’89 domande a Rip Swirl (Luka Seifert) – Dj and Producer

Name? Luka aka (@rip_swirl).

What’s your job? I’m a music producer and musician. 

What did you study? I studied economics.

How much of Luka is still present in RIP Swirl, and how much has become its own separate identity? They are inseperable from one another. 

If you were a character of a movie which one would you be? I’d be Bill Murray in Lost In Translation. 

If your music were a place, what kind of space would it be? An empty meadow in the morning dew.

Is there a precise moment when you know a track is “finished,” or is it more of a conscious letting go? It’s not a concious thing, it just feels right and you know. 

Do you think you make music to understand yourself, or to escape yourself? I guess rather to escape reality, it’s like meditation.

Do you ever revisit your older work? Never.

What is your top five of your tracks? I wouldn’t know how to answer that cause I never listen to my own music.

What is your track that you are most attached to? Why? I guess I’m quite attached to ‘Blurry’ cause it changed a lot for me. 

Have you ever changed your creative approach with your audience in mind? No, I try to keep my creative approach as unconcious as possible. 

Have you ever felt tension between staying true to your sound and reaching a wider audience? That’s not really something I think about, if it happens that’s fine but I don’t make music to reach as many people as possible. 

How do you deal with losing control in the creative process? I work with vocalists that I trust, everything else I’m in complete control of. So that’s not really an issue. 

Do you think Hegel was right to put music as art at an higher level, or do you think the figurative arts, especially at an emotional level, are on the same level? I agree with that. You can shut your eyes in front of a painting but you can’t escape music. It will make you feel something if you want it or not. Even if you try to close your ears you feel it, the air is in motion. It’s undeniable. 

Can you give us a definition of art? Art is some sort of manifestation of an artist’s vision / imagination. 

Your favorite style icons? I really liked Pete Doherty and Ozzy Osbourne’s style growing up. 

What’s your best talent? Making music and I’m pretty good at cooking. 

Do you know some Italian band? Unfotunately I don’t.

What is your motto? Nothing Matters.

If you could have a super power what would you choose? Not having to sleep.

When, in your opinion, can you define a person as an artist? Using your imagination to create something, even if you’re a 3 year old drawing a house.

Do you think that believing in God and not believing in God start from the same presumption about something that in itself we have no possibility of knowing, thus reducing even atheism to an act of faith toward the unknown? I’m a non-religious person but that doesn’t mean I have faith in the unknown. I have faith in myself.

If you were not in your profession what work would you have wanted to do? I could be a lawyer. 

Do you think man’s life has meaning? No I don’t believe so.

What do you think people say about you? I don’t know but I hope they’re talking about me. 

Can you tell us when you think a person is cool and when they are not cool? Just being yourself makes you cool. 

If you had to tell a person to fuck off, who would you choose? And why? My landlord can fuck off cause he’s a pain in the ass. 

Who’s your favorite artist? Jimmy Page.

What’s your favorite show business character? Nathan Fielder. 

If you could spend a day with an historical figure who would you choose? I could go for some pints with Einstein. 

Have you ever been in love? Yes I have.

Where do you live? Berlin.

Does Berlin still allow space for artistic vulnerability, or do you feel a pressure toward uniformity? I don’t feel any pressure towards uniformity in Berlin, I think it’s quite liberating still. 

Can you feel alone in a city like Berlin, or is it impossible? You can definitely feel alone, especially outside of the club scene. If you don’t want to be noticed you can live here quite annonymously. 

Do you feel like the Berlin underground still exists, or has it become more of an aesthetic? It will always exist but it’s more difficult to find. Berlin’s underground scene was always quite tied to the club scene which has been commercialized heavily. Techno tourism has become a huge thing for the city. 

Which are your favorite places in your city? Kreuzberg 36.

Favorite movies? Lost In Translation, Taxi Driver, Stranger Than Paradise. 

Favorite directors? Harmony Korine, Sofia Coppola, Jim Jarmush.

If you were an animal which one would you like to be? My cat. 

Do you believe in some religions? No.

What’s the first thing you would do if you win the lottery?  Invite my close friends for holidays. 

An advice you can give to someone that want to do your job? Only do it if you feel like you really need to.

Best party you’ve been to? Don’t remember much but probably in like 2008 when Justice played a myspace secret show in Hamburg. 

Are you afraid of being misunderstood, or of being fully understood? Not something I think about.

Is rock and roll still alive? Hell yeah.