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Curioser and curioser! Shhhecret searcher Oliver Deutschmann is next to talk about sound, production skills, and his own studio set-up. This Berlin-based DJ, producer and live performer is all about deep enduring club music and is co-owner of Vidab Records alongside Stephen Hill, with whom he also produces as Gowentgone. Launched in 2007, Vidab focuses upon the select output of a low-key collective of like-minded friends. One of its latest releases comes from key contributor Koljah, and associated label nights are sometimes housed in such venues as Goldengate, The T Room, and Panorama Bar.

Following on from previous collaborations that span Get Lost 3, Fabric 42, Berghain 03 and Watergate 04 compilations, a couple of solo EPs, and tracks touching other imprints like Konsequenz, this month Oliver launches a new label called Falkplatz Limitiert. Kicking off with limited edition vinyl-only Quarion and Nick Chacona remixes of his 2008 release with James Blonde, 'Milanese'. So, indeed, a good time to venture Down the Production Hole to find out more with Herr Deutschmann...

First, can you tell us something about your frames of reference/what you think makes for a high quality electronic sound recording?
What's essential for me in an electronic sound recording is pressure and dynamics. There are so many tracks nowadays that have got a clean perfect amazing sound, but most of those tracks have no depth and no power. So for me, a high quality electronic sound recording combines dirtiness, roughness and deepness with pressure and dynamics.

What's your current music production set-up like?
Well, a few weeks ago I joined a studio collective also run by my friend and production partner Tomas Svensson called Audiozoo. There, my production set-up looks pretty amazing. UAD plug-ins, like Cambridge EQs, Moog filter, EMT plate reverb and so on. And on top of that a huge bunch of analogue stuff, like a M5, different Roland synths, a drum kit, a piano and so on. It's really heaven there. So over the next few weeks I am working there to understand how everything is connected and how to get the best result in my new production area. Before, I produced my tracks in my little home studio with Wave plug-ins, some Korg hardware and a cheap M-Audio soundcard. It was more basic and it also worked out pretty well.

What is/are your most essential tool/s of the trade within that set-up?
Each tool I use is kinda essential to me. In my home studio it definitely was my Korg Electribe sampler and my turntables for sampling. In the new studio I have to find out... I guess there my concentration lies more on the analogue tools that give a production the sound I wanna have. I am talkin' about the mixer, the compressors the soundcard and so on. The stuff you need to bring the right pressure and dynamic.

Can you reveal a secret about your production technique/s?
No, for sure. I never reveal secrets. No, seriously. I have been searching for THE secret now for years. And I will search another 20 years and hope I will not find it. When I find it, I'll stop producing and search for another treasure.

Do you have a general top tip for budding producers?
There is no formula. Everybody who wants to seriously begin to produce electronic music has to work hard and has to have passion for what he is doing. The essential thing is trial and error. That's the way you learn to handle the technique and get comfortable with it. You also have to go out and listen to that music in clubs, because there is the place where your productions have to fill the floor. Don't sit in your studio all the time and don't listen only to electronic music, be open to every influence.

Finally, what's your take on the future of electronic music production?
I think it will just depend on the quality of ideas. The production in the end is important, sure. There must be power and dynamic, but it never can be more important than a unique idea or an amazing arrangement. So I think the vibe and the atmosphere a track follows will always be more important than the production.