DJ Hell brings us to his universe.
After a three year silence Helmut Josef Geier aka “DJ Hell” is back with his new single “I Want You”, from the upcoming album “Zukunftsmusik” that will be released next spring. The devil at the service of love, for a while leaves hell and tells us about himself.
Hello Hell, how are you?
I am fine, thank you.
What do you see in front of you at the moment?
Right now at home, in my living room – with lots of records, magazines and a big photo of Andy Warhol on the wall.
I’ve seen and loved your “I want you” video, already a success on the web. I have been really surprised to see Tom of Finland’s drawings. The world of gay visual art is so big, so I am curious to ask you: why did you choose right him?
Tom of Finland is a superb artist. To me, personally, he is one of the most influential and groundbreaking artists of the last century, simply because Tom´s paintings and fantasies have opened doors for so many people all around the world.
In addition, all my work and my world are based on gay culture, since house music was produced and played by homosexual men and the club culture itself started in the late ’70s gay discos & clubs scene in NYC and Chicago.
Therefore it was just a logical step to enter into a very fruitful partnership with the Tom of Finland Foundation.
The pop aesthetic seems to fit really well the synth: is the electroclash easier to impress through images?
I totally agree with the pop-art aesthetics and feel very honored that more and more people really understand what I am trying to say here.
It also fits with the electroclash image, a musical genre invented by myself and my label International DeeJay Gigolo Records.
The company has been using images of naked cowboys for many years, while in 2003 I signed a deal with beautiful Amanda Lepore to be the logo of my company. Most of the producers and DJs inside Gigolo came out of the queer world and for us there was no difference nor barriers.
Also the showy sexuality is fit for your music. Do you think talking about man-to-man love is still worthy?
Dance music without sexuality doesn’t work out at all, and as for man-to-man love, there is never talked about enough in this world, so I am following Tom´s words: “I want to show that gays can feel happy together – that they have the right to be happy together”.
Let’s talk about music. Where did your first album single “I want you” take inspiration from?
To me I wanna represent the past, the present and the future. For this song I went into the early days of techno and at the same time I took a close look into the future.
I call it proto-techno but this will not entirely reflect the whole album which is coming up this spring.
Your music comes from the ’80s and it seems that the ’80s are ending with this 2016, a year that will be remembered for the tragic losses the world of music has suffered.
I agree. It was a shock for everybody and myself to lose David Bowie, Prince, George Michael, Alan Vega, Lemmy, Leonard Cohen, Vanity, Leon Haywood, Pete Burns, Colonel Abrams, and many more.
Tell me about your next album, where are you going to take us after Fukushima?
The new album is called “Zukunftsmusik” and the title says it all already. I put all my DNA in there and it will be very personal.
If the album is really going to change the world – I don’t know yet.
What time will you wake up tomorrow morning?
11:00 or 12:00… It depends, because when I travel and play the same night and do this since 35 years all around the world, I need to sleep 9 hours a day to recover.
Most of the time I take out the last flight possible to get a long sleep!
Interview by Daniele Pratolini
Big thanks to Nadine Dinter
Photo by Daniel Mayer
