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 We had the chance to sit down with Cold Blue who is the latest addition to Anjunabeats stable of artists on their recording books, which he's rather happy about! We went to find out more on the progression and future evolution of Cold Blue...
The delightful music of Cold Blue is produced by a guy called Tobias Schuh from Germany. It's surprising to hear producing music is not his full time occupation but it is his full time passion with his love for electronic dance music, trance and progressive in particular. It's by no means of luck that three of his latest records were featured on Anjunabeats latest compilation, 'Volume 7'. They were all singles that have been given a full release on the label that is known for showcasing epic melodic trance music and providing euphoria by the bucket loads. We managed to catch up with Tobias to catch his thoughts on his latest success with Anjunabeats and what the future for Cold Blue holds.
i:Vibes: How was your summer? Is that a good time of year for you in gathering musical inspirations?
Cold Blue: Hey Miles! My summer was good, thanks! I had nice holidays on my balcony together with some maths stuff for my studies. I also spent many nights in my studio. But I had my best time on some great festivals like Nature One and Mysteryland, so it's been a little bit of everything as you see. And of course all these things give me a lot of input for my music. So yeah... summer is great!
i:Vibes: Tobi, congrats on your recent success with the Anjunabeats 7 compilation. If someone would have told you 3 years ago that in the near future you would be releasing on Anjunabeats what would you have answered?
Cold Blue: Thank you very much! What would I have answered? Something like "Finally!!!!!!" maybe. In the end you can make so many things possible if you believe in yourself and work hard on your dreams. So why not release some music on Anjunabeats?
i:Vibes: An artist would be more than thrilled to have one track on an Anjunabeats compilation, but you land 3. What were you doing when you heard that three tracks would be released on Anjunabeats? Were you calm or did you throw a party?
Cold Blue: Of course I was REALLY happy!! Things came step by step so it wasn't one big single surprise, but many little surprises. Starting with the deal for 'Mount Everest', then getting 'Downhill' signed shortly after. Though the biggest surprise was when they decided to use '30 Degrees At Midnight', which was really close before they mixed the final CDs. That's maybe also the track from those three, which I am the most proud of.
i:Vibes: How do you explain your development as a producer? You have been steadily progressing in the last few years releasing getting tracks on the Mellomania compilation and now to one of the top labels Anjunabeats. What has changed in your producing ability?
Cold Blue: Well, to be honest I've never really thought about this whole development. Again, it's that "believe in yourself"-thing which leads me through all these steps I think. I concentrate very much on my music, try to make every track as good as possible and keep working step by step. There is no "master plan" but just making "good music". I guess this brought me here.
i:Vibes: I see your current run with 3 tracks on Anjunabeats comparable to Oliver Smith who had 5 productions on the Anjunabeats Vol 6. Do you feel pressure now to keep producing masterpieces in the future?
Cold Blue: Definitely yes! But I try to ignore it somehow and just carry on with my work the same way I would have done it without these successes. It's not that easy though.
i:Vibes: What is your impression of Oliver Smith? How would a Oliver Smith/Cold Blue track sound like?
Cold Blue: I don't like him, No, joke!!!!
He is a very great producer! Years ago he produced milestones (a nice wordplay, thinking about your name, haha) together with Mark Pledger and today he brings everything to a next level with his unique sound. I love his driving progressive-styled beats but still with that bit of an uplifting feel in them. Well, let's try it out how it would sound... Oliver?
i:Vibes: Mount Everest is a great track. The Dennis Sheperd remix was added on the compilation. What makes the Dennis Sheperd remix special in your ears?
Cold Blue: Well, it's probably the modern treatment of that theme, which makes it much more interesting for a lot of fans of the newer trance/house/prog sound. It's really a great production from Dennis and it brought some good fresh air into the release package.
i:Vibes: 30 degrees at midnight is really a beautiful track. What was your inspiration behind this track? You have to be in a very warm place for it to be 30 degrees at midnight?
Cold Blue: Oh, thanks!!! It all began with two pretty simple chords while playing around with some sounds and instruments. Everything else seemed to emerge from that very easily. But the inspiration came from these two chords, simple as that!
i:Vibes: You put a lot of emotion and feeling into this track. Was this a difficult track to produce coming up with the heart warming melody?
Cold Blue: No, as I said above, everything kept flowing pretty easily from start to finish. All that emotion in it, all these melodies and chords and sounds came in from all alone. I think at this track I hadn't anything to think or care about, really. I definitely had more difficult ones.
i:Vibes: Downhill is also a very uplifting track. Is producing a track now easier than 3 years ago or is it always a real challenge to make something brilliant?
Cold Blue: At least it is not easier to get myself satisfied with a track. But that's most probably because my own demands has grown too (which is sometimes a good but often a bad thing, haha). So the challenge won't ever stop! But how would our life be like without challenge?
Another point is that this all is a matter of taste, as for example it seems like nowadays it's easier for me to create something for Anjunabeats' taste than it was 3 years ago. But in some other opinions my tracks from 3 years ago might be the best I've ever made. So sometimes it's even a challenge to find the way which works best for yourself as you'll never satisfy everybody.
i:Vibes: One of my favourite tracks at the moment is "Fever". This track is the full package. It seems like a positive track, but with a title as fever. What was the most difficult thing that you had to do to get this track perfect?
Cold Blue: To find a good title! No, honestly... Great that you like it that much! I made this one in the early summer 2008 I think, long time ago. And again, I don't remember anything really difficult with the production, maybe only to find the right mixing between all these different melody lines and instruments that are in there.
Oh, and cheers to Tony (from Above & Beyond) at this point.
i:Vibes: How are your university studies going? How difficult is it focusing on music in this time?
Cold Blue: Wrong question! It should be "How difficult is it focusing on the studies while you could make some music at the same time instead?".
VERY difficult! But somehow I get it managed so far. But I still should learn to use my time more efficiently.
i:Vibes: Would you ever think of becoming a fulltime music producer especially with your success now?
Cold Blue: I do think of that from time to time, but it's almost impossible in today's music scene. That's why I HAVE to focus on university, even if I don't want to.
i:Vibes: What can we await from Cold Blue in the future music wise?
Cold Blue: Currently I'm working on a few remixes as well as new singles for Cold Blue and also for the collaboration with Dennis Sheperd on High Contrast Recordings.
But come on, let's enjoy the things which are already here!!! We use to forget about current and older good pieces of music much too fast, just because we always want more...
i:Vibes: What is your top 5 tracks at the moment?
Cold Blue: Hmm let's say:
Mat Zo - 24 Hours
John O'Callaghan - Out Of Nowhere (Stoneface & Terminal Remix)
Oliver Smith - Pacific
Super8 & Tab - Irufushi
Arnej - Tomorrow Never Comes
i:Vibes: Who do you think will become the #1 DJ at DJ Mag Top 100?
Cold Blue: I don't really care, to be honest. I don't expect big changes though. Let's wait three more days and we'll know it!
i:Vibes: Thanks Tobi for the chat! Good luck with your music!
Cold Blue: Thank you Miles!
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