Blind Spot is celebrating its 3rd birthday with 3 shows, over 3 weeks with 3 legends. Luke Slater, Speedy J and Chris Liebing will be joining to Dr Hoffmann and mark the occasion.
Take a second and think back to 3 years ago. How much time has passed and how many things have gone on in your life? A lot of stuff right!
Well, whilst all that time’s been passing, one man’s dream has been becoming reality. Norbert Papp, aka Dr Hoffmann, has steadily been building his elitist radio show the ‘Blind Spot’ into a weekly Techno sensation that’s sweeping the globe…and it’s time to say Happy 3rd Birthday Blind Spot!
To celebrate, the Doc has a real treat in store, 3 shows, over 3 weeks with 3 of the biggest names there is!!
Syndicated worldwide on over 60 FM and internet stations, on virtually every continent, the Blind Spot has both hemispheres covered and continues to move from strength to strength every passing day. It has become one of the most popular radio shows on the planet for Techno…
It wasn’t always an international show: originally aired only on Preston FM, it has now grown into the techno monolith that it is today with millions of listeners worldwide via the airwaves and downloads. To say that there’s plenty to come would be an understatement.
Here’s the bit you’ve been waiting for, the third birthday guests: we have the legendary Chris Liebing, Speedy J and Luke Slater. I am sure they need no introduction. They will be joining forces with the Doc and celebrating with us over the three glorious weeks of the highest calibre techno.
Throw those three guests exclusive interviews and their exclusive showcases into the pot with three very special mixes, one played each week by Dr Hoffmann of his favorite tracks of the last three years, and you’ve got possibly the greatest ever Techno shows to be aired.
The Blind Spot will continue to bring new and exciting acts to the show, although topping this birthday celebration will certainly be difficult!
Millions of fanatic techno listeners worldwide, in excess of 4000 tracks played and contributions from over 100 world class Djs and producers. 99 shows completed and behind it all is one person - The man who inhabits the Blind Spot, Dr Hoffmann.
Dr Hoffmann’s Blind Spot Radio Show is celebrating it’s 100th episode on the 7th May 2011 between 8 and 10pm on 103.2 Preston FM in the UK. Over the following week the “Blind spot virus” will spread around the world via other FM and online radio stations where the show is retransmitted week after week.
The Blind Spot never fails to deliver. Through listener number’s alone it ranks up there with radio shows
hosted by techno scene super stars such as Dave Clarke’s White Noise, Adam Beyer’s Drumcode and Chris Liebing’s CLR podcast.
We caught up with Dr Hoffmann to talk about the celebration
We spoke last time just before Blind Spot’s 2nd birthday in October. How did it go and what has happened to Blind Spot since then?
Blind Spot’s 2nd birthday went incredible well. We celebrated it with five guests over five weeks. The Advent, Marco Bailey, Mark Broom, Joseph Capriati and Audio Injection joined us for the shows. They needed no introduction and I am sure their appearance’s truly marked the occasion.
Since then we have showcased a few more legends of the Techno scene such as Glenn Wilson, Gayle San, Adam Jay, Bas Mooy, while we haven’t forgotten the new generation coming through either, like Markus Suckut, Daniela Stickroth, m0h, Kyle Geiger, Hans Bouffmyhre to name but a few.
If you missed any shows in the past 2.5 years including the birthday shows just go online and visit our podcast page at http://podcast.blindspotshow.co.uk or get the episodes from the iTunes Store.
What was the most difficult situation that you have had to solve during your 100 shows?
In December of 2010 just before the show with Logotech went on air, someone broke into our house and stole both of our Macbooks. With that I lost all my tracks, my productions and lots of data. All I had left were the Blind Spot jingles because fortunately they had been saved in the station’s system. I was really down but the show had to go on. Finally It went well apart from the fact I had lost everything. It was a really difficult time for us, I had to cancel a few gigs and rebuild my music collection. But after all that I am really proud because I did not cancel any radio shows due to the robbery.
