Techno tribute as Blind Spot hits 100
Millions of fanatic techno listeners worldwide, in excess of 4000 tracks played and contributions from over 100 world class Djs and producers. Saturday 7th May sees the 100th edition of the Blind Spot show.
Following it’s airing on Preston FM at 8pm on 7th May, the “Blind Spot virus” will spread around the world throughout the following week via other FM and online radio stations where the show is retransmitted week after week. Behind it all is one person – the man who inhabits the Blind Spot, Dr Hoffmann – we caught up with him to talk about the celebration:
We spoke last time just before Blind Spot’s 2nd birthday in October. How did it go and what has happened to Blind Spot since then?
Blind Spot’s 2nd birthday went incredibly well. We celebrated it with five guests over five weeks: The Advent, Marco Bailey, Mark Broom, Joseph Capriati and Audio Injection joined us for the shows. They needed no introduction and I am sure their appearances truly marked the occasion.
Since then we have showcased a few more legends of the Techno scene such as Glenn Wilson, Gayle San, Adam Jay, Bas Mooy, while we haven’t forgotten the new generation coming through either, like Markus Suckut, Daniela Stickroth, m0h, Kyle Geiger, Hans Bouffmyhre to name but a few.
What was the most difficult situation that you have had to solve during your 100 shows?
In December of 2010 just before the show with Logotech went on air, someone broke into our house and stole both of our Macbooks. With that I lost all my tracks, my productions and lots of data. All I had left were the Blind Spot jingles because fortunately they had been saved in the station’s system. I was really down but the show had to go on. It was a really difficult time for us, I had to cancel a few gigs and rebuild my music collection. But after all that I am really proud because I did not cancel any radio shows due to the robbery.
Let’s talk about the jubilee 100th Blind Spot Show, How will you make it special?
The show is going to be on air on the 7th May 2011 between 8 and 10pm BST on 103.2 Preston FM, and it will be a bit of a first. During the following week the show will be aired around the globe on more than 46 FM and online radio stations where the Blind Spot usually broadcasts on a weekly basis. It’s a bit of a first because the tables are being turned on me for this very special show as German producer Heron will be the presenter, a man who needs no introduction to techno lovers. He is a fantastic producer and DJ and I will be his guest on the show, playing a 2 hour set along with giving an interview, all adding up to make it a very special Blind Spot that will blow the listeners away.
Increasing the excitement too, on the 18th May we will be releasing Delko’s Lost Bullet EP featuring Heron and Mars Bill & Dr Hoffmann remixes on my imprint Blind Spot Music label.
How is your label ‘Blind Spot Music’ going? What has the feedback been like?
Its going extremely well, honestly I did not expect it. We are just on our the third release but the tracks have been played and charted by big names such as Adam Beyer, Cari Lekebusch, Ben Sims, Joseph Capriati, Dustin Zahn, and Sasha Carassi…
More big things are in the pipeline because we have lined up some awesome releases from my favourite producers: Kalden Bess aka m0h, Drumcell, Deh-Noizer, Logotech etc
How do you select tracks for your label? Do you follow trends or do you try to be a step ahead of everybody else and release experimental stuff? Do you have any secret criteria?
No, there aren’t any secrets behind my decisions. Its super simple – I only release tracks that I really like and play. I would like Blind Spot Music to reflect my style as it’s my imprint, although it’s a bit tough sometimes because I love so many different subgenres of techno, everything from Dub Techno to harder sounds.
If you look at the artists on my label then you can see they do have something in common: they are all well known producers. Virgil Enzinger, Tom Hades, Audio Injection, Mark Morris, Raíz, D. Carbone, Brian Burger for example.
What do you think have been some of the key changes in the past half year in the techno scene and in the radio world?
Unfortunately one thing that hasn’t changed is the illegal file sharing and downloading, and I don’t think it’s going to change. There are always new regulations and digital laws but they don’t have any effect on people’s behavior. Free music and free movies seem natural for the new generation and it’s nearly impossible to change that. I am sure they have no idea about how much damage they cause to the film and music industry.
Loads of new radio shows and podcast series have appeared in the past few months. It’s great for the listeners because they have more programmes to choose from but it’s sometimes hard for the presenters and show producers. It has become really tough to organize guests because they receive uncountable interview and guest mix requests. It might sound a bit strange coming from my mouth because my company Syndicast produces and runs so many radio shows and podcast series from various artists!
The global techno scene is going from strength to strength, getting really strong. There are great parties across the globe, great releases, huge talent and rising stars. As always the music is the most important thing and we should never complain about it.
What have you got coming up in the near future?
Blind Spot will be returning to normal and I’ll be showcasing more big names week to week. I have got Oscar Mulero, Damon Wild, Virgil Enzinger, Sven Wittekind and Perc in the coming weeks. I have some fantastic releases coming out on my label as I have already mentioned. Also, a few of my tracks and remixes will be released on Blind Spot Music as well as on some other great labels. So keep your eyes and ears peeled.
More information:
- Blind Spot Show website
- Blind Spot podcast
- Dr Hoffmann twitter
- Facebook fanpage
- Facebook for Dr Hoffmann and Blind Spot
- Back to FM news
