Love Fist Tears – this is what L.F.T. stands for. A DJ, producer, and live act who is exploding onto the scene of contemporary electronic music more with each passing day. His music is a mixture of new wave and breakbeat-influenced electro, shaped by the distorted drum machines of The Hague as well as the romantic synth melodies of San Francisco in the ’80s.
In recent years, L.F.T. has released several pieces of timeless music on labels such as Pinkman, Return To Disorder, and Mechatronica, in addition to two albums on Mannequin Records and Osáre Editions. With his third album coming this year on Mannequin Records, as well as another 12-inch on Mechatronica, L.F.T. will continue to make dark music for dark days!
As a DJ, L.F.T. transitions seamlessly between the different realms of electro and techno, creating detailed soundscapes of futuristic dread and hope. As a live act, he shows his full potential by bringing his productions and synthesizers to life!
Originally from Hamburg and now living in Berlin, he curates the Neoprimitive night at the infamous Golden Pudel club, together with his friend Lukas Fischer.
Hello Johannes! How are you? How would you tell us a story behind your project as L.F.T.?
Hi! I am good thank you, hope you are as well! I started to make music under the alias L.F.T. In the year 2013, after DJing under different names and genres throughout the Hamburg nightlife. I decided to change completely and forever to the name L.F.T. when I finally knew what kind of music I would like to produce and play: Electro, Wave, Techno and Punk. I record everything I make in the studio directly on tape and use a bunch of different guitar pedals on the synthesizers to create a more rough sound and organic characteristics. Also it’s just a lot of fun to work like that! The letters stand for „Love, Fist, Tears“ which I think represents the music that I am putting out.
What was your first musical experience you ever remember?
My beloved grandmother used to take me to the concert hall on Sundays to listen to classical music, when I was 6 years old. I enjoyed these trips with her a lot, even though I have to admit, that I didn’t „relate“ with that kind of music, back then.
You started to play guitar when you were 13 years old. Do you play any other instruments? How did you shift to the synthesizers?
Guitar is the only instrument i’ve learned „properly“. Back then I was really into Metal music and loved to play pieces from System Of A Down or Slipknot, I still do, to be honest :). When I was 14 I had my first clubbing experience and was hooked directly! From that moment on, all I wanted to do was make electronic music, which at the time was electroclash, and DJ in clubs!
What was your trigger to start producing music via only analogue set up?
With having ADHD, it’s hard for me to focus on one specific thing, for a longer time. For me it’s way easier to have multiple different instruments, which I can switch between to keep my brain stimulated and my thoughts entertained. I don’t necessarily believe that having a full on analogue setup will improve your sound, but for me these old machines are just way more fun to use. I love the feel from the sometimes even „cheap“ plastic or metal and most important that EVERY function has a knob for itself to regulate, since i hate „menu diving“
How do you think your past influenced the sound you are pursuing today?
Like I mentioned earlier: I used to have a huge thing for metal bands and more „harsh“ sounds, which I think you can definitely hear in my productions. I don’t listen to „club music“ at home, but a lot of Wave, Punk, Kraut, Experimental and even Chansons these days, which gives me a lot of ideas for translating these vibes to the dance floor.
How do you remember your first-ever connection with the music scene in Hamburg, where you are coming from? How did you find your niche?
When I was growing up in Hamburg, there was an amazing scene for experimental and club music. Of course, we all went to the Golden Pudel Club from a way too young age, which shaped my interest in music a lot. When I was 20, I started working as a sound engineer at a club called Golem, which, sadly, is now closed. It was an amazing venue, more focused on difficult dancefloor music and live band concerts. My favorite place to go out, and where I started playing the most, was Kraniche bei den Elbbrücken, which is also closed now. That place was truly unique: three small dance floors, a full-on fog machine, and the weirdest music you would ever hear. I absolutely loved it!
You used to co-curate the Neoprimitive night at the legendary Golden Pudel with your friend Lukas Fischer. Which challenges did you approach as a promoter? Which advice could you give to someone who wants to create their party series?
I, or „we“ still do that :). I guess the toughest is to keep an evolving musical program to promote the artist as well as present music that people might not have heard yet. Also keep a fair eye on booking fees, entrance, and therefore accessibility for your audience to the venue and sound. Again I think it’s really important to showcase things that are maybe not as „known“ as others, to keep the lineup and the musical experience interesting. Otherwise, it’s just always the same.
