When you think early pioneers of trance, a few names come to mind. If you ask anyone who knows the trance or techno scene for a list of those names, Oliver Lieb will almost certainly be on most, if not all, of the lists. His songs are timeless, they make just as much of an impact today as they did back in ‘94 when trance was at it’s peak. Who can forget his Force Legato “System” (1989), Spicelab’s “We Got Spice”, Paragliders “Oasis”, LSG “Netherworld” and “Fragile”. He’s also remixed for Human League, Yello, Banco De Gaia, Sven Vath, Sparks, Lazonby, even David Hasselhoff. Bliss finally trapped the busy genius for little rap session to see what’s new. Intergroove discontinued Spy vs. Spice recently. What is the future of that label? Is it gone for good, just going to be distributed over there, things on hold? Oliver: I stopped, because I wanted to do a more wide-ranged label, but I had to find out that this isn't possible right now. People have to find just one style on a label and this is not what I want to do right now. I know you produce under the names L.S.G., Superspy, Paragliders, and Ambush.. and have a different sound and feeling for each of those names. Please tell our readers the differences between them. What upcoming plans do you have for each identity? There's no other plans beside continuing each project. First I made the songs - then I decided to do a new project if it doesn't fit to any existing one. That's why there are a couple of them. Each for a different style. LSG for trance or hypnotic, Superspy (is) more hard-trance, Spicelab is more experimental, and so on. You have produced many records, yet none ever sound quite alike- unlike most artists who seem to find a sound and stick to it. What inspires you and keeps your ideas so fresh? I don't know. I think the fact that I always create most of the sounds and don't use any presets is a big reason. The inspirations behind all that is just my life and whatever happens. The music is a way for me of telling everything that goes on so to say. Your songs definitely tell their own individual stories. And i notice that you seem to make the endings just as complex and sometimes even more so then the rest of the song. Most artists are more concerned with the "meat" or middle of the song and sometimes the beginning, but are just content to let a Dj friendly pattern end it. Is this a conscious thing for you? What are you trying to "say" with your music? Do you make your records with a Dj in mind at all? I concentrate on the song - not on a particular part, so that's just coincidence. But depending on the project or song the arrangement is sometimes more or less DJ friendly. There won't be any compromise because the DJ's might not be able to play it. The song has to be good - then they play even the weirdest stuff... I have heard about your fanatical collecting of musical gear. What are the big guns in your arsenal at the moment? I'm not collecting. I'm buying the stuff to USE it. When I feel that I used some piece of equipment too much and I can't get any new stuff out of it any more - I just sell it and get something else. How long does a typical piece of equipment usually keep your interest? Which, if any, have you used for a long time now? (It) always depends on how complex that piece is. If it's very basic it won't last very long. More complex stuff lasts ages. I can't get sick of the Roland Juno 106 - one of my first pieces. But it also depends on the projects. A more experimental project involves more analogue machines than some more trancy ones, where I'm using more of the digital stuff like the JD-800 or JV-2080 or JD-990. Aside from music, what other interests do you have? Video Games - Nintendo 64 and Playstation and MORE music. Have you ever had to shit right before a performance REALLY bad, and had no time to run to the restroom? If so, how did that affect your performance? I personally had that happen a few times and spun rather good sets. That's funny, but if that's the case I'll ask someone to spin a bit longer and just shit. Then I go on. When i told someone i was going to be interviewing you, they wanted me to tell you that they masturbate to your music. Comments? Share your sex! I heard that some people consider it good music to make love to, but this is new! The past two years have been quite interesting, as American business has attempted to put some interest into "electronica", while a lot of the areas' police seem to be cracking down on a lot of the events. In the UK the Criminal Justice Act has made things more strict. Your country has accepted the scene fully. You knew I wasn't going to let you go without a rave scene comment right? ;) Is rave dead? What's next? In Germany it's the same in some cities. They don't like Techno, so they make a big deal out of the fucking drugs and try to give the club owners a hard time. Concerning rave, I have to say that it's not that big anymore because the trance sound has overtaken this typical rave stuff, and because this is very big right now and happening in the regular commercial clubs there's no need for the big raves like a couple of years ago. But as I could see in England, they're getting a bit tired of the trance sound and it seems like the hard club sound is coming back again in the next months; that I really like. Then there will be more raves again, because the big clubs wouldn't jump on this sound- which is good! As far as yourself, what do you see yourself doing in the next few years? And 10 years from now? I'm not planning the future too much. But I will definitely do the same thing in the next 10 years! There have been a few theories floating around.. Are you really the mastermind behind the Spice Girls? You know- the Spicelab and Spy vs. Spice names and all. NOPE! I'm afraid I'm not involved in the SPICE GIRLS bullshit! So there you have it. I would put in a discography section for Oliver’s work, but it would literally take up pages. But definitely grab anything you see on the shelves with the name O. Lieb on the credits. He has recently been causing some ruckus with his LSG:: Black Series releases, and is showing no signs of tiring.

interview by Bliss

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