Souvenirs from Piha and Waiheke

By STEPHEN JEWELL

Most international DJs who play New Zealand barely spend 24 hours in the country and see little beyond inner-city Auckland or a quick trip to Piha, if they are lucky. But not German house DJ Ian Pooley, who visits our shores every year and began recording his soon-to-be released fourth album, Souvenirs at Piha, two years ago.

The legendary west coast beach also lent its name to a track Pooley made with Auckland-based, expat English DJ Dick Magik J. Johnson, which was one of the dance hits of the last Northern Hemisphere summer.

The pair recently reunited for a sequel, Heke, which is inspired by another Auckland haunt of Pooley and his wife Eva, secluded Hekerua Bay on Waiheke Island:

After Piha, Heke and Bay of Plenty from your last album, Since Then, have you thought about naming any other of your tracks after New Zealand places?

On Souvenirs, I've named a track after Stonyridge Vineyard on Waiheke. It's run by a friend of ours. We went there three years ago and go back again every year. It's a really cool vineyard. We go there for lunch and try the latest wine and if the owner is really nice, he sends us back some wine to Europe. And I like Dunedin a lot and I'd like to stay a bit longer there next time.

Why have you called your new album Souvenirs?

Because the songs are like musical snapshots that I bring back from trips. I had the idea of Souvenirs a couple of years ago when I did some recording over here in Piha. And then I did a collaboration with Marcos Valle from Brazil and Terry Callier from Chicago so it made sense.

Have you ever brought home any souvenirs from New Zealand?

The first thing everybody buys is a book about New Zealand, which is where I found the Bay of Plenty. I liked the sound of it so I wrote a song about it. Have I been there? No, but don't tell anybody. Back home, I also have a gold penny from a shanty town. And Eva goes to the sophisticated New Zealand fashion stores like Karen Walker and Kate Sylvester. And lots of wine! But it's stupid to bring back stuff. People should come here and see the place themselves. I met some friends from my home town and they were really excited. I swam with the dolphins and did some bungy jumping. But for me, coming to New Zealand is not so much like coming home but coming back to a place I've been before, like visiting relatives.

How did you come to work with Swiss electronic pioneers Yello on their new album?

I did a remix for them in 1998. We met for lunch back then and then they called me up last summer and asked me to help on their new album. I visited them in Zurich and we had two to three days of intensive work. It was really cool. I helped out on three tracks and I'm going to do a remix. I also played at their release party which was one of the coolest sets I've played because they told me I'm only allowed to play Yello. So I prepared a special set of loops and remixes and blended it all together.

Do you have Pop Idol in Germany?

Yes, we do. They've had their second season already. It's lost its popularity and nobody's watching it any more. It's so stupid and horrible.

You're not a fan then?

It's like voyeurism. When you see the first auditions, people are really convinced of themselves. They go there, do their song and it's horrible. I can't sing and they're worse than me. They make fools of themselves and would do anything to be on TV. It's just a big money-making machine. The TV station that's showing Pop Idol in Germany is linked to BMG and the guy sitting on the jury is producing them all and releasing them on BMG. Money is just going back and forth.

What can we expect you to play tonight?

Lots of Latin house stuff and loads of the good electroclash stuff that sounds more like punk or disco. Tracks with more harmonies and warmer sounds, which I mix up with my own material. People expect me to play my stuff, so I play a little bit of it and Dick Johnson's stuff. Basically, House vibe but not too hard.

Performance

* Who: DJ Ian Pooley

* Where and when: Coast Bar, tonight