Turning Blind ft. Jacob Drescher – the brand new single from German producer, multi-instrumentalist and live act, BONDI, is out now via his newly launched imprint JUNA POLY. The first official single to be lifted from his forthcoming debut album, Space Logic, BONDI’s opening single Turning Blind – recorded in collaboration with Amsterdam-based songwriter Jacob Drescher – tells a tale of emancipation and soul-healing let-go, wistful and forward moving all at once. We caught up with BONDI to find out more.
Hello BONDI! Thanks very much for your time to talk to us. How are you today?
Very good thank you. I’m really excited for everything which is coming. Thanks for the invite!
Please can you introduce yourself quickly to our Techno Station TV readers?
My name is Daniel, I’m from Berlin and since a few years I produce and perform music under the alias BONDI. Mostly live, sometimes DJ sets as well.
Where are you answering this interview from?
From my studio in Berlin.
How would you describe your particular brand of electronic music?
To keep it short: it’s a crossover between house music and indie pop / singer-songwriting, sometimes combined with dark wave elements.
How has 2022 been for you so far? Any particular highlights?
2022 has been wonderful at various levels. I had some amazing shows where I could already test a lot of new material I’ve been working on. But mainly because I had the time to write and produce my first studio album which is a huge step for me. In the process of being in the studio almost every day I got to know me and my sound vision quite well.
Together with this huge project I also founded my own label called JUNA POLY. The actual highlight for me is how the album came together. After drawing the outline and producing lot’s of material I got to know a lot of new amazing artists which eventually helped me shaping the album.
We’ve just checked out your amazing new single “Turning Blind”. Can you talk us through the release?
It’s a song recorded in collaboration with Amsterdam-based songwriter Jacob Drescher. A folk ballad with Jacob’s beautiful intimate voice on it paired with my electronic influence of four-to-the-floor deep house. The track leans on an indie guitar riff rounded by some field recording percussions on top. Perfect for a cozy autumn evening 🙂
What was it like working with Jacob Drescher and how does your creative process start when making a record like this?
It’s one of those songs which came together in no time. Jacob was at my studio and had to catch his train back to Amsterdam with 30 min of spare time left. I was like: let’s try and sketch a last idea together before you leave. I opened Logic, looped a 4/4 bass drum and we created a simple guitar riff. He instantly came up with some lyrics and did literally two takes before he left. Almost all of the initial recording ended up being on the actual song. That was all I needed, I felt immediately in love with the idea. After two more nights of recording some more guitars / percussion and arranging the track was basically done.
Usually the creative process starts when I feel inspired after visiting a concert, a festival or just consuming music along the way. The actual writing process together with Jacob is mostly crazy fast. When we meet we usually have more ideas than time left for recording them all. So it’s more a matter of time management and prioritizing stuff. Now we always try to finish something first before starting something new.
We understand this single is taken from your upcoming album “Space Logic”. What can fans expect from this record when it drops next year?
It’s my first studio album and it feels like a collage of my sound vision paired with the influences of different singer songwriters. It’s a quite collaborative piece and brings together different genres like folk, indie, new wave and pop, all combined with electronic music. It’s quite a story! Besides some typical BONDI songs which I already perform in my live set there’s also some material I wouldn’t play in a typical club constellation, but just enjoy listening.
I loved the freedom of expressing myself in the context of an album. Jacob Drescher happened to be on three of the songs. Besides I was lucky to work with the amazing Berlin based electronic pop artist Cile on two other songs. Charlotte Colace did a beautiful performance on the most acoustic and rough piece on the album. Rounded up by a breathtaking performance from Save The Kid who collaborated on two other songs and the beautiful rough voice of Sinan for a perfect indie house round up. Everything will be released digitally as singles until February when there’s also a vinyl record of the album available.
More on production – what are some of your favourite pieces of studio gear? Are you big into hardware?
Next to my computer it’s actually three key elements which I use a lot. A Roland Juno 60, a Korg Mono/Poly and my Telecaster. All of it is just next to me and always ready for use. I don’t mind creating ideas in the box. Also for editing, composing & mixing I rely on my computer a lot. But inspiration comes from feeling, touching and tweaking instruments with both of my hands and as many options for expression possible. This is where the magic happens and I get inspired while making music. I love to patch instruments and guitar fx pedals weirdly together and just record the output. A bit like a painter throwing too much paint on the wall and scratching most of it away afterwards. I also tend to appreciate drum synthesizer more and more like the Vermona DRM1.
Are you planning some other new music and projects soon that you can tell us about?
The release of the album takes some time since I’m releasing a single from it now every two to three weeks until February when everything is brought together as the actual album. There is a remix album in preparation and some other EP’s.
Where can we see you perform over the next few months? Any special gigs planned?
After a busy summer I’m happy to finish some new material, get back into writing and doing backend work for the new label. I’m also in need of some time off seeing friends and family, gathering energy for the new year. There are a few more gigs to come, mostly in Europe like 28.10. Ritter Butzke / Berlin or 11.11. Bahnwärter Thiel / Munich. More dates are listed on my Songkick linked on Spotify or Soundcloud.
Any final words for our Techno Station TV readers?
Trust the process and stay tolerant to each other.
BONDI – Turning Blind ft. Jacob Drescher is out now via JUNA POLY
