Tiefdruck.
The sound of a night together.
Chris from Tiefdruck on their first night with Ash Roy, finding the feel of a dancefloor and the connections Salzburg needs.
In conversation with Chris · Tiefdruck
Just under 70 guests, a booked DJ and a wish to hear a different sound in Salzburg: that is where Chris begins the Tiefdruck story. The first night grew into a shared way of working, with carefully chosen sound systems, changing lighting and a musical sensibility that extends beyond any individual set.
Since 2018, Salzburg collective Tiefdruck has organised nights bringing together minimal, techno and psytech. This conversation traces the beginnings at MARK, the years at Rockhouse Bar, the podcast series and collaborations with other crews. Chris answers on behalf of the team. Five questions by email, lightly edited and translated from German.
A night of their own.
Tiefdruck began in 2018. What kind of night did you want to experience in Salzburg that you eventually organised yourselves? Which decision from that time still shapes you?
There really were relatively few events in Salzburg at the time. When we happened to meet while DJing at Soda Club, it quickly became clear that we shared a similar mindset. Our musical interests were a little more varied at first, but psy and minimal techno brought us straight to this thought: this is new here; there has not been anything quite like it.
Through a festival, Tanja and Gorgo had made contact with Ash Roy, a DJ with Indian roots who lives in Berlin. Finding a venue was a little difficult, but eventually MARK in Salzburg-Sam became an option. We rented it and booked Ash Roy.
It was not an unqualified success, but the feedback from the nearly 70 guests was clear: more of this! That was the start of a journey driven by passion. Through a collective we were friends with, we ended up at Rockhouse Bar in early 2019. It remained our home base until the end of 2025.
A night finds its own course.
Tiefdruck brings together minimal, techno and psytech. How do you decide who plays when, and how the sets fit together?
Over the years, we have developed a fairly fine sense of how to make a Tiefdruck night something special. Any one of us can play the warm-up just as well as the closing set. That makes it easy to let a night develop organically and to experiment.
We usually add a guest main act whom we choose together. This brings in fresh influences, and the choice is never simply about attracting a bigger audience. People often tell us that it does not really matter who is playing: that particular Tiefdruck vibe is always there.
We also place enormous importance on sound. We rarely used the house system as it stood. Most of the time, we took things further with our external partners and systems from Lambda Labs or Funktion-One. Changing, understated lighting and the decor are always part of what makes us Tiefdruck, too.
Salzburg needs every one of us.
When a mix starts a connection.
How do you find the people you invite to make a mix for your podcast series? Do those connections lead to things beyond SoundCloud?
At first, the mixes mainly came from us, the acts we had booked and DJs we were friends with. We knew one another through producing music or meeting at events. These days, we receive a lot of requests. Our SoundCloud channel is known practically around the globe.
The scene around this particular sound is not enormous, but it is very close-knit. People know and respect one another. We are very selective about who fits what we do. The podcasts keep bringing about great encounters: people exchange ideas and invite us to contribute guest mixes in return.
Moving between two floors.
At the Enter-The-Lab carnival, you hosted the techno floor alongside P LAB’s drum-and-bass programme. What makes this collaboration work for you?
We have been friends with the P LAB crew for many years. Markus was also the person who connected us with Rockhouse Bar back then. So we are always happy to get involved, usually hosting the basement with our sound.
It creates this moving wave through ARGE: people often do not want to miss either area. It is fun to watch.
Salzburg needs every one of us.
Which collaborations in Salzburg have helped you as a crew? And what would you like to make happen with others next?
Salzburg Club Commission has supported us as organisers and cultural workers in many ways. We are enormously grateful for that. It is especially important in a smaller city like Salzburg. The abolition of the entertainment tax alone was a major recent milestone.
We have always tried to connect with other collectives and put projects together. Quite often, that has worked well, whether it was Tiefdruck birthday parties with a second floor or a collective Christmas party.
We are always dreaming of shared events, especially outdoors, although Salzburg’s weather can make that a risk. But we remain open to exchanges in every direction. Salzburg needs every one of us.
Tiefdruck
Interview by email · Editorial and image art direction: SCENE:ID. Felix Weinberger · SCENE:ID art direction · Tiefdruck (bereitgestellt) · SCENE:ID art direction