Drahthaus.
A little different every time.
Drahthaus on Elephant In The Room, swapping laptops and the freedom to keep rethinking a song on stage.
Ludwig · Hans · Simon · Vali / Drahthaus
A sketch begins on one laptop and moves to the next. A guitar riff becomes a song with a voice of its own. And when the album version is finished, the work carries on on stage. For Elephant In The Room, Drahthaus passed their ideas through four perspectives. Ludwig, Hans, Simon and Vali tell us how those ideas become shared songs, and why a concert never has to keep quite the same shape.
Drahthaus are Simon Öggl, Valentin Martins, Ludwig Ascher and Hans Zoderer. The Vienna quartet brings electronic dance music together with instruments, everyday sounds and improvisation. These answers to our five questions were received on 28 October 2026.
Four laptops, one shared song
Thinking back to making Elephant In The Room, which track began with an idea that the others then took in a completely different direction? Take us from that first spark to the result you arrived at together.
Ludwig: We started some of the songs by each making sketches independently on our own laptops and then swapping laptops. So, essentially, all of us worked on all the ideas individually as well. At a later stage, the four of us went through the songs together.
Working on “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” was particularly interesting. Hans and I started a sketch together, which took a completely different direction when Vali joined in, and became the song it eventually was when Simon joined us.
A guitar riff and a voice of your own
Hans, on “Alle gegen alle” you stepped up to the microphone yourself for the first time. What helped you take that step? Did your lyrics also change the way you built the music around them?
Hans: I have always enjoyed working with language. With “Alle gegen alle”, I wanted to write a track with a focus on vocals, and I came into the studio with a guitar riff. Naturally, that approach influences the creative process right from the start.
So it is a little different every time, and that is a good thing!
When the chorus comes back
You have said that at the rave under the Donaustadtbrücke, lots of people already knew the chorus of “Alle gegen alle” and could sing along. What was that moment like for you? Did it change the way you played or thought about the song afterwards?
Hans: The gig on the first of May really was something special. Playing outdoors in front of so many people and then getting that kind of response is exactly why, after almost twelve years as a band, we are still enjoying the whole thing. A song with vocals is naturally even more interactive to perform than instrumental music, so it is a special moment in the concert.
Outside the familiar studio
The album took shape in your Vienna studios and at BASIS in the Vinschgau. How did working together there differ from working at home? Is there an idea on the record that you associate with that place?
Simon: We spent many years planning and building our studios in Vienna together. Naturally, that means we know every square centimetre of the space and every metre of cable like the backs of our hands. That makes it possible to work very efficiently and with a clear sense of direction.
When writing a new album, though, it can make a lot of sense to break out of your everyday surroundings and look for inspiration in the new and unfamiliar. BASIS was exactly the right place for that. The combination of the building’s architecture and history, the open-minded community, where creative exchange happens all by itself, and the excellent technical facilities put us in just the right mindset. It becomes much easier to break out of familiar patterns, and experimenting and simply getting on with it take centre stage again.
A live set that keeps growing
On 30 October, you are celebrating at Flucc with Tanz oder gar nicht. What does that friendship make possible that you could not pull off as a band on your own? And what do you change in your tracks when the concert is part of a whole club night?
Vali: Our live set now leaves a lot of room for improvisation. Over the last few years, being able to respond to the audience and putting the enjoyment of performing at the centre have simply become more important to us. The tracks are often longer live, with parts and elements that only emerged in the rehearsal room or on stage after the album production was finished. So it is a little different every time, and that is a good thing!
Tanz oder gar nicht is a circle of friends that has overlapped a great deal with Drahthaus for years. The release party on 30 October is not our first project together. An event like this involves a lot of people. From the awareness team to the decorations, the light show, the door, the merch and the music, people from Toga are involved everywhere. And all of it comes from the shared idea of putting on a night that we will not forget in a hurry.
Drahthaus
Interview by email · Editorial and image art direction: SCENE:ID. georgeye · Mateusz Wiglinzki · Christian Neitzel