Public Possession, A Munich Machine

THE STANDARD: Tell us a bit more about the Munich disco scene. Would you say it started with Giorgio Moroder in the 70's or do you consider its roots go before that?

PUBLIC POSSESSION: I'm not sure when the Munich disco scene started. Actually we were not even born by the time Moroder ruled the city. But it must have been good times back then. A lot happened since though, and musically the Munich scene is super interesting right now with Labels like Ilian Tape, Paradise Now and SVS representing the 'new generation,' and Gomma, Permanent Vacation, Compost still doing their thing. It's a good mixture of styles.

Public Possession Resident Advisor's label of the month Mix

What kind of place do you think Public Possession has in that great Munich history?

We don’t think we have a mission, nor do we feel that we have to prove anything. We just try to put out stuff that hopefully some people find enjoyable. So far the response has been really nice. In terms of us running a record shop, we just felt that the music we like was not being represented sufficiently by the existing Munich record stores, so we decided to open our own.

You told Resident Advisor you "want to build a whole Public Possession world"...What did you mean by that?

This just means that we try not to limit our output to just being a record label or a shop. We both have a lot of different interests and we find it enjoyable to let them collide within the project that is Public Possession. This is, of course, music, but it can also be graphics, written words, food, drinks and more. We don’t know what is yet to come.

Keinemusik Radio Show by Marvin and Valentino (Public Possession)

I remember once reading that Disco Balls were invented in Munich, but actually it seems that a Boston ballroom had one in 1897... Do you have a special adoration for disco balls in general? What do they inspire for you as a symbol?

A former club where we held a weekly residency a couple of years back had this one guy who came in every night. The ceiling was really low. And he would use the Disco ball as a punch ball. Not in an aggressive way - it was just how he expressed joy in these moments. The club probably bought 30 Disco balls in those two years because of him. But he was a regular so it was accepted.

Friday, October 17, Le Bain presents Public Possession (Munich) and Evan Michael. Doors 10pm. The Standard, High Line.

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