Coffee Break with Juan Hansen

Juan Hansen is a composer and recording artist from Buenos Aires who expresses himself through live sets. His search is real and certainly visceral ; a search for the different, mixing genres without prejudice, with a seriously playful attitude, and the profound intention of transforming a set into an experience that crosses climates through image and sound.

Hi Juan, thanks for taking the time to have a little chat with us. First of all, how are you today?

Hello, and thanks for having me with you today :) I’m feeling good and a little anxious for this release I’ve been waiting for so long to come out

You are based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. What do you think of the dance music scene there, and what influence would you say this city has had on your music?

The dance music scene in Argentina is huge, we have so many talented artists here and amazing venues to play all over the country. It’s impossible to not mention the man who waved the Argentinian flag all over the world, and this man is Hernan Cattaneo. He still is the biggest influence in electronic music here, and his mixing style and taste has shaped the dance scene in our country. Progressive house is the core genre from where Argentina’s sound has evolved and this gave something special to both the artists and the audience in the country.

A few months ago, you and Oostil released the track “My World” on Afterlife’s Unity compilation. Could you tell us about the production process for this track, but also how you got in touch with the label?

‘My Wolrd’ is one of these tracks that came from an old synth recording I made, which was then recycled into a new track in a couple sessions with Øostil in my studio. That synth became the main piano and my vocals were replaced with Ro’s (Forma member) beautiful voice. It was an enjoyable process with lots of coffee. The contact with Afterlife came from Øostil’s side as he is really close to them.

Another track you made with Oostil :“Drown”, was remixed by Massano and also released on Afterlife. Was the process similar for this one?

The process for this one was kind of different… Øostil called me to make a collaboration track for a Circoloco Podcast he was making, I jumped in the studio and made one demo that later would become ‘Drown’. At first it was an original of mine featuring Øostil and we both played it a lot live. A couple months later Øostil sent the stems to Massano without any expectations from both sides, but just for the love of making music, and he knocked it out of the park. Tale Of Us instantly started playing it on peak time and they ask us if we were willing to put it out as soon as possible. 

You just released a new EP, 'Higher', on Meiosis records. We honestly love the title track and we were really happy to premiere it on Melodic Diggers. Please tell us the story behing this EP.

‘Higher’ was super emotional to make. 

In the studio I'm always listening to old ideas, and ‘Higher’ was one of these recordings lost on a hard drive. When I found it I instantly felt it was the right time to finish it. ‘Higher’ is a breakbeat downtempo track where I tried to make my voice sound as an old sampled piece of music on top of a chopped drum recording I made a long time ago. The main synth comes from my Yamaha CS and the lyrics talk about a personal journey of inner struggle and perseverance, the importance of never giving up and the search for a higher state of mind. I can’t wait for you all to hear it and I hope you like it :)

How would you define your genre, and what are you trying to tell with your music?

I’m now in between deep house, techno, some melodic and house but I would describe my sound as eclectic because I’m trying to push myself into a constant state of change and experimentation for new sounds and styles. For example, this Higher EP is my first time releasing a downtempo breakbeat track with such few elements in it, but which still has my identity. I love the hypnosis state that electronic music can provide and how is this kind of music always looking for new ways to break its own boundaries. 

We are curious about your studio setup. What DAW, gear or VSTs do you use?

I'm building a new studio right now and I'm super excited about it. I'm using RME sound cards, Neumann monitor speakers and a pair Adam’s for a second reference, for synthesis I'm using a Prophet Rev 2, Yamaha reface CS, Roland SE, and my old Korg Minilogue wich I still love. I'm playing again my old Les Paul guitar and going through a tiny but powerful amp called Simplifier DLX. For recording vocals and acoustic stuf I use a Condenser microphone PBM, Argentinian made. Everything runs through the RME totalmix software and Ableton Live. For mixing I use a lot of Plugin Alliance, Soundtoys, waves and Izotope VST´s.

What does a week in the life of Juan Hansen look like?

My mondays would start slowly while I turn on the studio, make some coffee and well… the rest of the days will go in the same direction haha. I practically make music everyday or everytime I can, sometimes in my studio and other times in Forma’s studio (my band-side project). If I feel stuck with something I would go for a walk to the river shore or go see a friend somewhere. When the weekend arrives it’s time to jump on a plane and fly to another city to play and try out all the music I've been making that week.

Are you working on exciting projects for 2023?

This year will be full of new releases, both originals and collaborations with some artists I truly admire. I’m also working with some great filmmakers on two music videos and hopefully the release of a liveset video recording by the end of the year. 

I’m really exited to be playing in a lot of new cities I’ve never been before and some great festivals for the Europe summer season.

Last but not least: how do you like your coffee?

Black, with a little bit of sugar. I currently buy great coffee beans from a guy who imports from some small coffee farms in Colombia. It’s so good!