Modern DJ: "Composing with AI seems like a mediocre scam that reveals a total lack of creativity."

Over more than two decades of tireless work in the music industry, Germán Ormaechea has created remixes for national and international indie bands, produced music for film and advertising, played live with various groups, and shaken up the indietronica scene at Spain's major venues and festivals with his DJ sets.

In 2020 he began releasing music under his own stage name, DJ Moderno , and following the positive reception of his first album 'La Nave Nodriza' (2022), this past spring he released his second album, 'Astronautas en Madrid' , which the artist also presented with the DJ Moderno Live project, a trio band that performs his songs live. However, this Friday he will perform alone, in DJ mode so to speak, to close the day of the Sonorama festival in a finale that promises to shake the ground of Aranda de Duero.

How are you going to approach the Sonorama session? What do you think of this year's lineup?

I'm closing on Friday, so it's going to be a very danceable session, predominantly Spanish indie, but remixed and featuring those impossible mashups that are now my trademark. Lately, I've only been playing my own productions. The lineup is huge, and while it might not be to everyone's taste, it's to many. I'll try to see as many of the smaller acts as possible, which interest me much more than the big names.

What have been your main influences, and how would you define your profile as a DJ?

I'm absolutely clear about it: ever since I started DJing, I've been drawing from 2 Many DJs . I've always loved their eclecticism.

How was the weekly mashup challenge? Which one was the most successful?

I've been producing my own mashups and remixes for play for a while now, perhaps not with as much regularity or pressure, but consistently. I decided to release and promote them weekly, and I've been incredibly surprised by the interest they've generated, especially among fellow DJs. It's hard to say which has been the most successful, because it depends not only on the remix or mashup itself, but also on the original track. I've had great success with tracks by Carolina Durante, Elyella, Dover, or La La Love You, which I usually mix with things like Avicii, Fischerspooner, or Fatboy Slim.

How have you received the arrival of AI applied to musical creation?

I use it for administrative tasks when I work for Fep Producciones, my record label, communications agency, and booking agency. As a musician/producer, I've barely used it. What's been most useful to me is track separation, although new controllers now have those functions built in. AI composition seems like writing a book with AI: a mediocre deception that reveals a total lack of creativity.

'The Mothership', 'Astronauts in Madrid'… where does this obsession with the astronomical come from?

The truth is that I've often felt out of place, as if I came from another planet, both in music and in life. I've always walked on the margins. So the astronomical aspect reflects that feeling of not fitting in, of wanting to escape. We also play with that aesthetic in the lyrics and in the trio's image when we present my songs live.

What was the creative process like and what's the background behind the songs on this latest album?

The album is a nostalgic and respectful look back at several decades of electronic music, reinterpreted with contemporary sounds and production, serving up very honest lyrics that reflect my experiences of the past three years. Since the release of La Nave Nodriza in 2022, we've followed the "rules" of the current music industry, releasing single after single. In the end, we've compiled all those tracks, along with some new ones, on the album. The most beautiful thing has been seeing how everything fits together and makes sense. It's a very worthy endeavor. We've also produced vinyl records, and we're incredibly excited to have the physical format in our hands.

How did the idea come about, and what was the experience of presenting your albums live in a trio format? It's something unusual in the DJ scene, am I right?

To avoid confusion with DJ sets, we call the live format DJ MODERN LIVE. It's a full-fledged band. Although I compose the songs, Isa and Berty are heavily involved in the arrangements, and we rehearse regularly. The songs feature vocals, guitars, bass, vocoders, and sequencers that are played and sung live. Many producers like Empire of the Sun, Caribou, Hot Chip, Roosevelt, and even La Casa Azul have similar formats. The DJ set is a different story: I usually include one of my own songs, but it's based more on other artists' music, to which I add my own touch in the mixing and production. The live show, on the other hand, is a highly curated show and 100% ours.

How do you remember your time with Grey Souls, and then Horthy? Do you miss the '90s and those more connected scenes?

Grey Souls was my first contact with music, and it makes me very nostalgic. I have very good memories. We were very experimental, we wanted to be Sonic Youth, Pixies and Bauhaus all at the same time. It was the era of the "Pamplona Sound" in the 90s, and we shared the stage with El Columpio Asesino (who then played Pixies covers), Tedium (where Abraham Boba was a member), Ritual de lo Habitual (from which bands like Souvenir, Brillantinas and Glitter Souls later emerged), Los Bichos... It was a very free time, of experimenting, enjoying good music and breaking away from the established. Horthy was my evolution towards electronics. He was like an early version of DJ Moderno, with danceable electropop songs. We started in English and ended up in Spanish.

Then came Igeldo… what did that stage bring you?

Horthy was very personal, although I still didn't dare to go out as a Modern DJ or under my real name, Germán Ormaechea. Live, there were four of us, and we worked very well. We recorded and released four albums, played at festivals, in series like Artistas en Ruta... but the project didn't progress any further, so we dropped it. Igeldo was a trio where we all shared the songwriting responsibility and liked to experiment. It was like going back to the guitars of the '90s, to the days of Grey Souls. We sounded more like Surfin' Bichos or Sonic Youth, although we also made more sophisticated songs, like Phoenix. Listening to the songs now, the songwriting level was quite good, but the industry wasn't very interested in the project, so we dropped that too.

You're still with AmyJo Doh & The Spangles, right? Something in the works?

Yes, I still play bass with them. It's a joy and they're a band with a lot of potential. We're releasing our second album, "Spanglelandia," in November 2024, and in 2025 we toured with The Libertines and Pete Doherty. We also did several solo dates in the UK and Germany. They were incredible experiences. English-language punk rock isn't easy to sell in Spain, where commercial indie music in Spanish predominates, but we're very happy and are already writing for our third album. We're not going to give up; this project always brings joy.

Do you have any future projects as a producer, or in the world of film or advertising? What are your plans for the future?

I'm working on a feature film for Navarrese director Karlos Alastruey and have launched AUDIOFEP, a new branch to help brands create their sound identity (I'm designing music logos and corporate songs for brands like Fundación Caja Navarra). I'll also continue with official remixes for bands. The truth is, I love studio work, and that's how I see my future when the artistic side no longer provides as much value.

What conclusions did you draw from your time with the Digital FEP streaming concert platform?

DigitalFEP was born during the pandemic as a platform to connect bands, concert venues, and audiences through streaming. It allowed venues and artists to reach more people, generate income through virtual tickets or donations, and facilitate fan interaction. Once the pandemic was over, the reality was clear: audiences lost interest in watching concerts digitally, and we had to abandon the project. We merged with Vackstage, which continues to broadcast live concerts from venues throughout Spain, although it's also not easy to monetize. Even so, I think it's still a very good idea. DigitalFep was a pioneer and helped me, on the one hand, avoid going crazy during the pandemic, and on the other, reach out to sectors of the industry that wouldn't have been possible with just the artistic side. It was very interesting, although we couldn't monetize it as we needed and had to decide to abandon it.