Ninze & Okaxy are doing things their way. In a scene brimming with talent, innovation, and eagerness, the Leipzig-based duo have carved out a unique space within electronic music. The laid-back, easy going nature of Tom and Julian is the framework for their productions. They’ve defined their signature sound as Ketapop, harnessing a understated groove with distinct psychedelic flair. Ninze & Okaxy’s live shows are vibey affairs, connecting house kicks with downtempo tones and sultry melodies. For those unfamiliar with the Laut & Luise regulars, their DGTL or Fusion sets are a good place to start; a perfect synopsis of the duo.
Both Esteble and XYZ were ecstatic to welcome Ninze & Okaxy into the fold as they showcased their take on Bosoko. The track harnesses many of the Ketapop originators’ influence on Esteble, and it’s only fitting that the N&O were tapped for the remix. Masters of the pensive and melancholic, Ninze & Okaxy utilize the original’s moody vocals, placing emphasis on the hazy nature of the build before a sturdy kick carries listeners deeper inside themselves.
We caught up with Tom and Julian to touch base on the journey thus far.
WWD – By the look of it, you’ve been able to spend the majority of the last few months in quite rural and natural settings. How have you been handling the coronavirus crisis thus far?
Tom: I think we made the most out of this crazy and scary situation. I personally used the unexpected free time to get out of the city for a while, to reconnect with myself, family, old friends, and stay in nature as much as possible. As a positive side effect, I was able to focus on studying architecture without being afraid of missing something.
WWD – You seem to spend a lot of time around dogs, in particular a gorgeous Dalmatian. How do you spend your time outside of music?
Tom: Last year I decided to fulfill my dream of having a dog and it was the best decision of my life. At the beginning it was an everyday challenge to find the groove in our companionship, so It took a while until I started to trust and be more self-confident. It surprises me everyday how animals can help you to reflect your personal traits and behavior.
As a freelancer it was always challenging for me to have a consistent routine and a healthy lifestyle. With “Ilu” I learned to plan our days efficiently and be more aware of my needs & feelings. I guess his positive influence helped me to see my life from a totally different perspective. In the last few years it was quite challenging for me to feel confident in this fast-pace music industry. Reaching the point where your financial health depends on your own creativity and constantly re-identifying your own musical works means inevitable impact on your emotional state, and brings constant unexpected pressure in and out of the studio.
That’s why I started to refocus myself on different projects. Last year I did two educational projects. One was with the university of Chemnitz, where I recorded a podcast with students which was focused on inspiring kids to learn in a playful way, to understand diversity and equal rights, and to support solidarity. The second project was with various culture education institutions like the “Goethe Institut” in Prague. I held a street art workshop called “Youth Painting Europe” at a high school in Prague to show students how to communicate through art.
WWD – You guys have known each other for a long time now, growing up together in Leipzig since you were kids. At what stage did you start making music together?
Julian: Yes, we grew up in a small town nearby and started playing together in rock and punk bands at 14 years old, before we both moved to Leipzig,. After finishing school there were some years spent traveling, before we focused more on electronic music and eventually we formed our project Ninze&Okaxy. That was about 8 years ago..
WWD – The electronic scene in Leipzig seems to be thriving, with the likes of Panthera Krause and Good Guy Mikesh showcases the city’s top drawer talent. What can you say about Leipzig and its role in your development?
Julian: The current crisis makes it hard, even for established clubs here. We hope the electronic music scene, including all the involved artists and workers, will continue creating a unique club scene in Leipzig. Even before Covid, with more gentrification and some misdirected urban planning, it has been hard to keep an underground scene going. Some clubs and great spaces have had to shut down in the last few years. Musically, there is still a lot going on here and new producers, DJs, crews & collectives are popping up as part of this development. The sound here always had an impact on us. Female focus, awareness crews, and evolving progressive politics are at the core of the club scene here, and create an amazing scene for parties and clubs here.
WWD – Not many artists can say they have created their own genre, even in the diverse electronic landscape. Tell us about Ketapop and it’s defining characteristics.
Julian: It’s really hard to tell if Ketapop has defining characteristics as we didn’t even think of creating something like a genre by using this term – It was more a kind of funny way for us to describe our pitched down housey DJ-sets at the beginning.
