Interview: Pappelallee - Close to Me

Nikolaus Werther from Cologne, Germany is the brainchild and the producer under the professional stage name of Pappelallee. A bringer of exhiliration and electricity under the disguise of clubhouse mixed and mastered sound, Pappelallee evokes pure magic just with a touch of his gifted hands. He brings rhapsody and fantasy as he displays dynamic creativity and invetiveness that is driven by his unquenchable passion for both music and technology! It is from those coexisting ravening passions that he is able to formulate distinct sound and production catalog teeming with a variety of minimal electronic and vibrant EDM music such as minimal techno, deep house, and progressive house tracks.

By Kamil Bobin

Discovered via Musosoup

Kamil) Hey Pappelallee, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What drew you to the music industry?

Nothing drew me into the music industry. I think independent artists like me don't really have a chance of making a living from their work. The music industry is not made for musicians. So I not feel drewn into it. I just want to be mentioned by like minded music lovers.

What is the funniest or weirdest question that you have ever been asked in an interview?

"If you could be a fruit, which one would you be and why?"...

Your latest song is 'Close to Me'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?

I produce my tracks with "Reason". Here I try to find sounds using synthezisers and effects that work together. After this process a song must be build from it. Most of time I don't follow a plan. I just let it go and at the end the music decides where the path goes. This is why my minimal techno, progressive house or on this one club house is much more experimental than commercial stuff.

Especially on this release I listened to some vocal samples and found with Sam Ho's "Close to Me" a perfect match. He liked it from the first time and gave it a go.

What are your songs about?

Like I explained above, I just let it flow. There's no real intention my music. I want to offer the listener a chance to forget the world around them for a moment and lose themselves in the music to find some personal peace.

What is the most trouble that you ever have gotten into?

I had the most difficult time in my life when my son became seriously ill. However, that's not something I want to talk about here. The most important thing is that he is healthy again.

If you could be a fruit, which one would you be and why?

If I were a fruit...I don't really now! I hate fruits, I do not really like them. I like them juiced...

So what should I say....maybe I would be an avocado. Rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which promote blood circulation in the brain.

If you can have your fans remember one thing about you, what would it be?

This guy didn't made it for profit.

If you did not become a musician, what would you be doing right now?

My daywork right now is beeing a sales representative. Making music is my nightwork. As an independent artist it's hard to get some bugs from that work. Streaming services do not pay fair and music industry kills our chances to build a life from making music.

Which famous musicians do you admire?

I think the first band with electronic content I've listened to were Depeche Mode. Right now I listen mostly to minimal techno made by Solomun, Sascha Braemer, Peer Kusiv, Gregor Tresher, Stephan Bodzin, Steve Bug and many other...

In my collection of physicals you'll find every genre of music. I'm very open minded in music.

What are your plans for the future?

I'm working on some new tracks and planned to release a remix album with different artists in the future. I'm also working on some music videos for my tracks. Maybe anyone here is interested in some collaboration. Please let me now. I'm open for most ideas.