Most of you know Andy Prinz as the Producer of Tatana or his last Track "Chaos in Motion", but this Biography & Interview will tell you more about him...

Most of you know Andy Prinz from his major Hit "Words", which he produced for DJ Tatana, some others know him from his own releases like "Chaos in Motion" or "Into the Ocean". Now here on i:Vibes you can read the full story of Andy Prinz as well as his future plans.


Andy Prinz - The Biography

All started with the Synthiepop- Band called Delay in 1991, for which Andy produced numerous releases. The epitome of the band’s life came in 1996 when Delay initiated its Tour of germany which involved stopovers at numerous cities including Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich, Cologne, Bochum and Bremen. Furthermore, Delay was also represented on numerous Compilations with other bands like “Frontline Assembly”, “Apoptygma Berzerk” or “Delirium”.

In 1997 Andy decided to end his Band project and began to produce more dance music oriented tracks.Together with his good friend René Zollinger, he produced some Trance- and Techno- Tracks under the Project Name “And-E & Mac Lane”. Their first Release, “How I feel” developed into a Club hit and was played out by many famous swiss DJ’s.
Many more Tracks of this Duo did follow and “Swallow it down” did even make it into Junior Vazquez’ Club Compilation “Twilo Vol.1”.

Andy did not only produce the Tracks of “Delay” and “and-E & Mac Lane”, but many Songs by himself as well as with various DJ’s of the Swiss Trance & Techno Scene, for example with DJ Noise, Phil Green, etc.
Apart from those Productions, he started other numerous Projects like “Ayion” or “Astura”, only to name a few.

The final Breakthrough came in 2002 with the Composituin and Production of “Words”, which he did for DJ Tatana. This track reached the official Swiss Charts on position 5 and recently got gold status for over 20.000 Copies sold. Tatana’s Album “Superpop” for which Andy did contribute 5 Productions even reached Platinum.

With his overwhelming success of “Words”, as well as his own Productions “Into the Ocean” and “Chaos in Motion” this year, he remixed a classic Trance Anthem by DJ Taucher – “Atlantis”, as well as he Produced the Newcomer “Jaro”, whose Single “Turn the Night” was entering the Top 100 of the swiss Charts. For Jaro’s new Album “Wondermilk”, Andy contributed 7 Tracks!!!

At the moment he works on the Re- Release of his Track “Into the Ocean”, now with vocals by the English Singer Natasha Kaye (Top Draw Music), and soon to come: His next Single “Diversity of Life” will be soon be heard in numerous Clubs and Radio Stations.

After 10 years of Producing, Remixing, DJ- Sets and Live Acts, Andy Prinz became one of the most, maybe even the most famous Trance producer in Switzerland. His uncountable Releases full of overwhelming and uplifting melodies are pure quality Trance.



Andy Prinz - The Interview



DYM: When did you first start making your own music before forming the band “Delay”, and what kind of music was this?

Andy: Well I started creating my own tracks on a cheap Yamaha keyboard in the late 80’s. Besides that I had some classical piano lessions for 1 year or so. The first big thing for me was my Ensoniq Sampler EPS16+. This tool gave me such a lot of possibilities. I sampled everything I could and created my own library of sounds. My role models were primarily Depeche Mode and Front 242. Their music inspired me to start my own project called “Delay” in 1991.

DYM: What Studio equipment do you use, and how do you start writing a new Track, are you just playing a synthesizer or do you have the melody in mind before beginning with a new Track?

Andy: That depends.. sometimes I have a melody in my mind. But that’s mostly when I’m out of my studio! So I forget most of these ideas.. Sometimes I start with a typically raw beat and add some hooks on that but I can also happen that a specific sound inspires me a lot. One big sound on a synth already can create a whole atmosphere! The feeling inside the music is quite important!
I use different hard- and software tools in my studio. My favourite synths are the Roland JP8000 (trance leads and pads), the Waldorf Q (typical digital sounds), the Roland JD 800 (I love this machine for its fantastic pad sounds), the Korg MS2000 (really fat basses) and some other synths like the Studio Electronics ATC-1 (Moog style), TB 303 and others.. What I also appreciate is some hardware gear like my Mackie 8-Bus mixer which sounds very warm and powerful. Of course I’d also miss tools like the TC Finalizer, my PowerCore DSP card, the Mindprint DTC, the SPL Vitalizer and so on. Very important these days: the software! It’s incredible what applications like Cubase SX do offer. So the computer is like the brain of my studio!