Since more and more people started branding Ketapop as a ‘genre’ it somehow became one. Because of its newness, it was not that clear how to classify the sound of it. People started using the term for their music or DJ-Sets, which was a cool thing to see happening, and it also showed different understandings of the idea and sound of this music. It can go anywhere in future, but for us Ketapop is basically a term for pitched down electronic house music; having unusual sound patterns, which are weird (in a nice way) and slower than usual. We noticed people connecting it mainly with music which they call ‘ethno techno’ or even more crazy terms like ‘shamanic house’, especially when producers are using some kind of oriental melody sample on top. In our opinion that has not much to do with the original idea of what we call ‘Ketapop’
WWD – Are there any other producers making music that you’d put within this category?
Tom: Yes there were producers making that kind of style before the term even appeared – if you listen to the Günther Lause or Nutia for example – it had a big influence on our sound and ideas behind the music.
WWD – While continuing your collaborative project, you are each creating stellar solo productions as well. How do you balance studio time and creative energy between both sides?
Tom: It’s more enriching to form new ideas by having different projects and collaborations going on. You stay open minded to different perspectives and get new ideas from the people you work with. It’s good to stay focused on one thing but you can also get stuck.
WWD – What are the clear differences in sound between your solo productions and the music created together?
Tom: Every project has its own nuances and that’s also because of the production process – whether you’re alone or working in a group – and that makes the sound different because we don’t actually have the same taste in sound. That makes it interesting for a collaborative project – to combine each of our tastes. Ninze has two solo projects where he enjoys creating work without compromise.
WWD – Niju also joins the mix for your third endeavor, Wide Awake. Tell us a bit about this project, and how you manage to keep so many projects flowing at once.
Julian : We really enjoy making music together with Niju, and at the beginning it was a crazy clash of ideas. Because Nico is living a few hours away from us, we are not constantly working on this project. A large part of Wide Awake is this meeting a few times a year, and making music together in a massive studio session – and that’s what we enjoy about it.
WWD – Your remix for Esteble is the perfect middle ground between paying homage to the original material, while also asserting your signature sound into the arrangement. What do you look for in potentially remixable tracks?
Tom: Sometimes you really love some parts of a song and you have a sense while making it of how to remix or re-define it. If that’s the case it is really fun to create something new out of a pre-existing song or sound, like with the song from Esteble.
WWD – You’re a part of the incredible Laut & Luise family. XYZ, on which the Esteble remix was released, also fosters a unique collective-oriented group of artists. What benefits do you see from working with smaller, niche labels instead of the industry titans?
Tom: Well, we assume it is not interesting for industry titans to produce non-mainstream shows or music anyway (haha).
WWD – The impact of Coronavirus on musicians and artists is tremendous. How have you adjusted for the foreseeable future due to the changes?
Julian: Coronavirus really hit the underground music scene hard – especially the clubs which had mostly no financial padding even before the shutdown, and those that don’t have any outside area have no chance to open at the moment.
The artists of the electronic underground scene and cultural workers have no political or economic lobby-groups or representation, which makes it hard to survive within the existing capitalist structure, even more so now with the Coronavirus situation.
WWD – Do you have any upcoming projects that we can look forward to?
Tom: There will be a live stream with our beloved “SlowerEastSide Crew” from Leipzig this month. Really looking forward to this one and we are happy to tell you that we’re already working on an album together. In the meantime there will be a vinyl release in august on HoldYourGround Records of DJ Balaton – the new side solo project of Ninze.
WWD – Guys, thanks so much for joining us – we’re stoked on the Bosoko remix, which we’ll be jamming to for a long time! Looking forward to the upcoming tunes as well. Take care 🙂
N&O – Stay safe! Thank you all for the support!
Esteble’s Amazonica Remixes, including Ninze & Okazy’s take on Bosoko, is out now on XYZ. Listen.
Stream releases in full via Spotify: https://www.spoti.fi/2uDd07z
Connect with XYZ – https://www.linktr.ee/wwd.xyz
Connect with Ninze & Okaxy
Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/ninzeokaxy
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Ninze.Okaxy/…
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/okaxy.art/