Tim Walche: A Bigger Sacrifice

Coming in hot via ICONYC, Tim Walche’s Sacrifice EP promises to be one of the most resounding works from the Kyiv-based producer and mix engineer, who already holds a distinct place in the catalogs of renowned brands, including ATLANT and This Never Happened.

Making the impossible to thrive in Ukraine’s current hostile landscape, the studio savant returns with an unadulterated fix of the finest electronic music, providing a colorful insight into the inner workings of a bold producer on the rise. Uncompromising, Tim Walche’s vision and design go past the traditional confines of the dancefloor in search of lasting thrills, and his sacrifice surely won’t go unnoticed.

Type < / 01 Magazine sat down with Tim Walch to dig deeper into the release of his new EP, his inspirations, workflow, collaborative process, lessons learned, and more.

Hey Tim! How are you doing? How have you been? Thank you for joining us today.

Hello guys! I appreciate being here. Thank you for having me. All good, especially with the drop of my new Sacrifice EP just around the corner.

Speaking about that, congratulations on the release of your ICONYC EP, Sacrifice. We can imagine the excitement must be high! So, how are you feeling about this one?

I have been waiting for this release for about two years, to be honest. I made about two or three versions of this song before it turned into what it is now. So yeah, I'm really excited and happy.

Speaking about the record, Sacrifice features two wildly different cuts. Was that your idea from the go, to showcase a broad palette to your sound?

I love blending different moods and tones, mixing emotions as if I have a palette in my hands, like a painter. This is the general signature of the Tim Walche project, where each of my songs and releases are not similar in style to one another or to other artists.

“Sacrifice”, as the name implies, seems to stem from a highly personal place. Is there an emotional trigger here? What was the creative collaborative process with Safe Travel like?

In a way, this is more of a question for the vocalist, because I gave him the freedom to write about his emotions, what he feels at the moment, and how he perceives this track. We have a very friendly relationship. We've never met in person, but we communicate remotely. I hope one day we'll work together in a studio on a release, but that’s something we’ll plan for later.

And on the flip side, we’ve got “Hidden Palace”, which is a very unique piece. It really feels out there. What’s the angle to “Hidden Palace”? Have you ever done something like this before?

As I mentioned earlier, each of my works must be unique. This is the philosophy of my project. I experimented with techno grooves and house synths, and I accidentally came across a really cool sample on Splice, which completed the whole composition and entered the track almost unchanged.

Since we’re in the studio…You were a mixing and mastering engineer for a really long time before you had your “official” debut, right? Had you made music during that period as well? Was there something preventing you from taking that jump?

Actually, I’ve always made music, but I was heavily involved in ghost production, gaining experience to launch my own project. I wanted to start at a high level, at the level of those tracks I worked on as a mixing engineer for my clients.

And, are you making the music that you thought you’d be making when you first started? If not, what do you think of the voice you have found as an artist?

I started making music more than 10 years ago. It was melodic techno and progressive trance, so I haven't strayed far from the genres I began with. At the same time, I produced tracks in any genre for my clients, from pop music to all kinds of electronic genres.

So, what are some of the most important lessons that you learned from that particular period, having collaborated with notable industry names?

Work every day. Never stop learning.

Finally, having gone over the recent past and the present, what’s next for Tim Walche? What new milestones are you looking forward to?

Probably the biggest achievement I’d like to reach right now is the opportunity to collaborate with one or several artists who have inspired me throughout my life.

Thank you for your time, Tim! Best of luck with Sacrifice. Catch you soon!

See you around, guys. This was a great time. Thank you.

Tim Walche’s new Sacrifice EP is out now via ICONYC. Find your copy here.

Khainz: Finding Infinite Space

Swiss DJ and producer Khainz is a major force in the contemporary techno scene, with releases on leading labels like Spectrum, Tomorrowland Music, Eleatics, Katermukke, and his own imprint Module.

​Khainz's music has been featured at prestigious festivals such as Tomorrowland, Time Warp, Sonar, Exit, and Awakenings amongst many others, and he has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the industry, making him one of the most exciting and innovative artists today.

Type < / 01 Magazine sat down with Khainz to learn more about the drop of two of his latest EPs, including his double-tracker with KhoMha for Joris Voorn’s Spectrum, his own Module Music imprint, his take on the current state of the scene, AI, and more.

Hey Simon! How are you doing? Thank you for joining us today. It’s a pleasure to have you here.

Hello Axel! I'm doing great, although this week has been a little hectic because we had a lot of preparations to make for the Friday release on Spectrum. I appreciate being here.

