It's not the first time in Lithuania for Smash TV - I remember that I have heard him in the good old Milk Bar. I even did think then something like, "interview, mayhap", but didn't have the recorder, and "Knives of absinth" had done their job with me. But overall it was a joyful eve. And now it's even more joyful day, as the interview with mr. Holger Zilske is done. After some years, but that's even better. And it was worth waiting.

You have just released your new album under Holger Zilske (well it'll be released by the time I publish the interview). What's it about? What does it sound like?

When Playhouse asked me to do an album for them I was thinking a lot about the concept of the album. I didn't want just an accumulation of different songs or an album totally for the dancefloor.

I wanted to do something that you can listen at home without being nerved by aggressive and harsh sounds on one side and music that works on the dancefloor on the other side. To combine both was the challenge for me.

So there are listening tracks, two of them with vocals from a guy called August Landelius and club tracks which express my idea of clubbing. I wanted to keep the "minimal" plan of the actual Dj records, but to bring it to a new level with more composition, warm and organic sound and high quality production to make it "timeless".

My music is not good just because of a new plugin that person use in a new way. No...
My music is the the music which fits in the actual club scene, but which is more detailed and more fine than usual.

Why did you split up with your partner in Smash TV? Do you miss those times you were producing together?

Mike, with whom I started Smash TV is still my best friend. We've been growing up together and we started doing music together. After finishing his studies in 2001 he just decided to take a regular job and I did the opposite.

My decision was fulltime music and I never regretted it. So since then, for quite many years I'm mostly working alone on the music now. And I really like it because if a track is 100 percent my own work then I'm especially proud of it.

After the split you still perform as Smash TV, why did you have to create another alias now?

After the split I still performed as Smash TV because it was a smooth transition. Before the split Mike spent less and less time in the studio and my part on the music was getting bigger and bigger. So when he decided to quit there where already Smash TV records on the market that I have nearly done alone.

And I wanted to keep on working for this project. So I kept the name. The decision to create another alias now is based on the different style of the music I'm doing under this alias. There's another musical idea behind it.

Why did you choose your real name and not some nickname or abstract word?

The first "Holger Zilske" record was released on the Mobilee sublabel Leena. I called it "Enduro Disco". I was really happy with this track and the label was content too. Then later I was thinking about a new alias. To take my real name, which was a bit known from interviews before and for something that I love seemed to be the right idea. And it did fit pretty well.

Your new album comes on Playhouse, why not on BPitch control?

It's not a big thing. I didn't prepare the album before offering it to some labels. The last Holger Zilske records on playhouse ("Mono Rain/Midi Shower", "Spooky Kissing" and "From Birds and Bees") worked well and the Playhouse guys like my sound and they asked me to do an album for them. It is an honor because I really love many many Playhouse records. But I'll keep on working for Bpitch as well.

How are the things inside BPitch. You're one of the veterans there. Is there any inside competition?

No it's a friendly atmosphere. All the main artists know each other and play together quite often. Of course everybody is watching about the releases of the others. But it's not about competition. We respect each other and try to share the opinion about our music.

How does Bpitch hold against all these new virtual labels?

I think Bpitch and Playhouse are doing quite well in this. For me and for most of the artists it's quite important to have the music on a physical media. Most of the quality stuff will find a way to be released on vinyl. There are so many virtual labels because it's cheap to do it and they release music much more easily - there's no risk for them.

So in the end, the virtual labels release average music more often. You have to dig in the dirt of mediocre releases to find something special. The worst thing for the labels are the illegal downloads I guess.

This virtuality, did it bring more benefits or drawbacks for the scene? For the labels? For the artists?

For the labels it's getting harder. More and more record shops are closing. There's nearly no money in vinyl business anymore. That makes it hard for the labels to survive. Of course that means less money for the artists too but they make most of their money with the gigs these times. As an artist you can become known quicker nowadays. Everybody download and share music, so your stuff is spreading much faster. It gives you the opportunity to become known and play worldwide and that's the good point on it.

So should piracy be fought? Is it avoidable or no?

Personally I'm happy that more people know my music. But at least the djs should pay for the stuff they play. Me, for example, I still play vinyl. I love it. I collect records and they have a much higher value for me than an audio file. You listen to the music differently and you see it as a piece of art. I know that some djs watch the top ten of their favorite djs, download the tracks illegaly and then play it with a laptop on the next party.

That's the wrong way. I spend at least one day per week in the record shop trying to find the new stuff.
I don't care about those top tens and I pay for the music I play. Otherwise every dj will sound the same and music will loose its value after a month of playing because it'd get old then.

