profile - lover 303 - interview

p r o f i l e

Originally based in the Rock n Roll Scene for many years Constanze Maly aka Lava303 fell in love with psychedelic trance music in 1996 and started to create her own live sets after her former psychedelic rock project Lava Enterprise split up. Nowadays Lava303 is one of the most accepted female techno artists in the german underground, especially by her very unique style, mixing swingin´groovy basslines to deep haunting melodies are the typical characteristics for the sound of Lava303. But nevertheless hars driven guitarstaccatos and stuttering rocksamples are the atmospheric effects catapulting the floors into kaleidoscopian jungle fever.Those sets definetly shouldn´t be missed as lava303 is a valueable garant to set all dancefloors on fire...!"

K.R.I.S

Lava 303 is a live- act, playing "Acid Rock n Roll" and "Garagen Trance".
It´s based on a live-jamsessions with two MC303, MPC 2000, Mixer, noisy effects and live electro-guitar
It´s groovy dancemusic between 128 and 135 BPM and developed and created for fans and lovers of psychedelic Trance, Techno and Rockmusic.

Lava 303 is Constanze Maly, born in 1971, has been living in Frankfurt/Main in Germany for ten years.
In the beginning ninties she moved to Frankfurt to play guitar in the allgirlband The Slags. The Slags have been a well known girl-rockband in Germany, as they recorded some albums, released on Sonymusic/Dragnet and Subway Records and played over 300 Gigs in Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republik, and France. After the split in ´98 she started to work on her own music and developed her own way and style of playing live electronic music for the party-dancefloor. She has been working together with various fire performers/shows of the playground collective, and she has done jamprojects with drummers such as Quintus Kannegiesser from Smiles in Boxes/Mushroom, Mani Neumeier from Guru Guru, on the drums, and shows/gigs with female singers/artists such as Ulrike Helmholz or Sunchild.
Also she has started to produce some tracks and songs in the studios of Dragonmaster, Spirit Zone, and the Krupps, which are released on different labels.
She is doing the Playground Association and is involved in the undergroundlabel Psylofant Records, Frankfurt´s first label for Psytrance, Acid Rockn Roll and Politics. She is is involved in Crossing Bridges Collective and Projects in Kosova by doing music, organisation and fondraising.
Lava303 is member in the "e-vibes", the "girlgroup" of the mushroom magazine and she is in the "female pressure", a network of female musicians and DJs in the electronic music scene. With the (60 years old!) drummer Mani Neumeier of Gurur Guru she has started the project Lover 303 to make a crossover between psychedelic trance and rock music and connect three generations of psychedelic music fans.

This year Conni finished her studies of (music) education, trance and youthculture at university Frankfurt.. Now she is working for the playground association and Crossing Bridges doing organization, music and fireshows!

Releases

The Slags:
1992 Tunnelsessions (Sony Music)
1992 So What ! (Sony Music-Dragnet/SubwayRecords)
1994 Alive, unchained and out of money (Subway Records)
1995 Tune in, turn on, drop out (Subway Records)

Lava 303 and Playground
Free Acid Crew (stickers)
1999 Hey Venus CD Single, limited edition! (Playground Productions/ Distribution )
2000 Be your own Live-act Playground Compilation 1 (Playground Production/ Distribution)
2001 Holidays in Kosov@ Playground Compilation 2 (PsylofantRec/Cosmophilia)
2001 Muschipower Vinyl Maxi (Psylofant Records/KomistA )

Lover 303
2000 Das erste Mal zum letzten Mal, limited edition! (Playground Production/Distribution)
2001 Modern Fairytales (Fuenfundvierzig/Captain Trip/Indigo)
2001 60th birthday of Mani Neumeier Compilation (fuenfundvierzig /Captain Trip)

other releases...
Really Good guitarsounds, (tripped experiences/ Substanz T)
Tempelfest on Psychedelic Experience Vol 3 (SPV)
various tracks released on a promotion EP for (KomistA/Cybertribe Magazine)

Live-Gigs
During the last three years Conni played
-a lot of squat, underground and outdoor psytrance parties all over Germany,
-clubs as Faust/Clocksee in Hannover, Pfefferberg in Berlin, Space Place, Batschkapp ect/Frankfurt, Lagerhaus/Mannheim, Logo/Koblenz, ZecheBonifatius /Bochum, Epplehaus Tübingen
-and festivals like the Fusion, Cybertribe Festival, Finkenbach, and Burg Herzberg.
-outside of Germany in Clubs and parties in Greece, Mazedonia, Croatia, Kosova, Scottland, Goa

More info on newest releases and playground projects:
www.theplayground.de
www.psylofant.de
www.muschipower.org

Booking contact: psylofant music and arts department stefan@psylofant.de or conni303@yahoo.com

FÜNFUNDVIERZIG
SCHMIEDETWIETE 6
23898 LABENZ, GERMANY
Tel: 49-4536-619
Fax: 49-4536-8799
45@fuenfundvierzig.com
www.fuenfundvierzig.com

l o v e r   3 0 3

MODERN FAIRYTALES

Lover 303 are: CONNI MALY (ex-Slags, Lava 303) and MANI NEUMEIER (GURU GURU, TIERE DER NACHT). They describe their music as Acid Rock 'n' Roll & Voodoo Trance and mention Techno alive which is exactly the point.
The tracks are basically electronic-styled - equally CONNY MALY's fast-paced beats including spoken samples and effects could run a Acid Party by itself, but in addition again and again psychedelic guitars push to the foreground and MANI NEUMEIER really does a hell of a firework on the drums and percussion.
To conclude, LOVER 303 do electronic dance music featuring electric guitars and drums, linking scenes and generations, forcing equally young and old to dance, from KRAUTrockers to GOAfreaks.
MODERN FAIRYTALES is their first release, produced in the KRUPPS Studio.

