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Earlier this year German electronic duo Gebruder Teichmann supported Underworld in Munich and Berlin and now, after their gig in Beijing, they perform at the Miss Sixty party in Hong Kong. Ahead of the show, Andi and Hannes Teichmann brothers spoke to Tina Lee about their analogue impulses and being brothers in a band.

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You guys are from Germany. What’s the difference between the crowds in China as opposed to Europe?

Andi: [Long pause] Good question [laughs].We just played at a club called White Rabbit [Beijing]. [White Rabbit] is great and has a good energy at the moment. It’s like a European club and there were a lot of European people out there. What we saw in Beijing is that there’s a lot of energy. Things are getting started and people are interested in new music so it’s really good.

What kind of show should we expect at the Miss Sixty party?

Andi: A lot of electronic music [laughs]. We, more or less, act like a band. We do play electronic music but just analogue. No laptops, but expect lots of machines and lots of energy.

You guys grew up on punk rock. How does being in a punk band differ from DJing in terms of a live performance?

Andi: I think it has a very similar energy. In both, you have to take what you have and just make music.

Hannes: It’s a bit difficult to describe it. If you say we make techno, everyone has the same image and it’s wrong. Same if you say we do house. We do electronic music in a very open way and we always try to mix up different styles of electronic music because we don’t like to play only one genre. It’s a mix between techno, house and rock. To describe our live set we have a lot of machines. A lot of cables and lots of machines.

Do you guys find it hard to be brothers and musicians together?

Hannes: Of course. Sometimes it’s hard and there’s a lot of pressure, but it’s totally different because we are brothers so we can fight and then act normal again. Growing up together, because I was the younger one, Andi was already in the punk scene so I always went with him.

And so he always got you into trouble?

Hannes: Not trouble [laughs] – just into the parties. But then it changed because when I started DJing techno, I introduced Andi into the more electronic scene.

Who is a better musician out of the two?

Hannes: [Laughs] What I can say is Andi is more of the live musician and I’m the technician. In the end it works because we are together.

You guys have supported Underworld. What was your experience playing with them?

Hannes: For us it was a very big deal to be the support act. I became a big fan because we played with them and it was great to see that they only used analogue machines onstage; like our philosophy. I respect what they’re doing because they are different from other mainstream electronic acts. Most commercial acts just want a good show so they do lots of playback, but Underworld really used all their machines. It was cool to see all that old-school gear onstage.

This year we supported them in Munich and Berlin. It was funny because when we arrived in Berlin we parked the car next to the one from Underworld; they had two really huge trucks for all their gear and we had the small four-wheel car with our gear in the back [see picture displayed above]. Basically, we can set up our equipment all on one table while their equipment covers the stage. We are like the small Underworld [laughs].

That’s cute. So when do you think you guys will make it big?

Hannes: For us it’s already a big success to be able to live from what we are doing. We’ve travelled so much and of course you always want to be more successful, but we don’t want to be too famous because once it gets too big it’s not as personal. We’re not trying to be big pop stars. We’ve been in the music business long enough to know it’s not just about being famous. It’s playing the right cards, meeting the right people and playing the right music to make a good party.

Gebruder Teichmann play the Miss Sixty Party at Ocean Terminal, Shop 4, LCX, Tsim Sha Tsu. Get tickets  by calling 2161 9333 or emailing carmen.wong@sixtyfare.com.hk.