Do you download illegal content yourself? :)

I get files from friends from time to time. But I play vinyl only and buy everything I like, even if it's just for listening at home.

Are you happy with nowadays music scene, or do you feel it lacks something? If yes, what could that be?

I still feel good with it. Of course there are parties where I don't like the music or the people or something else. But it's still very interesting for me. For example next month I'm going to play in the Panorama Bar, The Moog in Barcelona and the Robert Johnson and I'm still super excited about it. These are the clubs you can be sure that you will have a perfect party.

Does the electronic music have soul and feeling? It's blamed so often for not having these

You can surely say this about many releases nowadays. Especially all those tons of typical "check my new plugin" minimal techno releases. But there are many exceptions. You have to search for these ones.

You started in the scene at 1999, what are the biggest changes in it since (let's forget piracy, and virtual labels and shops)?

When I started, not everybody were djs and producers ;)

Don't you feel a bit tired, after all it has been 10 years of intense life?

No, I still feel happy that I chose this life. I often take a flight back home thinking about the last party, telling myself that it is now exactly how it should be. I love the nightlife. And musically l still develop much. I was never so happy about the music I did. So it can go on for a while. I didn't reach my goals so far. But I'm working on it.

Do you still have new ideas for music? Does the amount and quality of them differ from the start of your career? Do you suffer from artist's blocks?

I have still got many musical ideas. As the time passed, the way in which I do my music have totally changed. I work more precisely on my tracks and I know more accurately how I want to sound and how can I reach it.

But I have to admit I had an artist's block for a bit more then one year. My father died a couple of years ago and that was not an easy time for me. Playing on the weekends was the only joy I had at that time. I forced myself to work but it was very hard to find the motivation. But for two years now I'm back on the track and I'm more motivated than ever. There's a lot of stuff coming out soon. Watch out.

Is it still pleasure, or job to you? Most of the djs say "a little bit of both", so which bit of pleasure, and which bit of job?

As I said, it's a big pleasure for me. There are dark moments when I hate it, but just because the circumstances are bad. Like bad residents, a bad soundsystem, missed flights, broken mixer and stuff. But I have the best moments in my life because of the music too. When you test a new song in a crowded club and it's "the song" of the night... That's a feeling that you'll never experience in a normal job. So it's 80 percent pleasure and 20 percent job.

Are those 20 percent - "serious" work? Most people see djs as the pleasure boys who just get attention, do drugs and fuck a lot. Is that all? How do you see djs yourself?

That's the dream of all the bedroom djs. I you wan to do this job for more then a couple of years, you have to stay focused and you have to work on your music really hard. I spend every day of the week in the studio and on the weekends I'm playing somewhere. At the moment I'm quite a workaholic. For example this interview: I was playing last night. Got back home at 10 in the morning. Slept 4 hours, then studio and now I'm writing this and it's again 4 in the morning. But I can arrange my day like I want. If I need a break I do a break and I never really feel like I'm working. I love to be in the studio.

Are you looking forward to any new colaborations?

Yes, I have just finished a record together with Dave DK and the vocals of Richard Davis. It will be out in September this year on Mood Music. And I'm really excited about it. And... August Landelius, the singer of my album, is coming to Berlin in the end of the year for a couple of months, so we will finish an new album together. I really love his vocals and I think this will be something really nice

You're going to play at the fest called "Tale from the Cellar". Did you like tales when you were kid?

I remember that my grandma was reading tales for me when I was little. But I switched to science fiction then. There was more for me.

What does feel better - to create a song that you love yourself, or to create song not so good for yourself, but which is top bestseller in the shops?

Long years ago, before I was at Bpitch and Playhouse and labels like these, there was a period I did all kinds of music for all kinds of labels and some of the stuff was selling quite ok. It was not the big money but for the music I did quite good... This was important for me because I had to find my own way but these releases mean nothing for me anymore.

I'm much happier now. If there's a new release coming out I'm super happy and I release only that stuff, which I'm proud of. Of course some of my music I like more then other parts but I keep trying to make music that I really love.

That's the best concept. And I'm really a hard judge of my own music. I would never release, for example, a cheap dance track under my name even if it promised money. In the long term that would be the wrong way.

Djing is still a big matter of fashion. What would you tell for all those young wannabe djs? Encourage them? Order them to think if they really want to? Tell your advice to them :)

To play records is fun and it's a nice hobby. So I support everyone who wants to start mixing at home.
I started the same. But before I playing in a club I was mixing for 4 years and I was a musician for many years too. I'm allergic to the djs who started 2 weeks ago and now they playing in the clubs, and tomorrow they want to buy Ableton and make a record.

Quality takes time.