Q&A: TUNGHØR

Published January 3, 2020

Tunghør take over Culture Box Saturday 4 January and invited the Dutch duo Hush & Sleep to play and help us kick off 2020 with a proper dose of techno. We’ve asked them of their work as a party collective and what we can expect from the night. 

Who and what is Tunghør?

Tunghør is a techno and event organising collective, meaning that we are a group of people who are passionate about techno music and organising parties which showcase our take on a techno event. Currently we are six people involved in Tunghør: David & Kasper (Aeromatik & Konfuse), Bertram (Kardinal Bertram), Casper Friis, Jannik Sundø and Rasmus (Sexyfak).

What does it mean to be a party collective?

Basically it means we are organising parties at various clubs and venues here in Copenhagen. We had our first event at the now defunct KB18, from there we went on to H9 (Halmtorvet 9), Basement CPH and Ved Siden Af. We did a street party at the Distortion 2019 festival, and now the time has come for us to host our first event at Culture Box.

What does your work as a party collective consist of?

There are a lot of different areas of work within planning and promoting a party and running a collective such as ours. The tasks vary from identifying potential venues, inquiring/negotiating for potential artists to book, graphical design, social media presence/promotion, budgeting, keeping track of our finances, setting up lights and sound, etc. Besides these tasks, all members of Tunghør are also resident DJ’s, taking turns playing at our events as support to our booking/headliner for the night.

How does one know that they are at a Tunghør party? Is there a certain feel or vibe that you create or seek to create at your parties?

We strive to create an atmosphere and a vibe where everybody feels welcome. A Tunghør party is a place where you can let go of your daily thoughts & worries and just be a part of the dancefloor and enjoy some nice techno music. As for our spaces and venues, we try to set our mark on the visual side as well, so even if it is a club or a venue you already know, it might look a little different when we are involved.

What sets Tunghør apart from other party collectives?

For us it has always been about bringing something to the scene that wasn’t already there. We started the Tunghør collective for the very same reason: there are a lot of super talented crews in Copenhagen who are pushing the fast 140+ BPM “Copenhagen” techno sound. At the other end of the scale there are a solid amount of equally great crews pushing the much slower deep melodic techno sound. The music, vibe and sound we are passionate about is to be found somewhere in the middle of this scale, if you can call it that.

Saturday 4 January you’ve invited the Dutch duo Hush & Sleep to play at your party at Culture Box, how come them?

We have been following Hush & Sleep for some time now and had the pleasure to be the first crew to bring them to Denmark last summer at our Distortion street party. We absolutely loved their sound and energy at that party, and we all agreed it would only be a matter of time before they would blow up and play at huge festivals etc. So when we got in touch with Culture Box about our first event here it felt very natural to bring back Hush & Sleep for a club gig.

How would you describe their take on electronic music?

Very much like Tunghør, Hush & Sleep is to be found somewhere in the middle, it’s a balance between the harder techno percussions and the deep hypnotic hooks and leads. Every member of our crew has been playing their tracks in our sets because their sound fits so well with the sound we are trying to push and share as a collective.

What has happened since you’ve arranged the party at Distortion with Hush & Sleep in regards to their musical journey and your own as a party collective?

Hush & Sleep is growing exponentially right now, and since our Distortion party they have been playing some big events and festivals with techno heavyweights like Charlotte de Witte, Egbert, Dax J, Len Faki, SHDW & Obscure Shape, Tommy Four Seven and many more. As for festivals, they played at Soenda Indoor in November and they are to play at the mighty Awakenings in Eindhoven 1st of February 2020.

As for releases they have been putting out music on their own label Ellora, Klangkuenstler’s label Outworld, Spektre’s label Respekt and the most recent release, “Zerachiel”, on Pleasurekraft’s Kraftek label.

How does Culture Box fit as a setting for a Tunghør party?

Culture Box has been the venue for many of the nights that initially inspired us to do Tunghør, so we are thrilled to finally be able to host our own night in here. Black Box is a great room for us, lots of possibilities in terms of lights, a good size, and a smashing soundsystem.

What do you expect of 4 January at Culture Box?

Given the fact that Red Box will be closed on this night, we expect to make Black Box our very own intimate techno cave – hot and vibing from start to end (just what you need to kick off 2020)!

How should the crowd prepare themselves for what is going to meet them on this night?

You can expect an energetic floor from start to end. We’ll start your journey with groovy and melodic techno, peak with banging percussion and hypnotic leads, and add a few melodies in the morning hours. One thing you can be sure of is that you’ll never be bored on the floor that night.