This past Saturday at The Privilege Soundbar in Windsor, the trance duo known as Kyau & Albert were in town and we had the chance to sit down with them for an interview.  Ralph Kyau and Steven Albert born in Germany have been on the scene for 15 years and they have seen the ups and downs of EDM. Staying true to their roots,  Kyau & Albert are ready to release their 4th album “Nights Awake” later this year after a 6 year hiatus.

After many great years of success, the German duo looks to continue with tradition of producing amazing trance tracks for years to come. If you haven’t seen them live yet, we highly recommend you do next time you get the chance. In the meantime check out their new singles and upcoming album.

Is this your first time in Windsor?

Albert: No it’s our second time actually.
Kyau: But it was a long time ago. I remember it was 4 years ago in August or September when it was a lot warmer.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you guys got started?

Kyau: Originally we started as a band, electronic band. Back in the day Steve was also singing and we were only touring in Germany with a stage crew and a little truck. Then came a point when we had our first radio hit in Europe which was played on MTV and many other European stations. We got many requests because of this track from abroad and we started to DJ because of this. Nowadays we only DJ but Steven still does all our male vocals for our tracks, including on our new “Nights Awake” album.

What sparked your interest in making electronic music?

Albert: I always liked electronic music, I was into the melodies even as a young kid I was playing on my grand ma’s piano. It just came to me naturally.

A lot of DJs have stories about nightmare gigs that just went terribly wrong. What is the weirdest/funniest/worst thing that has ever happened to you at a gig?

Albert: It’s always bad in some countries, for example in some countries the police can be a little rude. I remember we had a show in India on New Year’s Eve and the police closed down the venue before our show. This is always the worst that can happen.

Kyau: The promoter was nowhere to be found! We had a few fans in Bombay take us to our hotel and the airport. We had no one to take care of us, so it was great having these fans help us out.

In the past year, Dubstep and EDM in general have exploded in the US and Canada. Do you see this as a passing fad? Or a sign that the music scene has fundamentally changed?

Albert: I think North America was ready for this for so many years. People were just waiting for it to happen. The scene has always been there thanks to Chicago and Detroit being the birth place of techno.

Kyau: For example, I think Richie Hawtin was originally from Windsor. Now he lives in Berlin and is really big in Europe. Also have you heard of DJ Rush? I believe he is from Detroit or Chicago as well. He is every big in Europe with his hard techno stuff.

Do you guys see yourself evolving with the current trend? Or staying with your roots?

Kyau: We do what we always do.

Albert: We always try to evolve but we do what feels right to us as we don’t follow any trends.

Kyau: We have our own record label called Euphonic. Since we have our own record label, we are very independent. Of course we release on other record labels, for example Anjunabeats but for our major release we use our own label. Our new album “Nights Awake” is exclusively on Euphonic and that makes us very independent on our creativity. Having been in the business for 15 years, we have calmed down now and do what we like.

Can you tell us a little about your new album, “Nights Awake?”

Albert: It’s been a long time since our last album, I believe the last one was in 2006 or so. We have been doing a lot of singles the past few years and we had the feeling it was time to do another album. We had so many demos and tracks for this album, we had over 40 tracks we had to filter and try to capture the essence of the last 7 years. It’s all on the album, it’s really worth checking it out.

Which track are you most excited about from this upcoming Album?

Kyau: It’s always hard.

Albert: It’s like asking who your favorite child is. But we did a nice collaboration with Stoneface & Terminal which will be a future single called “We own the Night”.

Kyau: There is also our two big hits which are on Sirius satellite radio, “A Night like This” and the title track “Nights Awake.” There is one track that is very special to us, the last track on the album which has a crowd rock feel to it. Steve sings in it and it’s truly a journey from the start to finish as the track keeps you guessing till the very end. It’s not really a radio hit or a single but it’s a very unique track and you have to check out.

What’s next for Kyau & Albert?

Albert: We will be going on tour to promote the new album of course and release some additional singles from it. We’ll be doing some special mixes as well in the near future.

Kyau: Then we have an exclusive track for the new Above & Beyond CD “Anjunabeats Volume 10” called “Glühwürmchen” which is a German name for fire fly or glow worm. Above & Beyond loved it so much that they will be releasing it as a separate single on April 3rd. We have worked with Above & Beyond before on “Anphonic” and they remixed our track “You Got to Go” as well. In the vinyl days we collaborated with them to release the Anjunabeats Essentials which was all Above & Beyond singles. They are a great connection and great guys to work with.

DropRound

Favorite City to play in?

Albert: Lobau, our home town!
Kyau: Windsor!

Favorite DJ/Producer you have worked with?

Kyau: Paul Van Dyk, he was the first international DJ to support us and our first single. It was a dream come true to work with him when he contacted us 2 years ago.

Trance?

Albert: It was really big in 1999 and early 2000’s in Europe before it slowed down. But it is slowly coming back at the moment.

Favorite Trace DJ/Producer at the moment?

Kyau: Who is really talented is a German guy by the name of Steve Brian. He is very talented and someone to watch out for.

Which DJ/Producer would you like to Work with?

Albert: We don’t really plan on such things, it just happens.

SHAMELESS PLUG TIME!

Albert: At the moment the most important thing for us is our new album “Nights Awake”

Kyau: So check out “Nights Awake!” There is a single which just came out on the top 20 progressive house tracks on beatport called “All your Colors.” We did a video for it, which we hope to release soon since it’s very interesting. There is a pretty girl and laser performance in it!

Albert: People should just check it out!

Kyau: “All your Colours” has been getting a lot of plays on Armin van Buuren’s show, Ferry Corsten, Above & Beyond’s show and many more!

Album Preview:
Pre-order signed CDs @ http://www.shop.euphonic.de

Keep up with Kyau & Albert

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Kyan & Albert on Youtube
KyauAndAlbert.com

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