Duos out of Germany have staying power which is special in this scene

Stoneface & Terminal have been producing and DJing for more than a decade, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Comprising of members Matthia and Henry, the duo have been bringing some of the hardest hitting tech trance tracks, and cultivating one of the strongest and most consistent set of releases under FSOE Clandestine. But they are not limiting themselves, with aliases, they are able to maintain both their friendship, creativity and keep pushing the boundaries for the trance scene. Not trying to be pigeon holed in any one lane, Stoneface & Terminal will continue to find their way.

Welcome back to Los Angeles, we are definitely excited to hear you play today at Dreamstate Timeless. You two are definitely a timeless act. What are some of your favorite tracks to play for these classic sets?

Hi, thanks a lot! It’s great to be back to play here! It’s a great opportunity for us to play some of our own classics like Blueprint, Don’t Give a Fuck as well as originals from Jam & Spoon and LSG.

Your new album Altered Floors came out this year, congratulations! Since your first album Wide Range in 2007, how would you say your growth in music has been? What was the biggest accomplishment with this album?

Thanks a lot! We always followed our instincts and interests in music. We never stuck with one style or BPM or the same scheme all the time. Music has so many facets, like life has. Production-wise, we still are working like we have been working in 2007. Maybe we are working a bit faster and more effective now after all these years of producing and DJing. Sound-wise, we still love to try new things, experiment with sounds all the time.

The biggest accomplishment with Altered Floors is that we even put a bigger musical range on it. There’s music that one easily can use as a soundtrack in a movie, techno tracks, melodic trance tracks and even songs you could play on the radio station in your town as we’ve been working with amazing singers and did a lot of songwriting.

You also have an alias Gundamea, which is progressive and a definite change of pace from Stoneface & Terminal usual hard hitting sounds. How did Gundamea come about?  Does the alias allow you more freedom to be creative with your productions? Why or why not?

We came up with the idea of Gundamea when we found out more and more that we really want to release deeper stuff which is not bound to any BPM or arrangement rules. When we produced some very melodic, yet techno-ish ideas, we thought that we have to do another project as it wouldn’t fit in the S&T range of single releases.

It allows us to be more creative in another direction. We can do tracks that are easily 9 minutes, let the sounds breath and go with the flow. Our latest release Sweet Disposition with Andy Ruddy was a great experience as we got in contact with a totally different kind of listeners and crowds. Very interesting!

You two are doing an amazing job with FSOE Clandestine, one of my top labels to go for great music. How much time do you spend between personal promo and label promo? How do you stay organized and manage your time?

First of all, we really listen to all the demos we get and yes, sometimes it needs time as we give feedback to almost all demos. The good thing is that we are in a good working network, which means for Clandestine, that the label promo is very good organized. This gives us more time for our own promo.

You recently made a Facebook post with the caption, pioneers point of view. You two are definitely pioneers. What are your thoughts about being a pioneer in the trance scene? Do you feel it’s a duty to uphold a certain quality or sound?

Well, we know that we are different which is a good feeling. Most of the younger producers and DJs try to be like xx or yy. We always say ‘find your own thing’, pick the best of everything and create something new.

We know that not every act can have a different style but to be honest, music-wise we often cannot distinguish which track is from which act. Most of them follow the same scheme, using the same sounds etc, unfortunately.

We are here, doing our thing and are happy if there are people who understand our philosophy.

Many trance fans love the classic sound, and many want a new sound. How do you balance the demand for both classic tracks that fans love and more current tracks? Do you have a preference? Why or why not?

Yes, classics are very in demand at the moment. We think it has something to do with the quality of the melodies and emotions that have been created in the 90’s and 2000’s plus people who experienced that time love to hear it again at festivals and clubs.

We grew up in that time and know how to create such an emotion combined with the sound of today, which is louder, bassier and more crisp. Of course, we love to go back in time sometimes and listen to tracks that have been created in the 90’s by using all the analog equipment and stuff.

But at the end, we love to create new things, experience new sounds. So we also are open for the new sound as long as it’s not just a copy / paste production.

If you could only live by one motto, what would it be?

Henry: What you think you become.

Matthia: Die another day