In the middle of Paris Fashion Week, we took a break from the fashion week madness to do a Zoom call with Hamburg-born producer and DJ Helena Hauff. The call, which turned out to become one of our favorite conversations we had that week, lasted 30 minutes. It went from her favorite color to how she curated her ‘fabric presents Helena Hauff’ mix and everything in between.
Hi, Helena! Are you home in Germany right now?
Yes. I just came back from San Franciso yesterday.
Oh, do you have a jetlag?
Yeah? … I don’t even know what jetlag is anymore because I’m just constantly jetlagged.
Let’s start with some rapid-fire fire questions! What’s your favorite BPM?
138.
Who’s an artist that you look up to?
DJ Stingray.
What track is on repeat right now?
Vertical67 “before you go”.
What do you prefer: a club or a festival?
I would’ve always said a club, but I think, I prefer a festival now. Because it’s … It depends on the festival actually. It depends on the club too. (laughs) It’s 50/50.
What’s your favorite color?
Red.
What’s your favorite animal?
Hold on! (walks off the screen) … This is my cat! His name is Jonas. I got him from the shelter during lockdown. He was called Jonas in the shelter, and I kept that name because I thought it really suited him. I rescued him; he is a street cat with FIV, but he’s very happy and strong. I love him; he’s the best.
Do you still enjoy going out?
I don’t go out at all anymore. (laughs) I… no. I used to go out a lot. But now I don’t really enjoy it anymore. I like spending time at a festival outside when it’s a nice setting in the woods or something. I really enjoy that, especially in nature.
You’re not on social media. Is that a conscious choice, and why?
It’s a bit of a long story. I was on MySpace in 2008. I was on there for two months, and I didn’t like how it made me feel about myself. I then made the decision to never join another social network ever again. At that time people started joining Facebook, and I was just like: “No, I’m not gonna do that. I hated Myspace, I’m not going on Facebook. Fuck that.” I am happy about it. I think it’s good to not be part of it—for my mental health. I do see the dangers in it. I think a lot of social media are fucking evil.
But then, at the same time, sometimes I think it’s a shame I’m not on there. Because I could maybe use my platform in a positive way. For that part, it’s a shame, but I’m happy to not have the pressure of social media. It was a decision I made a while ago when social media was not what it is now. But I’m not planning on joining a social network anytime soon. I’m good where I am now.
Following up on that. Right now, a lot of DJs are on social media to build an image and to make it in the industry. Are you saying to young artists that they don’t have to be on social media and that their music will speak for itself?
I hope I can be a kind of example or proof that you don’t need it to be successful. I know a lot of artists who hate being on social media, but they are pressured to do it. For those people, I would say they should definitely try to do it without being on social media. A lot of people think they have to do it to become a successful artist, but I think it’s a lie that we are telling each other. Do you see me? I don’t use it. I’m still here. I’m still being booked.
On the other hand, if you do like it, use it! It is definitely a tool that gets you somewhere. A lot of people got really famous and successful by using social media. It’s probably harder to do it without using social media. But then, at the end of the day, everybody is doing it. So, how do you stand out? You still need to have something else that makes you stand out. It can’t be the only thing.
Is fashion important to you? Do you care about what you are wearing for a gig?
I do care! I care a lot actually. I think it’s a great way to express yourself, lift your mood, and show people who you are. At the beginning of my career, I stayed away from everything that could possibly distract from my music. I felt like I wanted to be almost like a blank canvas. It’s probably because, at that time, there were not a lot of female artists. There was a lot more sexism. I didn’t want anybody to ever say that I got there because I looked a certain way, or presented myself a certain way. I was building a career just on my music. You can almost say I tried to hide! For my first press pictures, I didn’t even show my face. But I don’t care now. I just do what makes me happy. When I get excited about some crazy outrageous outfit, I will wear it. And when I don’t feel like wearing it, I will turn up in a black T-shirt. I think it depends, and I try to have fun with it. Life is so short; just live a little! Fashion is a big part of that.
Also, because I don’t have social media. I don’t post pictures of my looks. Nobody really cares what I wear now. If I were on social media, it would matter a lot more what I wear. Sometimes I think it’s a shame I’m not on social media because when I wear a fun outfit, I would love to take a picture of it and post it to social media. But yeah, it is what it is. (laughs)
Do you have a go-to outfit for going out or performing? Me, for example, I always wear the tiniest tops …
Oh, me too! Tiny tops work. You’re in a club, and it’s sweaty. I have to be careful with wearing white outfits, though. I wore an all-white outfit recently, and yeah … it’s kind of grey now.
The good thing about clubs, or at least most of the clubs where I play, is that they are queer safe spaces. Everybody just wears what the hell they want. It’s a safe space for people to express themselves. Nobody is going to look at you weirdly. If they look at you, they will look at you because they love it, and they are interested. Clubs can be a great place to feel a bit more free, which is amazing.
You made a mix for fabric in London. Do you feel like there is a big difference between the club scene in London and Germany?
Yes, it is different. Obviously, it depends on the club. London is a great mix of cultures, and Berlin is too because you have a lot of people coming to Berlin. So they are quite similar in that respect. But I feel like, in London, it’s people that live there. But in Berlin, I sometimes feel like the diversity that you see is more because of tourists who are coming there. London is this interesting melting pot. Germany can be more conservative in some ways. But Berlin has some of the best techno clubs.
Musically, in Germany, they are very much into straight techno. Berlin is very one-dimensional when it comes to techno. In London, they do like a bit of jungle, drum and bass, electro, etc. It’s not all about techno in London. London is just a bit more diverse when it comes to sound.
So, do you like London more than Berlin?
I love London. But I also love Berlin. I wouldn’t want to choose … But I love London. I think it’s just wild. In some ways—wilder than Berlin. It also really depends on where you go.
How did you curate the mix for fabric presents Helena Hauff? Was it a long process?
It was a very, very long process. I started with making my music because I decided I wanted to have an unreleased track on there. When I decided which track to use, I tried to find things to go with that. I had a vision in my head and came up with an idea for the mix. But then you have to go and license all the tracks. A lot of them didn’t make it on the mix because, for whatever reason, the label didn’t get back, but the artists did get back … When it’s a track of 30 years old, you don’t even know who to ask if it’s okay to have it on the mix. So, from then on, I decided to drop a few tracks and replace them. The result is something completely different from what I thought I was going to make. It took months to finish this, but I am very happy with it.
It has some of my favorite artists on there—some of my all-time heroes. I’m so excited to have Autechre on the compilation. They are just so huge for me. I’ve collected all of their records, and they have been one of the most important inspirations in my musical career. The fact that they are on the compilation is just insane! The same with Radioactive Man—I’m so happy he’s on it.
You can now order the ‘fabric presents Helena Hauff’ mix of 77 minutes of banging electro, breakbeat, and techno.
Images by Riya Hollings – co-written by Vincent Van Laeken
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