5 questions for Thomas Burhorn

What originally gave you the idea of playing techno on wind instruments?

An artist is always on the look-out for new forms of expression, and the combination of techno and wind instruments is completely new – at least in the special style that we use. In addition, I have always felt that there was a connection between electronic music and the sound of brass. So we decided to try this experiment.

The Hamburg techno marching band plays a set on the roof of the Elbphilharmonie.

How did you all come together as a band?

Many of us already knew each other from the Hamburg and Berlin music scenes before the band was founded. There is traditionally a strong musical connection between the two cities. A couple of the band's members even went to school together in Lübeck.

Some of you have a classical music training. How does Meute's music differ from other styles that are normally played on brass and percussion, such as classical orchestral repertoire, big-band music or standard band line-ups?

One substantial difference from classical is the time. Classical music features agogics – the deliberate variation of the tempo that brings the music to life. Electronic music, on the other hand, evolves its hypnotic effect through the exact opposite.  In addition, there are a few other melodic and structural characteristics involved in composing techno that make the music sound electronic, even when it's being played by an acoustic ensemble. Among these are triple shifts, minimalistic fragments, arpeggios and the drop, as well as faking the same. For the reader without any rave experience: the drop is the moment when the tension is resolved and all the instruments – especially the bass drum and the basses – come into play again. That's when the endorphins start to jump. There is ample opportunity for research into the specific characteristics of electronic music beyond the instrumentation question.

What is the hardest thing about playing techno on wind instruments? What requires the longest rehearsal time?

In many passages we have to cope with the same challenges as musicians in other genres. Every instrument has its vagaries. So just as in the classical repertoire, there are tricky passages that need rehearsing. In Meute's case there is also the point that we take very few breaks in a programme because we want to encourage the audience to dance from start to finish, like a DJ does. That means that each of us needs plenty of stamina. With the big instruments, there is the actual weight to be considered as well. So we don't just rehearse the notes, we also train physically.

You play at festivals like Melt, at guerilla street gigs, but also in concert halls like the Elbphilharmonie. which setting do you like best?

Every setting is different, and perfect just as it is. When we sense a really intimate and direct contact with the audience at an acoustic street gig, it's just as great as in a sweaty club London, Paris or Warsaw – or at a festival in front of 10,000 people, lots of whom haven't heard us play before, yet at the end, everyone is joining in the rave. It was even a lot of fun playing without an audience on the roof of the Elbphilharmonie, with a cool team of camera people, sound experts and organisers. For us, the variety is a true delight.

Where did you get your snazzy uniforms, and what do they stand for?

The uniforms are a reminiscence of our roots: brass bands, the circus, Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles. We don't just do techno, we are a rock’n’roll band in the widest sense of the word.

Interview: Anastasia Päßler, last updated: 23 Sep 2021