Stefan Moreth is the Viennese electronic music producer known as STEREOTYP - the name that has been involved alongside Viennese underground club originators Dub Club, Kruder & Dorfmeister's label G-Stone, the Crunchtime collective and Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Music Festival, explains his signature bass heavy electro roots music he nicknamed "Barefoot".
Q1. Sir Stereotyp, please tell us a bit of your roots and background. How did you begin life in music and end up being Stereotyp of today?
Stereotyp: "Ok. It all started with my dad putting a jukebox in my kidsroom when i was like 5 or so, fazinated with soul, cumbia, and latin music i then later started to play percussion, long time after that. Peter Kruder was the one that got me into the electronic thing."
Q2. You make predominantly black-sounding music with influences from dancehall, hip hop and soul. But I may be wrong so please describe your sound in a few words (more if you like) and where did you get your influences from to become such a deep sounding producer?
S: "Influences where definitely the latin rhythms from my dad's jukebox. I would say my sound is poly rhythmical and tribal sounding, the dancehall part came in after i was living in NYC for 6 years, that's where i went to a lot of dancehalls. And deep it is because i do it for the love and (the) fascination of it, not for the money:) thats why im still broke, haha."
Q3. You have worked with many reggae artistes in your past recordings. How did that come about?
S: "The artists I worked with I mostly approached (them) myself, just askin em kind of, and always havin a CDR with me that has some beats of mine on it. I have to say i was lucky to have had the honour to work with some of these amazing talents!"
Q4. Stefan, apart from making dope sounding music, I also realize that you are a pretty dope street artist! Tell us more about that. Show us some works!
S: "My streetartist thing came along since I can think, i was always drawing and painting, so the next thought was to make my hood look better, so i started spraying the houses:)"
You can check some of my work here...
  
Q5. You have been known as a producer who has locked himself in the studio and seldom tour but of late, your presence has been felt by the people in south-east asia since you have been traveling out around the region with Al-Haca, giving production workshops, playing several key gigs such as the recent Singapore's Worldwide festival and with Missy Elliot in Kuala Lumpur, hanging out with the crews out here... what is on the agenda?
S: "Well, I now enjoy travelin since the computers got faster ,, now i can work on the road as well, I have to say that I espezially like asia, the people are different and the culture is fanzinating to me, so i guess u will see me more over there, we even talked bout maybe one day soon to be moving to KL, and be based there for a while. but first i gotta finish the tritone project and my next album ,, first things first:)"
Q6. After observing the Asian scene for a few months now, what do you think of it? The Asian scene (outside Japan) is always seen more as a follower of the West, are there anything unique you discover? Honestly, any sparks of brilliance? Any words of wisdom for Asia?
S: "Well, hard to say ,, i heard in Indonesia is a big scene as well, i know singapore is got their ears on the future, with KL its still beginning, but i can tell that people are catchin on to it , the key is to get people interested in their own urban culture i think. In Japan, its already next level, DJ Baku would be one of the djs that will soon breakthrough in Europe i recon. And of course Arafah (from Kuala Lumpur), also called Arabyrd ,, she's wicked ,, thats why i'll produce stuff for her,, hell yea!"
Q7. Nice. I notice you have a tattoo that says 'Gotta Love It' on your arm. What does that means to you?
S: "'Gotta Love It' is a saying of a dear friend of mine, he got gunned down. (so) its a rememberence, also its the meaning of live for me. Seriously, u gotta love it ,that's what we here for ,, to love as much as we can, love the sky , the food , the morning , the evenin, the good and the bad experiences we have .just to find as much moments as possible to fall in love with. Sound's hippie i know, my parents were hippies maybe thats why:)"
Q8. Please tell us five favorite records in your bag and why do you like them.
S: "At the time its gotta be the nu Bugz (In The Attic) album, its just dope! Next thing I'm diggin is the Nu Kuduro Movement, like DJ Znobia or Buraka (Som Sistema), also one all-time favorite, Dundi Lion by Markus Kienzel, best tune out of vienna in a loong time.
Rye Rye's Shake It To The Ground tune , becourse she is just so fly and mad talented!
And, Zoom by The Temptations, old but a genius tune, not for the floor but genius."
Q9. So what on earth is this music concept you guys have created nicknamed Barefoot?! Give us some references and tell us more about it.
"BAREFOOT is a music genre that has the feel and sound of dub step to drum n' bass .grime,bass music,so on..,it speaks the same Language so to say , but has no specific tempo , .. its pure filth at any tempo.. Future music without tempo restrictions! References... Crunchtime, Stereotyp, Al Haca, Jahcoozi, Flo Morfin or this here."
Q10. Will you please ask yourself a question and answer it?
S: "Why am i doin all this ? Becourse i love it :)"
LISTEN to STEREOTYP's new productions on http://soundcloud.com/stereotyp
READ CRUNCHTIME's website and blog here.
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