You actually released multiple times via Helena Hauff’s – Return To Disorder label. You are both from Hamburg and you are friends. You also played very intense Hör show together. How did you connect and discover each other?
I have known Helena for a long time now and I am happy to call her one of my best friends! We connected really spontaneously: I just finished recording my first record and was sending it out to a lot of labels. Either it got declined, or the people didn’t even reply. Then one night, I was at my local bar, and she was there. She had heard the record and asked me: when does it come out? I replied: Well.. never.. She looked at me and just said: Cool, I put it out then! We have been together since then!
Your EP Träume Von Gabriel is a tribute to Gabi Delgado from iconic new wave band D.A.F. I can imagine you are a big fan, like us and many other. How did Gabi impact your path as an artist?
I love D.A.F.! I think especially the minimalistic and raw aspects of their music were something that really fascinated me and also influenced me as a musician. I released the record in the same year that Gabi sadly passed on, and so I decided to dedicate the whole record to him.
Congrats on your upcoming record via Mechatronica. The EP “Keygenerator” with the artwork done by your dear friend and amazing tattoo artist “Sagflap” presenting a mix from old tunes and new ones, including a feature with “Cardinal & Nun” and a remix by Imogen.Can you reveal more about the process behind its creation?
Thank you! I am really happy with this release! I’ve been wanting to work with Mechatronica again for quite a while now, but never had anything that quite fit. When I put all these tracks together, I thought the label would be perfect, and luckily, they thought the same!
As for the music: Indeed! It’s a mixture of old and new. Cursed Ship is a track I’ve had ‘lying around’ for quite some time, but could never find a fitting place for it. Toxic Piss is a relatively new song in which I tried to create a splatter dancefloor machine to smash speakers!
Support EP and get it here
The collaboration with Cardinal & Nun is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now, as I’m a huge fan of his music! We met once in Marseille and immediately decided we had to do something together. I’m really happy with the song, and I’m pretty sure this won’t be the last time we work together.
To make this record even more of a dancefloor weapon, I reached out to my friend IMOGEN, who is one of the sickest producers and DJs for me at the moment, and I was super happy when she agreed. I think the remix fits the record perfectly!
Since it’s a really personal record to me, I wanted a personal cover by a friend, so I asked Sagflap, whom I’ve known for a long time from tattooing, if he would be so kind as to do the artwork for this one. Again, I was super happy when he agreed, and I absolutely love what he came up with!
How do you care for the consistency of your vision as an artist to stay true and stand out from the overstimulated world out there?
I think it’s important to stay authentic to what you do. I try to not to focus so much on what the others do, and just concentrate on what I really feel and want to do in terms of music. Of course it’s good to evolve as an artist, but you should always have a signature in your sound to make it unique and yours.
Life as an artist might be challenging finding a perfect balance. How do you manage to be so productive?
For me, the key is to have a balance between the loud and intense nights on the weekend and the quieter, more peaceful activities during the week. I love to go swimming during the week. The quietness underwater and the breathing techniques almost have a meditative effect on me. I am always really calm afterward and have positive thoughts.
When it comes to making music, everyone has their own approach. For me, staying productive means limiting my studio time: Don’t be there all the time, but when you are, try to make something directly from scratch. Don’t spend too much time ‘rearranging stuff’; just throw it out and create something new. That’s one of the beautiful effects of recording on tape: You are very limited, which is perfect for me.
Now a bit more abstract question: Imagine you can create a venue anywhere in the world or space. Where it would be? What would be speciality of it?
I’ve always wanted to open a little punk rock bar with my dear friend Levente, in an old public toilet house, and we would call it Scheiße (which means ‘shit’ in German). In there, you would only listen to loud punk rock music, drink beer, very strong spirits, and smoke lots of cigarettes. For me, that would be the dream!
Follow L.F.T Here
Interview : Izabella Chrobok
Photos : KEYI STUDIO ( Grzegorz Bacinski & Izabella Chrobok )
more music features here
Berlin Fashion Week Event by KEYI Magazine on February 3rd at OXI!
