Central Jaeger figure and Frensday resident, Aksel FU is inducted into the Jaeger Mix annals. As somebody that’s part of the Jaeger grind on an almost daily basis, few know the sounds and indulgences of Jaeger’s dance floor better than Aksel FU.
Through his Frensday concept, he’s cultivated a rotating hoard of DJs that push the boundaries of the dance floor to the furthest reaches of club genres. focussing on a feverish pulse and a palette of sounds that feign the conformist, Aksel FU embraces the harder, rougher hues of electronic club music with things like Hardgroove, Rave, Techno and the rawest House spilling out of his record bag.
He conveys this yet again in his stay at the Jaeger mix, channelling the likes of Ben Sims through heady and brutalist arrangements in acquiescence to the excited crowd on the night. When Aksel is not playing or working at Jaeger, he’s a drummer in a noise band amongst other things, and eternal enigma we’re still trying to unpack, one question at a time.
Give us an introduction to your Jaeger mix.
This mix is basically a run through of some of the styles I’ve been gravitating towards recently when playing at Jaeger and other places. I’d planned it to be a bit more eclectic but I settled.
As somebody that works in the office and plays here regularly, you’re here every day, and probably know Jaeger better than everybody else. How does that inform something like this mix?
By being exposed to such a large number of sets at Jaeger you definitely get a feel for the venue.
How is it different from something you might play at one of your Frensday nights?
This mix could easily have happened on one of the Frensday nights. The thing I like most about the concept is that it’s quite open-format and can take on many different forms. I’ll invite DJ’s from all different types of genre backgrounds.
You mentioned that you had gone in with a set of tracks in mind but that it ended up sounding like a Frensday set anyway. What had you originally planned and what forced you into the direction you went into?
My original plan was to go through a wide range of genres to showcase the styles that have frequented the Frensdays over the course of the last year. Halfway through the set, I really got stuck in the hardgroove genre because it was what the crowd responded to the most that eve. I kinda ended up forgetting about the original plan and just went with it as it was the most fun.
Were there any specific tracks that tied the rest of the mix together?
Probably one of the tracks from Ben Sims’ hardgroove compilations, I think I played a couple. They have a huge amount of drive to them while still maintaining the funkiness of house.
What do you hope your Æmix relays to the listener?
Come next Frensday! haha
You have an electric background in music, but what started it all?
I used to breakdance when I was a kid, I replaced the dancing with drum-playing when I was around 11/12 and I’ve been playing drums and other instruments since. It’s always been beat centred though.
You’ve played in bands and you’re a drummer. What brought you to electronic music for the first time?
I’ve always had friends who were really into electronic music but it wasn’t until I heard it in a club context that it had an impact on me. I was on a road trip to Hamburg when I was 19 and stumbled upon a warehouse rave and I was completely sold.
Who were some of your DJ influences early on, and what encouraged you to become a DJ?
First and foremost my friends. Watching them evolve over the last few years as DJ’s has been really inspiring.
Is there a crossover for you in terms of the stuff you like and play as a musician and the music you tend to play in the DJ booth?
Hmm yes and no. When I play music with my bandmates it’s first and foremost for our own enjoyment. When I DJ there’s of course the element of the crowd that you are playing for. I always DJ music that I enjoy myself and that I would like to dance to, but I don’t get as self-indulgent and experimental as when I’m playing music in the studio. It’s not much fun to play for an empty dance floor haha.
Where do you eventually see this trend in Techno ending up and where do you hope to be within it?
Not sure, you’ll have to ask someone older, I don’t know where the pendulum swing is going to end but hopefully somewhere under the 180bpm line. I’ll still be in the studio making noises with the band.