Federico Aubele returns to a smoky realm of acoustic guitar licks, heavy rhythms and sinister dub atmospherics for his fourth studio album, Berlin 13. The record pulls from the personal transformation Aubele experienced in his time living in Berlin and the vibe of a city strongly associated with electronic music. To set the tone for this album, Aubele revisited his deepest musical influences. From the backing beats to the musique-concrete samples, and the nylon string guitar layered with his baritone voice, the result is a blending of the elements in his unique style. Recently, the musician took time to chat with Bestnewbands.com about the new album, the writing process and his goals for 2011.

Daniel Kohn: Congrats on the new album! Now that it’s done, how would you say the recording process went?

Federico Aubele: It was a slow and intense process. At the beginning it looked like it was going to be a completely different album, but as I started working on it I started to re connect with a lot of influences, mostly electronic music, and the direction started to turn.

 

 

DK: Do you think it was easier to write and record this time around?

FA: It always is and it isn’t. It’s hard to explain. Sometimes it flows very well and then it stops for a while, and then it flows again. Each record is a complete process.

 

DK: How did your time in Berlin shape this album and your writing?

FA: The time in Berlin was tough. At the same time it was great. It changed the way I thought about a lot of things. Made me stronger in a way. In a way, I went through the same type of experience, on a different scale, when I was doing the record.

 

DK; What were some of the new wrinkles you added to this album?

FA: The main result is a more consistent sound. It’s more comprehensive of all of my influences. It reaches much deeper then the previous ones, and it opens the door to keep digging in that direction for the next album. So I guess you can say that the final result is a more mature sound.

More mature = more wrinkles.

 

DK: Are you excited for your upcoming U.S. Tour? Is there any venue in particular you are looking forward to playing?

FA: I’m very excited. I will incorporate a lot of electronic sounds that I didn’t had in my live show before and the band is sounding super solid. I love playing The Rock N  Roll Hotel in DC, The Triple Door in Seattle, The Independent in SF, Troubadour in L.A and L’Astral in Montreal.

 

DK: What are your goals for the rest of 2011?

FA: Tour as much as I can, record a remix EP with reworked versions of tracks on the album, start writing songs for the next one (I already started). Not worrying too much about things. Keep trying to brew the prefect coffee for the perfect Latte.

 

Berlin 13 is out everywhere now on ESL Music and you can check his website for the aforementioned tour dates.