i n t e r v i e w

This interview out of an article about female musicians and DJanes in Psytrance scene published in mushroom magazine/ May2001

How do you learn your music- and / or DJ- skills? Have you ever visited a DJing-school, was it good?
In my family many people do music,but klassik,also some volksmusik(original!)and music in the church. I visited a music-kindergarten, where I fought with the guys to play the big drums,later Ive learnt,flute, and I had to play 7 years of piano. I think what really is damaging to force somebody to make music. Music has lots of power,like sex,and its not good to be forced to do it. We also did a lot of jamsessions at home with my cousins. And also I had my first girlgroup at home with my sister and my Cousin:playing drums on mother kitchen equipment,singing,and dancing around. Later I went to Frankfurt to played guitar in a band called The Slags.Now I am my own band.It was like a punkrock
-experience,and it has grown over the years.Now I also found the time to produce some stuff...

Did learn to play a instrument by getting lessons,...as a child?
Lessons by my father so there was more controll,than in a music school. Later I ve learnt e-guitar in a school. I had a good teacher. And I have to admit the most things Ive been learning,when I was in love with my teachers,it was not that there was actually something happening,but it was good for inspiration and for motivation. Also to have aboyfriend and make music with him ,you can learn alot.If there is also a big business going on, it can affect the relationship.BUt for harmony and inspiration you can have great times in this kind of relationships.

Did you get lessons in music theorie?
Yes in school,terrible,I always had the worst marks in music.Also the sister of my uncle was our musicteacher in gymnasium Nobody should know about this. Ive met her again when my grandmother died and she asked me what I m doing.I told her Im doing music with handicaped children. She looked at me like oh you poor one that you are forced to play with so un-talented children.

I had a band when I was still in school and later Ive been playing in a professional all- girlrockband.As we have been recording 4 CDs and also have been touring a lot.We had to rehearse a lot,but it was always boring for me.Its not creative. I think sometimes it is important but I love improvisation, for me this means freedom of mind and spirit of a party or concert.I m learning by doing.And the best teachers are the dancers on the dancefloor.

Do you organize yourself, or do you have a manager?
In former times I was just a stupid artist in a rock show, but with emancipation and finding out my own live-act,I m also learning how to manage myself. Its a hard process. You are not the princess any more you have to make your hands dirty. I made the experience that its very important to have controll over the money and management.Because otherwise you get dependent on other people like a marionette. I also start to understand the system of music bussiness better. A friend started to make a booking agency so ,yesterday Ive played my first gig and he checked out the money. Its easier, but you dont know exactly how the organizer feels about what he is giving. But so I dont sell myself too cheap anymore.

Do you life from your released music, or by playing / DJing?
Half Half, I m still studiing and get some money from my parents.Also ive been working at University.But last year there was no time any more ,too much music,and the managment of the playground kosovotour. Im now thinking about what I want to do when I finishing university. Its hard to do something if your parents and family has a problem with it.But now it slowly seems to change as I found a cool musicpadagogik professor who supported me to write about psytrance. Its my Diplomarbeit.

Are you satisfied?
The thing is that I could be satisfied, but there are always new dreams and ideas growing. So sometimes its lots of stress, I m working hard on music and find ways to make and release music in an independent way.

Do you have kid's? (How do you organise your beeing as a mother AND Dj / Musician?)
And I could not imagine myself as mother. Not now. I want to be independent. We got alots of babies in the playground during the last year. I feel more like a father or big crazy sister, that tries to earn money and a place to stay together for the big family. But I like to be with people who have children, I feel at home somehow. You always get something warm to eat.
Gaby: Noch nicht.....moechte erst Mich im Leben ausfüllen!

Do you think there will be a time you feel to old or "get enough"
to be a DJane or musician?
I could imagine to make ambient live act when I m 80 years old. If you really love music you should be open minded.You can do it for raving society, but also with kids, or old or handcaped people. You get a lot...

Female sound is something that really can go into the legs - can we find out why?
Hypothese: Girls play to connect, boys play to present themselves.
Gewagte Hypothese: Mädchen spielen um sich zu verbinden. Jungs, um sich darzustellen.

Why do you do it?
Fräuleinwunder,to connect people...

You want to be a star?
Use your illusions and be your own live-act!

You want to show your mummy that you are a big girl?
My mummy and me this is a very long story....

Do you still have a lover?
I m married to my guitar and music.

Does your lover cares about it?
I had a dream....about a temple with great lovers in every human colour, intelligent, nice guys, who can keep secrets for themselves...

Do you have a female lover?
Maybe its the better solution! But I m too shy...

Do you have stage fright? This moments before your Gig, when you can't believe in your own skills and your music?
Of course, I always think, how could I bring myself to this situation again...Most important is, to have fun, also if there is chaos...so what, this belongs to life. And dont forget: 1. its no business like show-business. 2. You make music because of the fun and thepower,thats inside, you dont do music to be afraid..

What are you doing when your knees feels like plum-pudding, your fingers moves in a tremor?
Working, talking, dancing,drinking....praying..to the godess for good flow and concentration,and to the dancers for support and connection, to get something going on all together...

Do you take drugs to get the right feeling?
Some Sekt or Wine is fine.

How do you feel when you leave the stage after playing?
Weird, kaput, but happy, later :full of energy

The evibes-group is running...
Watch out!