Emmerald: You have released a couple of singles from the CD, the "Glow and Glare" and "Dance the Dance" remixes, and "Let Your Heart Be Free."
Jazzanova: That's right.
Emmerald: How did you end up choosing Nicola Kramer to sing on "Let Your Heart Be Free," other than she sounds just like Patrice Rushen? (laughs)
Jazzanova: (laughs) A little bit, do you think so?
Emmerald: Oh yes, I think so, definitely.
Jazzanova: Yes her voice is similar and that's why we choose her. "Let Your Heart Be Free," the original version from Patrice Rushen, that's also one of our tracks, I mean we played it a lot in the club. And Stefan, it's one of Stefan's favorites, and that's why we always wanted to do it. Two years ago we heard the first track with Nicola which she did with Domu. What he did with her is amazing. She worked on it in Britain and then we flew her in to Berlin and she recorded it in two days. And then Georg Levin and Clara Hill, they live in Berlin, they added some vocals as well for the chorus, and yes, that was the track.
Emmerald: What kinds of things are going on with the group personally? How do you balance your personal lives with a hectic DJ schedule and making music?
Jazzanova: Alex has a new baby, and Claas is concentrating on the label here, so we decided that we would DJ just for ourselves. We used to DJ more as a team. Alex and I DJ together sometimes here in Berlin just for fun. We're getting older and I'm thinking about getting a family as well. On the one hand side we're more experienced, we are more focused, so when we have an idea it's quicker to get into it in the studio. It's not taking that long anymore to finish something as in earlier times. In earlier times we would work on a track for a few days, then we let it be for a few weeks, then we got back to it. We had so many tunes also on the album which we were working on for a very long time. Nowadays it's still quite complex, of course, and that's how we like it, but it's happening quicker. But we don't rush. It has to be a good thing and everyone has to be happy with it. Nothing will leave our office without being finished. It's just much more focused. We spend more time with our families, so things need to happen more quickly in the studio. That's why our second album will be faster than the first. We still use a lot of time for trying to find a special sound and all that, but the time we use to work on sounds is not that much anymore.
Emmerald: Have you all already started working on the next album?
Jazzanova: We have actually. We are working on it, we have a really special idea for it. I think it's a very funny idea. It sounds really stupid, so I can't tell it now. If I did, it would be not funny. You would say ah-ha that sounds very theoretical, but once we finished the album you will understand what I mean. (laughs)
Emmerald: Hum. . . I'm a little afraid. (laughs)
Jazzanova: No, you don't have to be. It's a funny thing. We'll try to work with Valerie Etienne, perhaps we will ask Ursula Rucker again, and we will work with artists from our area here. For example, we have a female vocalist from Romania who lives in Berlin. She has a beautiful voice and she's doing a project called Platinum. They will do an album and we will work definitely with her. We want to work with Ty from Britain as well. So there are a lot of ideas we have and like people who we would like to ask, it just has to be what we want for the track.
Emmerald: Do you have any idea when you might release the next album?
Jazzanova: I would want to do it definitely next year, maybe autumn of next year.
JAZZANOVA “…MIXING” SUMMER TOUR
DATE: CITY - Club, Location
Wednesday, June 23rd: AUSTIN, TX - Ludwigs, 2178 West Fourth St
Thursday, June 24th: SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Blasthaus, 111 Minna St
Friday, June 25th: SAN DIEGO, CA - Onyx Room, 852 Fifth Ave
Sunday, June 27th: LOS ANGELES, CA - BossaNova, Cinespace, 6356 Hollywood Blvd
Thursday, July 1st: NEW YORK, NY - Giant Step, Rare, 416 W.14th St
Friday, July 2nd: PHILADELPHIA, PA - Fluid, 613 South 4th St
Saturday, July 3rd: ATLANTA, GA - MJQ Concourse, 736 Ponce De Leon Ave
Tuesday, July 6th: MADISON, WI - Inferno, 1718 Commercial Ave
Wednesday, July 7th: MILWAUKEE, WI - Three, 722 Milwaukee St
Thursday, July 8th: CHICAGO, IL - Smartbar, 3730 N Clark St
Friday, July 9th: CLEVELAND, OH - Wish, 621 Johnson Ct
Saturday, July 10th: WASHINGTON DC - Club Five, 1214B 18th St NW
Sunday, July 11th: BALTIMORE, MD - Good Love Bar, 2322 Boston St
Wednesday, July 14th: HOUSTON, TX - Union, 202 Tuam St
Saturday, July 17th: SEATTLE, WA - Chopsuey, 1325 E.Madison
