: The spiritual experience that you are talking about was for me a very, very intense story. In ‘91 when Antaro started to make the first parties in Germany this was a very, very important time for me where lots of different influences came together and I met a crowd of people that felt very familiar to. This was a very nice experience. I also still enjoy it when it is a good party, this vibe and this peaceful energy between people. This is what a good party should do. This spiritual experience is something I hope many people as possible have now.

There is an interesting line to tread between the underground anonymity and exposing the music and the artists widely to revealing who’s doing the music. Part of the rave experience is that it’s so new, people don’t now where it all comes from. We are trying to preserve the integrity of the experience while sharing it with a larger audience. It seems in Germany it is more aboveground and more popular.

BB: Germany is the point where Antaro and some other guys started in the beginning of the early, early nineties to bring the vibe they caught in Goa to Europe. Especially because they were living in Hamburg it was one of the first places in Europe to start bigger things. This is now nearly 10 years ago! Actually every kind of music, every kind of scene has been working for many,many years and parties and always same kind of music, it starts to get boring at some point. So my experience is that in these places in the world where so many parties have been its not so easy to get the crowd in a good vibe because it’s like normal for many of these people. So for me it’s very nice to come to places like, for example, New York last weekend or here where there is a really fresh crowd and you can play and choose different kinds of music and try out various styles. In Germany, in my home, we still have good parties and still nice things going on, but lots of boring things.

It does seem like the music continues to change and morph enough that we get new experiences.

BB: Yeah, sometimes I am missing a little bit of creative experimentation. But now is the time where I feel something is happening again. So various kinds of more mixed like techno, trance—the fringes between them are falling down hopefully. Because I like to mix jungle inside, things like breakbeat stuff. If it’s a good mixture at the right point, it can be very interesting.

You have the new Angel CD coming out on Blue Room this summer? Do you know when that will be released?

BB: Not before the end of the year. Like September, October but maybe even the beginning of next year because they are very busy obviously.

Well the timing is really important. And so Electric Universe, is there a new release coming?

BB: I’ve nearly finished my new album which will be released in the third week of May.

And that’s a Spirit Zone release?

BB: Yes.

And, "Rock Da House" might be on there? [A Radio-V "anthem," available on Matsuri’s "Sympathy in Chaos II"]

BB: Actually, I don’t know.

Well we vote for it! It’s one of those tracks that shows that rave rocks, you know?

BB: Many people like this track, this is true. Maybe I should think about it.

Top Photo Credit: Courtesy of Blue Room

Bottom Photo Credit: M. Gosney 1999.