Kyau & Albert Interview ~ The Pulserusher Blog ( With Johan De Kock )

In the world of Electronic Dance Music, there are 2 magic words, that fill dance floors, top charts and win awards... want to know what they are?

simple...KYAU & ALBERT!!!

Tell us a bit about how you guys got together, and started making the music that's been getting crowds excited for more than 15 years?

A:

Ralph Kyau: We met in 1994 as teenagers, introduced by a friend we both knew.

Steven Albert: I heard that Ralph was working with synthesizers and I also did music on a computer. After meeting a few times we founded a 2-man-band and two years later we released the first Kyau & Albert record.

In the last 15 years, the sound of melodic dance music, has changed quite a bit, from innovations in both hardware and software to the merging of various sub-genres... including an evolution from Kyau vs. Albert to Kyau & Albert, what brought on this change?

A:Steven Albert: In 2006 we changed from Kyau vs. Albert to easier form Kyau & Albert. In many non-english speaking countries, we were asked again and again what versus means or questions like...why do you choose versus. Are you always fighting?

Ralph Kyau: When we started our band, we were simply choosing the versus, cos it just looked good and fresh for us. With the single 'Are You Fine?' we changed to Kyau & Albert. But it's interesting how many people still know about the versus.

You have an amazing trademark sound, that has managed to stay fresh and change with the times, what is your production process? and has it changed at all through the years?

A:

Steven Albert: We like to experiement and also love try new things out.

Ralph Kyau: In general we do a ton of demos and rough ideas. Then we pick out the best ones and produce proper tracks. We often play these demos to friends to get a feedback.
Q:

Your label Euphonic, is home to some of Dance Music's biggest breakthrough artists, including incredible acts like Ronski Speed, Stoneface & Terminal and Mirco De Govia. How do you decide what's right for the label?

Ralph Kyau: It depends on if we have a release slot and of course if we simply like the track.Honestly a lot of demos we get are not very unique, some are simply horrible.
Q:

Another major part of Euphonic, is the collaboration with Anjunabeats, how did this come about?

Steven Albert: We know the guys since 2002 or so. In the vinyl days we swapped releases, which meant Above & Beyond singles on Euphonic for the German market and Kyau & Albert on Anjunabeats. So we released their 'Tri-State' album in Germany and they did our 'Worldvibe' CD in the UK plus exports. We're always in contact with someone from Anjunbeats office.

Q:

You're about to release the "15 years of Kyau & Albert" album, a collection of some of your biggest hits, remixed by some great acts including Arty, Ronski Speed,Sun Jellie and Tritonal, how did you decide who would be included on the album, was there something specific about each remixer that stood out for you about them, in the context of each song?

A:

Ralph Kyau: We contacted the remixers and told about the 15 years project. They had quite free hand in picking the songs they wanted to remix.

Steven Albert: The whole project took a lot of time. It was over a year from the first idea till holding the CD in our hands, but it was worth it and the sales are great.

Q:

The album also includes some new original material, What are the chances of seeing a new Kyau & Albert artist album any time soon?

A:

Ralph Kyau: Yeah, we also put new tracks like 'A Night Like This' and 'On The Way' to the album, cos they were big hits in 2011. Additionally we created one brand new track called 'This Love'.

Steven Albert: There's definitively coming a new artist album, we hope in the next 10-12 months. Already working on it.
Q:

What don't we know about Kyau & Albert? any hidden talents or hobbies?

A:

Steven Albert: Possibly no real hidden talent, but we love beer alot and tried so many out in the almost 50 countries we already travlled to.

Ralph Kyau: We also brew our own a few times a year. It's big fun! I have a few hop plants in my garden too.

What's playing on your IPOD/Mp3 player/Car Radio at the moment?

A:

Ralph Kyau: We're listening to a lot of music, mostly EDM. I sometims listen to classical music. I love to cross the channels on my car radio.

Steven Albert: As we get a lot of promos and demos, I sometimes just enjoy silence, for example when spending time in my garden or while making sports.

Q:

What can we expect from Kyau & Albert in the near and distant future?

A:

Steven Albert: We just finished a remix for our Euphonic label mate Ronski Speed and tnext days also a collab with Marc Marberg. Both get promoted in the next few weeks.

Ralph Kyau: Also check out our collab with Paul van Dyk, which gets released on Paul's label Vandit soon.
Check out some amazing new work from the amazing duo!