Lindsey Wang is a unicum in Munich’s lively techno-microcosm and a regular behind our booth, always balancing dynamics and dramaturges, embroidering rolling grooves with a a hypnotizing, experimental sound palette.
She has made a name for herself not only as a skilled DJ, but also as an accomplished producer and head of the IO collective as well as her own QEONE imprint, as part of the contemporary jazz/electronic music fusion project Lyder and her collaborative work with Munich drum wizzard Simon Popp. Her portfolio is proof of her tireless and multidisciplinary approach to music that draws heavily from nature as well as her deep-rooted knowledge about instruments and musical theory. Her production’s characteristic and complex sounddesign exude an eerie, organic feel, ranging from energetic, dark deep Techno to Downtempo, Grey area to textual and harmonic Ambient.
We sat down with Lindsey ahead of her LIVE performance at Blitz with Simon Popp on Thursday, January, 25th as part of our last edition of Intimacy Quarterly and her own qeone night, taking over our Plus Floor on Saturday, January 27th with Arkajo, Woody92 and herself. Read on to hear what she has to say about qeone, her upcoming sets at Blitz, the local scene and much more.
And make sure to check out what QEONE sounds like right here!
Listen to Polygonia & Popp’s meadow of herbal and mystical Electronic sound on their first LP > Candid < and enjoy the read!
And make sure to follow Polygonia as well as qeone on social media for new releases, gigs and much more.
https://www.instagram.com/polygonia/
https://www.instagram.com/qeone.rec/
You already launched your first label IO with Dycide and MTRL in 2018, what was your motivation behind forming a new label, QEONE? What is it about? Try and give us and readers new to the dance music scene an explanation without musical terms, too.
I founded this label to offer a stage for newcomer artists next to well established ones. My intention is to feature my very own idea of a sound universe. QEONE is all about a specific kind of musical aesthetic. There are no genre boundaries – all tempo ranges are welcome, whether it’s more driving, more floor oriented or more relaxed. The emphasis lies on groovy, intriguing rhythms and precisely designed sounds which appear organic. With that I mean that this aesthetic creates sensual associations in the listeners head to natural elements such as wood, mud, water, animal sounds, breaking ice etc. It can sound very psychedelic or cheeky in some moments, but also really harsh and brutal, it depends on what kind of story the artist want’s to tell! It is very important for me to release musical pieces which have unique elements which don’t sound overused.
Where do you feel you/QEONE & Blitz connect? And what’s your perspective on Munich and its music scene, especially the club scene at the moment? What do you cherish about the city and its scene besides all its hurdles?
I feel that Blitz is a very forward-thinking club with a lot of openness for different types of genres. From House, Techno, Bass music to Live concerts and more, a wide range of styles are covered. That makes it a perfect bed for labels nights! Furthermore it couldn’t be more fitting that Blitz has a big focus on very nicely tuned sound systems. For the music of QEONE it is very important to have a proper PA with clear frequencies in all ranges as sound design is the focus of this label.
In my experience, the scene in Munich is tightly-knit, and that’s what I love about it. There are so many interesting collaborations possible in this beautiful network of artists, labels and other people in the cultural realm. Everything is closely connected, and many people help each other out. There are many great artists based in Munich who I admire strongly, many of them are actually residents at Blitz.
What can people new to QEONE, and people already familiar with it expect from your upcoming PLUS floor takeover? How did you discover and get to know Arkajo and Woody92? Have you maybe even collaborated with any of the artists before? What made you choose these artists for your upcoming plus floor takeover?
It will be a very groovy and psychedelic infused night that’ll stretch from slow beats up to very fast trippy techno. A full palette of moods, from bright to dark. I actually discovered Arkajo through my friend and colleague Dycide. I was instantly hooked by his captivating sense of groove, and I love his house-y influences. He has such a great feeling for rhythm, his drum design and programming is so unique that it makes it always easy to recognize his sound. I also adore the fact that he features some bass music elements and broken beats in his productions. I produced a remix for him last year, it will be released on his imprint very soon.
And about Woody92, I heard him play for the first time at the Positive Education Festival 2021 in France. I was really impressed by his deep skill of trippy hypnosis. It was like a ride on waves of very fast beats with rich psychedelic sounds. I got to know him online before, when he contacted me about my music; he was actually one of the first well established artists who found my releases.
I am so excited to have them both for my very first label night on the PLUS floor, it is one of the label nights which I am looking forward to the most as I know that they are going to turn this room into sound paradise of grooves and trippiness. I’m sure that it will be hard to leave!
The first QEONE night on our PLUS floor takes place during our GLITCH NIGHT, in cooperation with Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne during their GLITCH exhibition. The idea of glitch art is about working and provoking digital malfunctions, and this concept was essential to Detroit Techno too. QEONE looks for inspiration in a very different part of life, though: nature. Can you tell us more about what shaped the approach of the label, and why you believe this approach and perspective is so important in a technology driven and loving music scene as Techno and Dance music? And why is having QEONE with its philosophy on the PLUS floor tonight such an interesting contrast to the idea of Glitch Art?
