Name: Rainer Trüby
Occupation: Producer, DJ, compiler
Nationality: German
Current release: Rainer Trüby's sixth instalment of his classic Glücklich series is out via Compost on July 14th 2023. It is available as a 2LP and CD edition and there is also a fashionable tshirt. About the twenty year gap between Glücklich V and VI, Rainer says:

“I had another Glücklich comp planned for years. Yes, you can blame or say thanks to the pandemic that I really forced myself, together with the Compost team, to make it really happen this time again. But I really mean this to be timeless music.” As always, he regrets, the music will probably get filed under the lounge tag, but he hasn't given up hope that “it will get the “deep” approval from the more careful listeners ...”

If you enjoyed this Rainer Trüby interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.   



I've recently enjoyed exploring some obscure downbeat compilations from the 90s, many of which have really intriguing concepts and tracks that can not be found on streaming services. What are some of your own favourite compilations?

Back in the early 90s for me it was primarily the up and rising Mastercuts series compiled by Ian Dewhirst and the late great Dez Parkes which captured my musical likings very well - whether it was classic Jazz Funk, classic Mellow, classic Funk or even Rare Groove. Also the Jazz Juice series from a certain Gilles Peterson provided me with a deeper insight into the UK jazzdance scene which took place at the legendary Dingwalls.

Then there was Boogie Tunes by Gordon Mac & Paul Trouble Anderson, very influential and educational as well. Also Kev Beadle did a few great compilations focusing on certain labels like Argo / Cadet “Off The Wall” giving me some proper organ jazz knowledge. He also did a series of Capitol Rare comps which focused on all things good whether it being jazz, funk or soul.

Another series was very influential on my younger educational years. London Jazz Classics, a couple of volumes were released, compiled with love & taste from the Soul Jazz record shop people in Soho / London covering the full spectrum of my musical interests.



Stateside around that period Luv'n Haight in San Francisco started to make some of those “rare groove” gems available again, also with a few excellent compilations to come. Later on of course I did enjoy the K&D Sessions on K7 as a prime example of a trippy downtempo experience.



DJ Kicks was to follow, many good ones in the series, personal faves being MCDE, Thievery Corporation, Theo Parrish, our Trüby Trio one from 2001 still sounds fine to my ears …

I love your DJ Kicks a lot. What do you still remember about putting together your DJ Kicks mix from 2001?

The offer from K7 came along around the year 2000. We, as the Trüby Trio felt very honoured.



It was an interesting period. In the early 90s, I wouldn't play or touch any house records. It all changed towards the mid 90s. I loved the lively feel, latin, afro, Brazilian-flavoured house tunes coming up, new labels and all that. It all felt like a natural progression of what we have been doing during “NuJazz” times, just with a house kick or a broken beat underneath.

Very much enjoyed compiling this with my Trüby Trio partners Christian Prommer and Roland Appel. The mix was done live at the time, pitching and twisting around.

Now, I find myself buying late 80s and early 90s house records on discogs ;).

In the 90s, compilations and DJ mixes were among the most highly regarded releases, both commercially and artistically. To me, as someone who grew up making my own mixtapes a lot, this was a fascinating time. How do you personally look back on it?

I started out making mixtapes to friends and possible future girlfriends in the late 80s. Did one in 1995 entitled “Golden Lady” feat. a great version of the Stevie Wonder classic by a certain Jose Feliciano. Apparently it seemed to be a lasting success. The relationship lasts up until now and I am very happy about that.



Mixtapes were and are the most personal gift to a dear person indeed. Compilations and DJ mixes are fine too, maybe less personal, that's all.

At their very best possible, are compilations as artistically satisfying as an artist album?

Now, that is a good question. A compilation can surely provide all your very own personal favourite choices combined in your particular way. You name the ride and glide and you just need to get the licenses done and put the tunes together in a “floating” order.

I have only done one proper artist album with our Trüby Trio called Elevator Music for Compost Records in 2003 feat. my partners Christian Prommer and Roland Appel. I highly enjoyed the process of making it and I feel quite happy that we made it in the end. It took us quite a while back then. The process of producing, sampling and putting everything together with the musicians was a bit more tricky back then.



I enjoy compiling as much as doing an artist album. But, honestly “compiling” is the easier task, for sure ...

The first instalment of the Glücklich series was released in 1994. How did the idea come about and what is the German-Brazilian connection you hinted at in the booklet?

