DEADAP means “Give me the beat” and the name has been a successful program for almost 20 years. The gypsy club sound that mastermind STANI VANA and his band have always implemented is one that invites you to dance exuberantly and in a very imaginative and always high-quality way. With “Play” he released a new album with DEADAP at the end of 2021, which was also released in Japan in mid-2022 with two unusual bonus tracks because they were sung in Japanese. In an interview with Michael Ternai, he explains how this Japan connection came regarding, how much the work on the new album differed from the previous one and why, as a serious person, he cultivates a positive sound for dancing.
The new DELADAP-The album “Play” was released by the label last summer Rambling Records was released in Japan with two bonus tracks and has garnered quite a bit of attention there. How did the collaboration with the label and the Japanese singer Lily Mizusaki come regarding?
Stani Vana: One might say, out of a tradition. 2004 is namely Rambling Records approached us before and asked if they might release our debut in Japan and South Korea. Which it then did. Back then, this mix of gypsy music and club sound was something completely new and obviously it was interesting for the Japanese market at the time. This contact never broke off, also because Rambling Records subsequently published other things from us once more and once more. This time, I got a remix request from Lily Mizusaki in 2021. It’s over once more Rambling Records ran. I then did the remix and asked her if she would like to play one or the other song by DELADAP sing in Japanese. She was very keen on the idea and eventually suggested the two numbers “Crazy Swings” and “Make Swing Great Again”, which I was totally fine with. In terms of marketing, this collaboration was definitely a good thing, also because I’ve recently been able to observe how much the Japanese electro swing scene is growing at the moment.
In this country, “Play” was already released at the end of 2021. But the big promotional campaign is only now taking place. Why?
Stani Vana: Honestly, the Japan release was one of the reasons we decided to roll out the promo once more. It just made sense for us to go out there once more now. You also have to connect these things to something that is happening. When I first decided to make the album, I asked myself why I was doing it. You mightn’t do much with this one during the pandemic. And when something will be possible once more, that was still in the stars at the time. But now that the activities have also started in Japan, it makes sense for us to go out with the album once more.
The previous album “ReJazzed” was a bit out of the ordinary due to its style. How did you approach “Play”?
Stani Vana: With “ReJazzed” it was very important to me to show that the music of DELADAP also works completely analogue and not only electronically. We recorded and produced it really old school, without any clicks or other electronic aids. “ReJazzed” should be a kind of statement. It is definitely the most analogue work in the history of DELADAP And the album was also well received and we toured with it for two years. But then Corona came and suddenly everything came to a standstill.
How did you deal with this standstill?
Stani Vana: Of course, the question quickly arose as to how we should continue under these circumstances. We decided to release singles first. That was something new for us, because up until then we had almost exclusively only recorded albums. And singles are definitely very different than an album. An album is always planned, there is a concept behind it. The songs of an album are created in a certain time, under the influence of a certain atmosphere and energy. Normally, we rehearse new things with the band during the songwriting process. That wasn’t possible this time. Looking back, the really only positive thing regarding the pandemic for me was that I saved myself the stress of producing an album. We ended up releasing new singles for over two years, first every three months, then every two months. And they can now all be found together on “Play”.
“For us as a band, that was just the strategy for survival.”
That means you had to find a way of working that was completely new to you.
Stani Vana: Yes. We set up a kind of production group online in which we exchanged ideas. Then I mixed and mastered things and handed them over to the band. That’s how it ended. It was really a completely new way of working for us. And it actually worked well, even if it arose out of compulsion. You always have to get something positive out of a crisis, otherwise you will perish. For us as a band it was just a strategy to survive. The regular singles indicated that we’re still around.
Is this new way of working perhaps also the reason why the album has become musically so diverse?
Stani Vana: Yes, that’s probably one of the reasons. This time I really had the time to deal with things in more depth. Our previous albums can definitely be seen as something like fillers that should bridge the time between tours. This time I really had time to focus on the little details and the songs as a whole. And I also managed to find new ways for myself in terms of sound. For me, “Play” is the perfect mix of digital and live. In that sense, this album is something of a milestone for me. Also because we managed to approach the topics of electro swing and gypsy jazz from a different direction.