Let’s talk about the jubilee 100th Blind Spot Show, How will you make it special?
The show is going to be on air on the 7th May 2011 between 8 and 10pm GMT on 103.2 Preston FM, and it will be a bit of a first. You can listen to it on FM103.2 in Preston and it’s surrounding area’s or as a live stream on www.preston.fm . During the following week the show will be aired around the globe on more than 46 FM and online radio stations where the Blind Spot usually broadcasts on a weekly basis. It’s a bit of a first because the tables are being turned on me for this very special show as German producer Heron will be the presenter, a man who needs no introduction to techno lovers. He is a fantastic producer and Dj. And I will be his guest on the show and I’ll be playing a 2 hour set along with giving an interview, all adding up to make it a very special Blind Spot that will blow the listeners away.
Increasing the excitement too, on the 18th May we will be releasing Delko’s Lost Bullet EP featuring Heron and Mars Bill & Dr Hoffmann remixes on my imprint Blind Spot Music label.
How is your label ‘Blind Spot Music’ going? what has the feedback been like?
Its going extremely well, honestly I did not expect it. We are just on our the 3rd release but the tracks have been played and charted by big names such as Adam Beyer, Cari Lekebusch, Ben Sims, Joseph Capriati, Dustin Zahn, and Sasha Carassi…
More big things are in the pipeline because we have lined up some awesome releases from my favourite producers: Kalden Bess aka m0h, Drumcell, Deh-Noizer, Logotech etc
How do you select tracks for your label? Do you follow trends or do you try to be a step ahead of everybody else and release experimental stuff? Do you have any secret criteria?
No, there aren’t any secrets behind my decisions. Its super simple - I only release tracks that I really like and play. I would like Blind Spot Music to reflect my style as its my imprint, although it’s a bit tough sometimes because I love so many different subgenres of techno, everything from Dub Techno to harder sounds.
If you look at the artists on my label then you can see they do have something in common, they are all well known producers. Virgil Enzinger, Tom Hades, Audio Injection, Mark Morris, Raíz, D. Carbone, Brian Burger for example.
What do you think have been some of the key changes in the past half year in the techno scene and in the radio world?
Unfortunately one thing that hasn’t changed, is the illegal file sharing and downloading, and I don’t think it’s going to change. There are always new regulations and the Digital Laws but they don’t have any effect on people’s behavior. Free music and free movies seem natural for the new generation and it’s nearly impossible to change that. I am sure they have no idea about how much damage they cause to the film and music industry.
Loads of new radio shows and podcast series have appeared in the past few months. It’s great for the listeners because they have more programmes to choose from but it’s sometimes hard for the presenters and show producers. It has become really tough to organize guests because they receive uncountable interview and guest mix requests. Its might sound a bit strange coming from my mouth because my company the Syndicast (www.syndicast.co.uk), produces and runs so many radio shows and podcast series from various artists!
The global techno scene is going from strength to strength, getting really strong. There are great parties across the globe, great releases, huge talent and rising stars. As always the music is the most important thing and we should never complain about it.
What have you got coming up in the near future?
Blind Spot will be returning to normal; I will be showcasing more big names week to week. I have got Oscar Mulero, Damon Wild, Virgil Enzinger, Sven Wittekind and Perc in the coming weeks. I have some fantastic releases coming out on my label as I have already mentioned. Also a few of my tracks and remixes will be released on Blind Spot Music as well as on some other great labels. So keep your eyes and ears peeled.
Dr Hoffmann pres Blind Spot with guest Cari Lekebusch (Hybrid - Sweden) on 103.2 Preston FM - 12th December 2009 8-10pm
Includes Interview with Cari Lekebusch as well as guest mixes by him and Dr Hoffmann
Dr Hoffmann exclusively talks to Dutch techno pioneer Speedy J (Electric Deluxe) at Blind Spot Radio Show about his past, present and future as well as his record label and digital technologies. Includes exclusive mixes by Speedy J and Dr Hoffmann
