Words by Art Jefferson
Photography by Tibor Bozi, Petra Ruehle
Local Suicide is the Berlin-based couple who have been at the forefront of some of the most nocturnal, sexy and dance driven grooves coming out of Germany. Comprised of Brax Moody and Vamparela, the two have been creating together since 2008, crafting sounds that encompass new wave, dark disco, post-punk, EBM, and techno, just to name a few. In fact, Local Suicide are at the top of the food chain when it comes to producing and spreading dark disco across the globe.
Local Suicide’s catalogue of work is extensive, having released not only solo records but also collaborative tracks with acts including Curses, Skelesys, Alejandro Paz, Kalipo, Franz Matthews, Rodion, and the list continues. While the group have unleashed an incredible amount of singles and EPs over the years, 2022 marked the release of their debut album Eros Anikate. Quite the LP indeed, sonically the two hit the mark aimlessly, having delivered the dark, steamy sounds that fans have come to love. With features on the record including some of their previous collaborators, one highlight is a guest appearance by iconic Greek singer Lena Platonos.
Along with Jakob Häglsperger, Brax Moody and Vamparela also make up the group Dina Summer. Their seductive album titled Rimini landed back in July of this year.
Since the release of Eros Anikate, Local Suicide have gone on to drop two out of four remix packages for the album, with the third landing this month. Based on their current work rate, it doesn’t seem like the couple will be slowing down anytime soon.
As a couple creating together as a unit, my first question would be how did you two meet and around what point did you two decide to form the group?
Local Suicide – We first met at a DJ contest back in 2008. Vamparela had won the previous one and was defending her title against some of Brax Moody’s friends. We quickly became a couple, and as we were both DJs, we started playing gigs together until 2010, when we formed a band called Local Suzie with another friend. The band only survived for one live concert as it was too complicated to all meet, make music and rehearse, and we decided to continue as a DJ duo. Back then, we wanted to keep our MySpace account and were looking for a similar name. We are both big fans of the band Suicide and decided to name ourselves Local Suicide, seeing it as a metaphor for killing your worries on the dance floor. Little did we know that over 10 years later, we would be releasing our debut album under that name.
You two are some of the key players in this hybrid musical style which fuses dark disco, techno, new wave and more. As a DJ, I immediately took to it because it had so many elements that I loved. Can you talk about the scene, especially in Berlin, which seems to be a core hub?
Local Suicide – Thank you! We are happy to see it spread! The sound is indeed a fusion of many different genres that we tend to call ‘technodisco’ or ‘cobra wave’. We feel it’s a style of electronic music that can appeal to everyone, even those who don’t usually listen to electronic genres, as it is more musical and diverse.
The scene is definitely flourishing, especially in Berlin. There are more and more locations booking artists who play this genre, many of whom are based here, including our friends Curses, Skelesys, Moderna and more. What is great about Berlin is that the scene is interconnected and sticks together. There are no rivalries, and the artists that belong to the scene genuinely want to push and develop the sound. You feel that you are part of a community that is supportive and constantly growing.
You’ve released your debut album, Eros Anikate. Over the years, you have dropped so much good music, including your collaborative records, that it’s almost hard to believe that this is your first full-length. What made you decide that now is the right time to put out a debut studio album?
Local Suicide – We always felt we needed to take the time necessary to create an album, and the pandemic gave us that time. Not travelling and playing gigs won us plenty of time that we spent isolating in Berlin or a seaside village in northern Greece. We worked our day jobs remotely and were able to focus on planning the album and our new label Iptamenos Discos, Greek for flying saucer or flying vinyl.
I would describe the album as a soundtrack to hedonistic weekend club nights. The music is steamy and sexy, yet grooving for the dance floor. What was the creative mindset when you first began working on the record?
Local Suicide – We wanted to create an album that included home-listening and dance floor-ready tracks that made sense and blended well together. We also wanted to include our different influences and some collaborations with friends and artists we love, but apart from that, nothing else was planned. The mood was definitely inspired by partying in Berlin, though; steamy, sexy and groovy is the perfect recipe for a Berlin party!
I read that the LP was inspired by Sophocles’ Greek tragedy ‘Antigone’. Can you talk about how that play was part of the motivation for what became Eros Anikate?