I was really inspired by a couple of UK DJs in the early 90s, namely Gilles Peterson, Patrick Forge, Kev Beadle and also a certain James Lavelle / UNKLE playing Brazilian music in certain clubs. It really grabbed me when I first heard Milton Nascimento, Edu Lobo, Marcos Valle, even Sergio Mendes and some of those obscure 60s Bossa-Jazz Trios that played in various underground clubs from Dingwalls to Barumba / Soho to Brixton.

So, what I did, I searched in my Swabian record shop neighbourhood around the Stuttgart area for local Krautrock / JazzFusion tunes to play out. And I luckily discovered a few things that were not known yet, such as To Be, a German Krautrock band from near Hamburg, which had 2 samba tracks on their album on the Krautrock label “Brain Records”. One was entitled “Glücklich”.



I loved it and that was the initial idea then to reveal the German / European side of samba jazz fusion “with a Brazilian flavour”. Kitty Winter Gipsy Nova was another highlight. Gilles P loved it when I took it around to the “back then” Talkin' Loud headquarters. “New Morning” became a catchy jazzdance classic in the UK and soon after in Japan as well.



Brazilian music has been a vital undercurrent for many strands of music, from jazz up to electronica. Why do you feel it has proven so inspiring for musicians despite never achieving a wider breakthrough?

I think for me it is that sentimental, yet happy a.k.a. “Glücklich” feeling that Brazilian harmonies provide.

From the late 60s up until now their musical heritage proved to be the one for my musical tastebuds. Once you become familiar and hooked with this sound you really don't want to miss out on it anymore. Minhas Gerais is where a couple of the “grands” aka Milton Nascimento, Lo Borges hail from, and then there is Edu Lobo, Marcos Valle, Djavan, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Filo and many more.

Surely some of them have had their breakthrough. Not all of them yet. I am still on a mission to help with that …

How much time did you spend selecting tracks for Glücklich VI? What makes you see connections between the pieces and what makes them a good fit do you feel?

It really took me a while. The initial idea to revive the series came about 10 years ago. I had about 30-40 tracks in mind that I sent to the good peeps at Compost Records. Then it was work in progress.

Thomas Herb from Compost did a lot of research and found some almost forgotten artists via Facebook and other channels and contacted them directly and was able to work it out directly with the artists.

The final track list on the CD and download is my intended musical “voyage”, the vinyl track list is a bit more clubby / DJ – orientated.

Compiling the music is one aspect. Then, there's licensing, sequencing, artwork etc. How important / complex is this latter part of the process?

It got a bit easier lately. I remember in the mid-90s it was slightly more difficult to track down the original artists. We sent out a lot of faxes and tried to phone the labels, often with no results. Now that we have Discogs, Facebook and Instagram it all seems to be a bit easier to handle. Still, it has been hard work.

We finally got the “Go” just a few weeks ago, last minute, for the lovely Jon Lucien track “Come With Me To Rio”, which only came out on a rare 7” in Brazil from the label boss Guto Graca Mello of SomLivre records. Thanks to the producer Lincoln Olivetti's daughter Mary Olivetti we could get in touch with Guto Mello directly.

How are human and AI / statistically generated content different? What can humans do in terms of curating that machines and algorithms may not?

Luckily, I don't have any experience with  AI curated content. And I have no idea on the difference with the human approach, sorry.

One thing I do appreciate about machine recommendations in music is that they can sometimes be less dogmatic. They look at what people listen to, which isn't always very obvious. If someone asks you for a recommendation based on one piece of music, how would you come up with suggestions, would you say?

I can highly recommend my “Soulgliding” playlist on spotify, which is quite extended (25 hours + of tunes). I just hope that the future recommendations will be up to the quality level.



One piece of music would be: Herbie Hancock – "Stars In Your Eyes," an all-time fave for me.



Personally, what I really like about compilations is that they fix a particular moment in time. It's both an overview of what someone thought was worthwhile and representative of that time and a statement of taste. In terms of “future disco”, what is your personal assessment of this moment in time right now and what music may survive beyond the super short lifecycles of most people's attention?
 
I truly believe in classics, whether it being jazz, Brazil, latin, afro, soul, funk, boogie, balearic, deep house, bruk or techno.

And new classics are constantly being made somewhere out there … so much good new music around!

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like preparing a great meal? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I actually never properly “wrote” any music. I cooked quite a few proper meals, sometimes with a recipe, often just improvised. I really enjoy doing this.

Cooking and DJing are quite similar. You have your little ingredients and you try to mix them together in the best possible way. With music as a DJ I just feel good to transmit my little musical story and make people happy with “my kinda groove.”

If the public agrees it may as well turn into a good match. No more, no less ...