DYM: You produce your own Music as well as for Tatana and make Remixes for numerous other DJ’s and Bands. Why are you not seen so often Djing by yourself?

Andy: That’s because I don’t find too much time left. Apart from that, the amount of active DJ’s here in Switzerland is so big. I’d rather go dj-ing a little bit for my own pleasure than fighting all way long through the clubs. One reason is also that my preferred style of music is not THE big thing in my country.

DYM: After your first big success with the Single “Words”, which you produced for DJ Tatana, will there be more Productions for her in the future?

Andy: I don’t think so because I spent half a year exclusively for DJ Tatana and had no time for my own projects. Of course the success of WORDS was incredible and it gave me loads of new possibilities but being always the “man behind” didn’t satisfy me enough, especially when the dj’s say in interviews that they made the track by themselves (which is really bullshit)! “Producing” to me means more than sitting in the studio!!

DYM: When you listen to Trance music, which Style do you prefer and which is or was your favourite DJ, and what is Your favourite Song so far?

Andy: I love the sets by Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Sasha, Taucher, Ferry Corsten… stuff like that! These are real djs and entertainers. That’s why I prefer the holland style. You have to be open minded for new creations and ideas. And the feeling behind the music is the most important thing about it, as I said.
My favourite tunes? Wow, there are so many. One track I’ll never forget is “love stimulation” by Humate (PvD remix)!!!

DYM: Did your life change after the first big Success with “Words”?

Andy: No, I still do the same and I love it. Of course, WORDS was a milestone in my career and it will be difficult to top that here in Switzerland.

DYM: If you get the chance to produce a new Track with a DJ or Producer of your choice, Who would you choose and why?

Andy: There are many: What about Talla 2xlc or Taucher? Armin or Ferry were also pretty cool. But I think that would be TOO big for me at the moment.. hehe. I would really like to make a cooperation with a dj from Holland – let me say DJ PRECISION for example.
The producer of my choice would be Torsten Stenzel!! He’s still my role model and producing great tracks.

DYM: Why, in your opinion, is the Trance Scene in Switzerland, in contrast to germany, still this big? And how big is the Techno Scene (Gabba & harder Techno) in Switzerland?

Andy: Do you think it’s really so big? I’m not sure about that anymore. Maybe the cd compilations sell a lot, yes. But for me: the REAL trance scene has shrunk in Switzerland. Maybe it’s nearly the same than in Germany! The parties are also getting worse here: always the same line-up’s, no innovative ideas anymore and too many national djs. Yes, and more or less they all play the same style.
Techno and Hardcore are still present but it’s more an underground thing. The dance music for the masses is still Trance and House…

DYM: Have you ever thought of DJing in other countries than Europe, or did you do that already?

Andy: Yeah, I would like that! But I never did so far..

DYM: When will your next Single “Diversity of Life” be out in the Vinyl Stores, and can you Tell us who will remix this track?

Andy: I don’t know at the moment because I’m looking for some new labels outside Switzerland and I hope I’ll get some interesting deals in the near future. My main projects now include Ayion and Astura as well as Andy Prinz. Hopefully they’ll be released, very soon.

DYM: We all hope the successful story of Andy Prinz will continue and you will make us even more happy with Great Productions in the following years – Good Luck on your future projects and Thank you for the Interview.

Andy: Thanks very much!

Andy Prinz Audio Links:
Andy Prinz Pro Audio - Real Media

Andy Prinz Website:
Andy Prinz Pro Audio

Big Thanx & Greetings to Andy Prinz for the Interview, Katja Feller for the Support with the Biography and Solidslide (Angelo Bott) for the contacts.

11-11-2002 by DYM for i:vibes