Sounds like exciting times ahead! First of all, congratulations on the recent release of your electric new single, “Find Me”. So, how are you feeling about this one? What has the initial reception been like?

There's usually a lot of excitement around new releases, especially ones from my own label. We recently entered the Beatport Top 100 in Melodic Techno, which is always a positive indication. The single has been perceived very well from what I’ve seen so far.

“Find Me” seems like a very suggestive name for a track. How did this one come about? There’s a very cool hook to it…What was the creative process to get there like?

I stumbled upon the vocal sample a while ago and felt it was quite catchy, so I imported it into the DAW and built a track around it. As the vocal is quite rhythmic, I decided to go with something that has more of a progressive pattern. The name I actually chose because I feel that with all the music getting released nowadays (on Spotify it surpasses some 60000 releases a day), you gotta dig deep to find the music you like.

And “Find Me” is out via your own Module Music imprint, signaling its 6th release. How would you describe this start for Module Music? What drove you to pursuing your own label?

I started Module almost two years ago (the idea was actually there since 2016) in order to encourage up-and-coming artists and release my own music. However, I might be a little too particular about the music I release…as of late, I've solely released my own songs. When I worked with other labels, I didn’t like the fact of having to wait a long period between finishing a track and its release. Sometimes you want the music to be published as long as it sounds fresh to you.

So, what can we come to expect from Module Music? Where would you like to see Module Music in 5 or 10 years time?

I would like to release songs on a somewhat more regular basis; currently, I release a single every two to three months. So I definitely want to work on that.

At some point, I also want to have a few artists that can call Module their home and also do label showcases. There is still room for improvement but I feel after every release it’s getting better and I learn a lot of things over time.

By the way, as you said, we’re also on top of the drop of your new Spectrum EP, Infinite Space. Congrats, again. What can your fans expect to find on this one?

It’s a 2 track EP in collaboration with my friend KhoMha from Colombia. The lead single has been received great support by many artist and we have quite high expectations for this release. It’s a mixture of progressive house with some elements of techno and trance.

As mentioned this one sees you linking up with KhoMha. What was that process like? What would you say are some keys to a “successful” collaboration?

I received a message from KhoMha on Instagram asking if I would be interested in working with him. It was a really easy procedure because our perspectives on music are similar. We discussed some of the projects that we had each started and decided which ones had potential. So in the end he completed one of my projects and I did one of his, and we both were very satisfied with the outcome.

Khainz & KhoMha - Infinite Space EP

By the way…how do you feel about the use of AI in music? Have you implemented any form of AI in recent productions? If so, how do you feel about the results?

AI is a great tool to help you with things in production, like plugins that use AI to detect things that can help you with mixing records, for example, or even to get inspiration from different chord progressions or vocal ideas.

In a way, it’s a bit scary to see how far it has advanced in the creation of music. With a few simple “prompts” it can write you a full song - mostly something quite generic thought. I think as AI learns from music that has been done by humans, it never will be able to do its own creative process and the “human touch” will be missing, even if its difficult to detect whats done by AI in some generic genres.

Spotify already has taken down tens of thousands AI generated tracks - as they had to pay out royalties for those. There is no tool yet that can detect all of it. So. people are still making millions with AI-generated music on different streaming services.

Since we’re on the production front…where do you usually go to for inspiration? Do you have any routines or activities that help you open up creatively?

Since I work in the studio practically every day, my inspiration primarily comes from my emotions on that particular day. I often have 5 - 10 different tracks with distinct moods I’m working on at the same time. So I always have something to continue producing when I’m in the right mood for a specific project.

Stepping outside of the studio now…How do you feel about the current state of our scene?

I believe the last several years have seen significant growth in the electronic music scene. There was a shift following COVID-19 - larger productions and, in my opinion, an increase in the number of people drawn to electronic music.

Currently, I feel that there's a lack of personality. Everything that is created and gets “big” seems to be replicated repeatedly, in my opinion. Additionally, a track might become outdated in just one month. Some individuals frequently follow trends blindly, moving on to the next “big thing” as soon as the last one fades.

Having gone over the recent past and the present, what’s next for Khainz? What new milestones are you looking forward to? Where can your fans catch you next?

I have a quite packed agenda for the next couple of months, playing at Ushuaia for Tomorrowland, ADE and an upcoming tour in Mexico…definitely shows that I’m really looking forward to. I’m also planning the next release from myself on Module for October.

We’ll keep an eye out then! Thank you for your time, Simon! Catch you soon!

Thank you for having me!

Khainz & KhoMha’s Infinite Space EP is out now via Joris Voorn’s Spectrum. Find your copy here.

You can also check out Khainz’s “Find Me“ here.