Niels Schilder, better known as Malbetrieb, has been a big contributor to the Dutch music scene for over two decades. A resident of club Paradigm, releases on Something Happening Somewhere and Kontra-Music, are just a few things on his repertoire.
Hailing from the northern region of the Netherlands, Niels Schilder, better known as Malbetrieb, is one of the guys responsible for the area’s up and coming scene in recent years. As big contributor to the infamous club Paradigm in Groningen, Klopfgeist music label, and the launch of his record label Lines this month, his work behind the scenes shows his unprecedented passion for music.
Next to his contributions behind the scenes, Niels is a well-established producer and DJ. With releases on Something Happening Somewhere, Kontra-Music and Klopfgeist, his music has become a synonym for deep and atmospheric techno. Besides his residents at club Paradigm, he often manages to stop by in Amsterdam to play gigs at DGTL, NGHTDVSN and Komm Schon Alter, to mention a few.
Now, two decades into his career, Malbetrieb launches his new record label Lines. A techno orientated platform where he gives a mixture of upcoming and establish producers a place to release on. The label’s debut EP by Jolar Drim was released earlier this month and received massive support right out of the gates. With about ten EP’s lined up, Lines looks very, very promising.
Welcome Niels, pleasure to have you here! What have you been up to lately?
Aloha. I’ve been making a lot of remixes lately, from Sebastian Mullaert to bOg, back to Sam Pauli- and I recently launched my new label Lines, which already gained support from Laurent Garnier, DJ Hell, Solomun and many more. At this moment I’m having a small studio-sabbatical, which gives me some time to breath and come up with new and original stuff for my upcoming EP’s next year.
You’ve been on the forefront of the positive developments concerning the club scene in the northern region of the Netherlands. What would you say has changed the last few years?
I think the crowd is what changed most. From having a few single events spread across the northern regions to Groningen that is becoming a scene at itself. Also, I see a lot of young artists (BDKR, Jolar Drim, Nathan Homan) really developing theirselves in a good way. What took me almost 20 years, they will achieve it in less than 5 years- watch it.
As someone whom hasn’t been to Paradigm yet, could you tell me a little bit more about the evenings and vibes I can expect at club Paradigm?
Paradigm is a real authentic place that brings you back to the old days of raving. The proper banging soundsystem and the raw industrial vibe cant be denied. Musical wise they obviously go their own way as well, its not based on hypes. I had the best moments of my career in that place.
Earlier this month, your new label Lines saw its debut release. What is the idea behind the label?
The label is an outlet or platform for half decent house and techno- something I’ve always been a fan of myself. No high polished tracks with extended climaxes but trippy conceptual stuff, somewhere in between house and techno. It doesn’t have to be necessarily functional, but I think there’s too much over produced music out there that is missing the essentials. The name Lines is anagram of my own name Niels, and the logo is a flyer of an illegal rave we did almost 20 years ago. So its something that’s really close to my heart. Most of the tracks I signed I still listen to on a daily basis.
Can we expect some releases by Malbetrieb on the label as well?
I got around 10 releases planned so far, and none of them feature any of my creations. For now I got plenty of dope material that doesn’t need my interference. But never say never..
Where will you be focusing on in the near future?
Last year I focused on my hardware studio-setup that allowed me to record tracks in real time. After my Chapter 24 EP- and finishing around 8 remixes in the last months- I recently disconnected all my gear and started trying new setups and combinations with additional machines. The goal is always to build a sort of robot that spits out tracks on the fly. Having all these machines work together really inspires me. The new tracks will be more synth driven yet less dreamy (and please, no more arpeggios ok?)