Next up on //SNCMIX is Berlin-based artist Philipp Priebe who takes us on a trippy, deep and dubby journey through his sonic apartment store.
For over a decade Philipp Priebe has been carving his own space within Berlin’s underground house scene. Romantic, hazy, and melancholic, Priebe’s music is based on imagination and adventure, romanticising things we all take for granted such as nights out or walks through shopping malls.
His latest project Movements In An Empty Department Store is just that. An imaginary soundtrack for a night alone in a department store. Inspired by the fantasy of freely frolicking through abandoned isles and vacant storefronts, his inaugural album on Stólar is a surreal symphony of dream-like pads, echoey synth leads, and striped-back pulsing beats.
His previous outing on Chris Gruber and Tim Eder’s Feuilleton imprint back in 2022 followed a similar theme. Apparent Calm Palms was Priebe’s sonic interpretation of the journey from a small village to a rave in a neighbouring city. Overall, Priebe creates a captivating melange of nostalgia and unfamiliarity in his music. It’s deep house, but not in the way we know it conventionally.
His imprint Stólar, through which he has released the majority of his catalogue, has a knack for recruiting label bosses and has seen the likes of Récit De Voyage lead Molly, and the previously mentioned Tim Eder & Fossar grace its well-curated halls of obscure, exploratory house music.
Mixing deep, melodic, and minimal house music – with traces of dub techno here and there for effect – Priebe provides a groovy, atmospheric 4/4 focused mix that carries you through alternate sonic spaces.
What was the inspiration for Movements In An Empty Department Store?
The idea was to create a soundtrack for a night alone in a department store. I had this dream as a child of how it would be to stay there for an entire night all by yourself, being able to do whatever you want. No security, no cameras, no regrets.
Now, as an adult, the focus of this night has changed as well as the music that I would connect with it. The album guides you through the night and the different departments. From entering the store where you mostly find beauty products to the delicacies, the furniture, and the perfumes. It takes you through all these different places, allowing you to do whatever you want.
Is there a genuine fascination with department stores, or was it more of a spontaneous feeling that led to this idea?
Growing up in a more rural area as a child, we often went to larger cities nearby where you found those kinds of stores. Not the fancy ones like in the major cities or capitals, but the ones that gave you a great impression as a child of what was out there. The ones that showed you all the possibilities you didn’t know from your village. So yes, it is a fascination. Not just product-wise, but also the architecture and the way they sort everything out. The materials that are used, the furniture – how everything works together. A classic department store is quite complex if you look closely. Every item and used material should make sense at the end so that you want to go back and spend time there. Even forget about time.
Soundtracking imaginary scenarios is an interesting way of conceptualising music. Is this the way you usually work?
Not all the time – mostly for long players I try this approach. In the beginning, I think of a memory, a topic, or just an image. After I’ve found one, I start building everything around it. The story, the titles, possible artworks, and what kind of music I want. Usually, there is a noise or melody in my head that I want to use and start building the track around that.
You collaborated with Jules and Valentin on the album artwork. Can you explain their roles and your relationship in more detail?
Jules is a fantastic photographer, visual artist and friend. I’ve known her for roughly 12 years. Now and since the beginning of Stólar, she has taken care of the artworks, giving the label and the releases their much-loved visual identity. For this album, we thought of something special at least. In the beginning, there was the story of the department store. The tracks were already completed, and I had an idea in mind that involved a photo she once took in Milano. We talked about it and the wonderful things she has been doing via AI.
With her unique visual language, she suggested using it for each track of the album. She took the songs and my thoughts about them and made them into 9 artworks in total. There is the main one, you find on the vinyl, but then there are eight more for each track. We know that people love her work and the visual identity of the label, so we thought it would be nice to make the artwork available in a limited number via Bandcamp.
Valentin, who is also a friend of mine and the label, he already designed the chair logo. For the album we spoke about another unique artwork of his to be used for shirts. I wanted to have this feeling of a Stólar department store where you can get nice things for yourself from us. With the record, the artwork, the shirts and some more things I think we managed to do that. It’s like a small store, the only thing missing are the actual chairs.
Why was now the right time to release this album on Stólar?
I don’t know if it was the right time. I made this decision earlier this year at a completely different point in my life. This album was supposed to be the cherry on top of my year. It still is – just differently. When I came to the decision, I felt that the only way to get my vision of everything in the right way was to do it myself.
Stólar per se is not a label for albums, that’s why this is STÓ 000 – there will be no other. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the label. After talks with close friends about my vision and the possibilities that come with this album, the idea manifested in my head. This is when we decided to release it on Stólar. In the end, this is my somehow legacy on the label. There will be much more to come, more artists, and more beautiful projects, but just nothing like this.
There’s a lot of work that goes into being a label boss. What have you learned about yourself during this time, and how has it affected you as an artist?
I learned that it takes time. More time than you think in the beginning and more time than I might be willing to give. I also learned that I am not good at giving criticism, haha! I always want the artists to be happy at the end. Gladly it always works out for me as well.
Honestly, running a label is fun, but there are also a lot of things to think of. Sometimes I forget about something. Sometimes I just don’t want to do it at all. But I learned that there are a thousand ways to get results. Ultimately you need patience, that’s something that I took to my artistry as well. I don’t need to rush things anymore. If it’s important, people will wait.
Tell us about your mix for //SNCMAG.
Since I don’t do DJ mixes often, I wanted to do one for you. I looked for tracks of artists and labels that I’m currently into, but I also used some of my all-time favourites like Portable or Smallpeople. In the end, it became a nice autumn mix with a darker approach. Something to listen to while the snow or rain starts falling.
What’s next for Philipp Priebe?
Besides the album, there are a few songs coming out on Greyscale and Far Blue in December. Also, there are remixes for my last album on Feuilleton ready to be released at the beginning of the next year. On Stólar there will be another Molly EP with remixes by Tobi Neumann and by myself. I’m also working on something for Freund der Families’ new sublabel Paradjis Boogie. This will be fun for sure as I’ll be
working with friends on some tracks, and if everything works out nicely, hopefully, there will be some live shows around Europe.
Tracklist:
Cio D’Or – Now And Then
Villete – Myst
Portable – Island Of Thought
Noc/turne – Silent Metropolis
IT-XPO – Various Attitudes
Fletcher – Blurred Lines
Octal Industries – Wildfire
Ohm & Octal Industries – Stratospheric Clouds
Randee Jean – You Got It (Arttu Remix)
Cio D’Or – XLIV for Mike
Sawlin – Keine Kunst (Markus Suckut Remix)
Traumprinz – Hey Baby
Smallpeople – Black Ice
Joe Davies – Movement In The Breach
Portable – Onward
