Axel Haube is an evocative DJ who plays with great control. He hints at where he’s going before pulling back, building tension, and dropping the right record at the right time to send crowds into overdrive. His storytelling sets of melodic and cosmic techno are powered by dark but driving grooves and laced with seductive melodies. Digging deep for unknown musical thrills and hypnotic pleasures is what sets him apart and have made him a mainstay of the underground who plays everywhere from the Afterlife stage at Tomorrowland to Circoloco Belgium, Hive, Ritter Butzke and Extrema Outdoor.
It’s the same story in the studio. The Belgian’s music is built on a solid foundation of drums that move the dance floor while alluring synth details up top always take the mind away. His tracks are full of curious designs that keep you locked, smooth changes in energy that always keep you guessing, and speak to the mind and soul as well as the body. They have come on labels like Watergate Records, Petit Matin and Future Romance with high-profile support from Tale Of Us, Kevin de Vries, Massano and Camelphat.
Axel’s own We Are brand hosts high-profile stages at festivals like Ostend Beach, Vaag Outdoor and several other clubs. It is an established fashion label that serves up fresh rave couture and will soon become a record label. Next for him are new tracks and remixes on Labyrinth, Eklektisch and Eleatics. Each one is another exciting chapter in the ever-evolving story of Axel Haube.
Axel. Nice to meet you here at Techno Mood. Can you tell us where you are from? Where you are now and a little about how you got here today?
Nice to meet you too! I’m born and raised in Mechelen, Belgium. A small but very beautiful city, located in between Antwerp and Brussels (and close to the airport!) I’m at home now, chilling in my backyard Just got back from a gig in Bern, Switzerland. I’m almost leaving to my next gig which is the first open air party for me this year, the sun is shining and looking forward to it! It took me a while to get here, already 15 years active in the music industry!
Your music. You have 3 words to describe it to someone who has never heard it. What are they and why?
Melodic: I love to play & make music with dreamy melodies and powerful synths that take you to another dimension. Dark driven: I prefer to keep a nice balance between Techno and Melodic. As the genre is called: Melodic House & Techno, I prefer to stay at the Melodic Techno part. Uplifting: Music with a nice build up and big drops to make you go crazy.
Festivals are under way. Can you tell some of your key events happening this year – where they are etc.
Besides 2 stage hostings at Vaag Outdoor & Ostend Beach with my brand We Are, I’m also playing at the Afterlife stage at Tomorrowland, Extrema Outdoor on the mainstage, Audio River in Poland and Complex festival in Maastricht. I’m also organising an Open Air with my brand We Are at the city hall’s courtyard of my hometown. There is a lot more stuff coming up during the summer but these are definitely the highlights!
Your next release is a remix of Human Rias. VERY big release on Eklektisch. Congrats. Can you tell us how you collaborate with others – do you prefer working with colleagues to create new sounds and music?
Well actually I do like working on remixes! It works also a bit easier since you start from already cool stems to build on instead of from scratch. If the original has a beautiful vocal or great hook in the track, I get triggered to jump on the train. I also have quite a lot of tracks ready now with vocals, I love to collaborate with talented singers. They can take an already good track to the next level, At the moment there is a collaboration with another artist coming up. I got stuck on a track and asked if we could work together on it, let’s see what comes out of it
Do you have 3 tracks you can’t stop playing right now?
Yes for sure!
– Grigoré – Hyperreal (Original mix)
– Woo York – Sammum (8KAYS remix)
And of course the remix I did for Human 😉
If you had to listen to one song, every day for the rest of your life. What would it be and why?
Very difficult question but my answer at this moment would be Map.ache – IZA which got released on Circoloco Records. Such a beautiful track and is multiple times on repeat here.