With the first album in 2004, my goal was still to bring gypsy music into the club. But following ten years of touring, I got bored of it. I felt like things just kept repeating and copying. With the 2011 album “Crazy Swing” I then tried to break out of this monotonous and constantly repetitive nature. And I still do that to this day. Every time I try to open a little door that I don’t know, in order to let the whole thing shine in a new light. And also on “Play” there are some really exciting new things. The album shows me that there is still enough new stuff to discover.
The nice thing regarding the album is that even though it was made under difficult circumstances during a difficult time, it emits very positive vibes.
Stani Vana: Which isn’t so obvious given my personality. I’m very interested in politics and history. I deal with this matter a lot and would actually describe myself as an extremely serious person. But being a serious person doesn’t mean you can’t have fun in life. I love the energy on stage, I love the energy in the rehearsal room and also the energy that comes from working on songs interactively. I think I’m just trying to tell the things that are going through my mind as a serious person in a kind of pointed way. I like it when people laugh and let their emotions out while dancing. On the other hand, I don’t like it when someone runs around with a raised index finger and says that something has to be like that.
And the singers Melinda Stojka, Beate Baumgartner and Christina Kerschner know very well how to convey their sometimes more profound texts with a rousingly positive sound. That’s also appreciated in our music, it somehow also conveys a certain cheerfulness.
“I just miss musicians when they’re not there.”
Was it somehow imaginable for you that you DELADAP still making albums following almost 20 years? And how has your approach to making music changed at all?
Stani Vana: No not at all. Also because my life with the guitar around my neck came to an end when my daughter was born. This event was a real turning point in my life. A music career was out of the question at the time. I’m a trained printer and printing form maker and had my own printing shop, which I used to earn my living. But I started producing alongside my job. At some point I produced Bollywood remixes with Hans Kulisch, which went quite well for three years. But that didn’t really satisfy me. It was just too much DJ stuff and technology for me. It was fun though, im once a month for two years Flex to hang up, but at some point the appeal was lost. Basically, I’m still a musician at heart. I just miss musicians when they’re not there. It’s just not enough for me if everything is sampled. The art of sampling can also kill when nothing else happens.
When I was in 2000 with DELADAP When I started, I had a certain musical idea, but I didn’t know how to actually implement it. I produced in the direction of gypsy jazz sound, but I wanted to recreate it somehow and not just take Django Reinhart and edit it electronically in some way. I spent a lot of time finding suitable musicians and traveled a lot to Austria’s neighboring countries to see people. The musical direction only gradually began to become more concrete and, as can also be heard on the first album in 2004, it was regarding things like that Gotan Project influenced. But somehow I wanted to dance more. Downbeat is cool and I like it too, but I was more drawn to that uptempo gypsy sound. And this idea shapes the style of DELADAP til today. What is happening today and the vibe that our music has originated in this exact time 20 years ago. Things just keep evolving because you’re constantly learning something new.
Just like with “ReJazzed”. I’ve seen that not everything needs to be imported and resampled. You can leave the stuff that you’ve recorded straight from the heart, you don’t have to edit it to death. That wasn’t the case before, everything had to fit perfectly. I’m more relaxed regarding it now.
That means you’ve left perfectionism behind.
Stani Vana: Perfectionism is a big burden for me. And in all areas of my life. When I’m assembling or building something and it’s just a little crooked, I fiddle with it until I get it straight. I would really like to have a little more looseness in these things. But I can’t really get out of my skin. In music, however, it’s now the case for me that the question of perfectionism doesn’t actually arise. I see music as a craft that I have learned over many years. I know how to do something to my satisfaction. If I see that something is going wrong – also with the help of tricks that today’s technology simply offers – then that suits me.
Many thanks for the interview.
Michael Ternai
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16.3. Scene Vienna, Vienna
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