Vamparela – Eros Anikate translates to ‘invincible love’ and is a phrase I have felt connected to since I was young. I see it as a life motto, that love wins no matter what. Nothing matters more than love.
When we were looking for a title for the album long before we started recording, Brax suggested we use a Greek phrase for the title. I immediately thought of Eros Anikate, and Brax agreed it was perfect. We rarely agree on the first idea, so it was really meant to be.
One thing that I want to point out is the beauty of the actual sonics of this album! The engineering is great on this record. How meticulous are you all when it comes to things like sound?
Local Suicide – Thank you! It took us very long to have the final product ready; creating it, deciding which tracks to include and which features, adding the final touches, and finally getting it professionally mixed. It was essential for us that it sounds as good as possible, so we devoted a lot of time and energy to it. It is our most complete body of work to date and the one we spent the most time working on.
You have Lena Platonos featured on the album, who has released so much forward-thinking music, especially her electronic recordings in the 80s. Her LP Γκάλοπ alone can be played right now, and it would sound modern and relevant. How did that collaboration come about?
Vamparela – I have been a fan of Lena Platonos since I was a child! She was part of a radio music show for children, and later, as a teenager, I discovered her 80s stuff like Γκάλοπ. Max discovered her when Dark Entries re-released her albums, and Red Axes remixed her tracks. We spent hours listening to her music together, and it was a great source of inspiration for us.
When we started planning the album, we wanted to include some of our closest friends from the scene and a ‘legend’, someone we look up to and who has helped shape our sound. The very first idea was Lena Platonos. Since I’m a proper fan girl, it took me a while to find the courage to contact her, but after, it was super easy. I got to talk with her on the phone and absolutely loved her. She is so warm, engaging, and smart, and it felt like talking to a friend. We sent her some tracks that didn’t have vocals, and she chose ‘Eros Anikate’, the one we also thought would be her best match. Her manager was also lovely and very helpful; and the rest is history. It is a great honour to have such an emblematic personality on the album. I still get goosebumps when I hear her iconic voice that accompanied my entire life on our debut album.
Eros Anikate is out on your Iptamenos Discos imprint. Although you’ve released work on various labels, when did you decide that it was time to launch your own imprint?
Local Suicide – We always wanted to launch our own imprint and release our debut album on it, but we never found the time. The pandemic really gave us the time needed to set everything up. Once the label was standing, we started planning the album. The reason we wanted it on our own imprint is to have full control over the release process, from the artwork, to the timing and campaign roll-out, the singles etc. We both work full-time in the music industry, so we have gathered a lot of experience over the years and wanted to do things right.
Sometimes it is disappointing to release on other labels. Some work unprofessionally or don’t invest in promotion and marketing tools, others don’t send sale statements, so you barely get a cent from the release, some keep pushing the release date up to several years after it was created and so on. We wanted to make sure everything would be as we’d like it to be since we invested so much time, energy and money on the album ourselves.
Finally, how did the pandemic affect you creatively and also play a role in writing this album?
Local Suicide – The time that the pandemic gave us was for sure the driving force behind the album. The beginning of the pandemic was hard, but after we realised it was here to stay, we decided to make the most of it. We missed DJing and travelling, but the fact that we didn’t do this anymore gave us a lot of time to finally launch the label and create and plan our debut album. It is like an Ancient Greek saying; ‘Ουδέν κακόν αμιγές καλού’, which translates to ‘nothing bad comes without something good’. Every cloud has a silver lining.
Also, the fact that we spent so much time working remotely from Greece during the pandemic heavily influenced the album. The Greek element is evident from the artwork to some of the tracks and the collaborations. We didn’t know what would happen with this new normality, there was a lot of uncertainty. But we got lucky that the Covid restrictions were lifted, and we could properly tour and present the album to the world. We are very grateful of how everything turned out and for the positive response we received.
https://localsuicide.com/
https://www.instagram.com/localsuicide/
https://localsuicide.bandcamp.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@localscd
https://twitter.com/localsuicide
Local Suicide Facebook
Local Suicide YouTube Channel
Local Suicide Spotify
https://dinasummer.bandcamp.com/album/rimini
https://www.facebook.com/dinasummermusic/
https://www.instagram.com/dinasummermusic/?hl=en
Dina Summer YouTube Channel