I believe that we need to reconnect with nature much more, but not in a simple or > boring < way as it is perceived very often. There are so many interesting sides about it. Some are really funky such as the birds’ courtship dances, then we have all those really magnificent mushrooms in all sizes, shapes and colours. There are animals which have multiple genders or really mean predators in hilarious disguises. Nature is full of inspiration, it nurtures my own body of work and as it is such a huge source, I also wanted to widen this expression in form of my label. Especially in times of climate change, we must not forget the importance of the preservation of our environment, that’s why I like to connect the two worlds of technology and nature. In the end, technology is a product of the human mind, which after all is also a product manufactured by nature. Many principles in fact work quite similar when looking into the natural and the technological world. Both oblige the physical laws and many technologies are inspired by natural processes. That’s why I think, that the GLITCH night is a very interesting contrast. Because digital malfunctions can also be compared to natural mutations. As you can see, there are definitely strong parallels, but they are happening in different mental universes.
Tell us more about your personal work, as Producer/DJ and as part of Lyder, for example? What do you like about working on so many projects at once? And how did the work with multiple labels shape and change your personal approach to producing and DJing? Also: what’s a side of your approach that you believe people rarely notice?
As my musical journey started in the instrumental field, I love to weave it into my productions. Next to it, I enjoy it a lot to work with other talented instrumentalists such as Moritz Stahl, Simon Popp and Niklas Bühler. It keeps the musical mind fresh and offers new surprises also for myself.
I like to work on several projects at once as it keeps my mind awake, I don’t have monotonous working days and that’s exactly what I strive for. There are so many new topics all the time, so many new things to learn in all kinds of directions. I like to challenge myself and I’d say that working on all these things is definitely a big challenge.
IO changed how I perceive Techno in general. Before the label existed, I actually didn’t really listen to Techno. I was more focused on bass music and IDM. That’s why I’d say that IO definitely had a huge impact on me, it made Polygonia to what it is today. It also influenced me to work more with my friends within the label such as FTP Doctor, Dycide, MTRL and Tenzia. We showed each other various production techniques and music references. They’re fruitful relationships until this day. Nowadays, we’re expanding our activities to the realm of audio software and we are also intending to organize more events in Munich. It’s a natural development in which we have a constant exchange.
QEONE, with it’s unique workflow has its own unique influence on me. As it’s already closely connected to my own aesthetics and to what I like in particular, the main influence it has on my DJing is that I play many track that we release on the label. What makes me smile every time! The main impact it has on me personally is the social component of it. I am constantly connecting with so many different artists, it tightens my bond with them and creates the sense of something we create together, which is an amazing feeling.
And, hard more: how would you describe your music to someone who doesn’t know anything about electronic music and dance music?
It’s music that consists of hypnotizing bass heavy, drum beats which at times reminds the listener of tribal rituals. It’s often accompanied by intriguing harmonies and peculiar sound textures, sometimes even by polyphonic vocals. The atmospheres remind either of dark caves with howling winds or of riding a light breeze over the clouds. Peaceful forest scenes, but also sassy dances can be associations of certain works. They all have in common that they have an electrifying human touch, but still far off from the industrial world.
Tell us more about your personal connection to Blitz: what was a great, a curious and what was a challenging experience you’ve had here as an artist?
The most challenging experience was the first setI played at Blitz. Of course, I wanted to convince with my music as I was still quite unknown in Munich, so I felt some kind of pressure from myself. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this one as I finally had the chance to play on this amazing sound system in the beautiful booth – one of my favourite ones! The curious experience was the closing set I played in October 2023. It was at the Ritournelle which also featured artists like Busy Bandulu Sound, Lady Lykez, Martyn, Moonchild Sanelly and Schlachthofbronx. The night was pretty footwork and dancehall infused, definitely a different area of music than what I usually do. But I adapted and played really breakbeat-ish, driving sound which worked very well after Martyn. It was cool as I finally got to play broken beats only. Something which I rarely do as most of the usual contexts require more four to the floor beats. And the greatest experience, that’s really hard to say as there have been various. I really enjoyed the b2b with Muallem on Christmas for example, but also my two sets in May and September last year. Two completely different ones as it was an opening and a closing set, but I had such a great flow during both; a feeling which every DJ loves I guess. I’d call Blitz my home which is why I’m reaching my comfort zone very quickly.
What’s next for you? What else have you planned, what can we expect?
Up next is my > Da Nao Tian Gong < EP on Midgar Records. It’s a very dreamy yet tribal record, made from parts of my live set which I played at Monument Festival 2022.
Soon, I‘ll have two exciting shows coming up. It’s the Dekmantel showcase at Tresor on Feb 3rd and Wigflex at The Cause in London on Feb 10th.
Final question: aside from personal connections and self promotion, networking, etc – what piece of music is on your personal heavy rotation right now? Tell us more about what you adore about it, too.
My personal favorite at the moment is the LP > I‘ve Been There < by Ghost Warrior. I love this crossover of soft jazz drums and electronics. It‘s so deep and gentle with loads of tension in it. I really love genre fusions and this one is definitely an outstanding one for me.