Tony never made a secret out of his deep dislike for most MP3-DJs. And why should he? After all, he dedicated his life to high quality sound. In 1977, the then tour-roadie founded the Company Turbosound with his partner John Newsham. In the 80s, their speakers were being used in concerts of icons like Roger Waters and Dire Straits. In 1992 they sold the company to AKG to reposition themselves. With their new Company Funktion-One, whose prototype was inaugurated in the London Millennium Dome, they were able to really quickly step a foot in the club scene.
Back in 2008 at your last interview with Groove, Funktion-One already had an excellent reputation in the scene. Nowadays your sound systems have become an international club-standard. How did you do it?
People appreciate our equipment because of its gentle sound and minimal distortion. In a club equipped with Funktion-One you won’t experience any ear pains, even after 10 hours of dancing. My advice: If your ears start itching, get out of that place. The itching doesn’t necessarily come from the volume, but mostly from the overdrive of the system caused by the compression driver. Those are very efficient but uncomfortable. That is the reason why we are working with comparatively softer sounding cone drivers.
What is the optimal way to equip a club space?
Walls and ceilings should contain the spread of the sound as well as possible. I recommend to every club owner to pad the walls or to hang curtains. If the bass means a lot to you than you should use bass traps in the room. Important is the material of the walls, they should not be made out of glass or gypsum plaster. But in a rugged factory hall that is exactly what you get unfortunately.
How does it work with the sound in Berghain then?
I’m really happy with our sound system in Berghain but I still remember my first inspection of the club: It stank of coal and the acoustic was miserable, like an echo chamber. They’ve managed to put up good isolation material which made an 80 percent improvement in regard to the sound in the room.
Which type of music do you play to test the quality of a new prototype?
At first I play “Temptation” by Diana Krall, the female voice is the most important one. When a great female singer gives her best vocal performance, it only sounds good on a high quality sound system. After I’ve checked that box I put on a song by Allan Taylor to see if the low frequency voices can be heard right.
Stream: Gat Decor – Passion
And what about club music?
I preferably like to test with Gat Decor, a house track from 1992. It is very well recorded and contains a lot of sound varieties.
Do you privately listen to recent club music?
I love funk, disco and early house music. In this genre the groove is the priority. They have chord changes and interesting turns. I find club music nowadays for the most too monotonous and sombre. I am unable to dance to it.
Isn’t it a pity, especially because your sound system is mainly being used in the club context?
I’ve learned to deal with it. My daily experience: I build a sound system with a lot of dedication and make it right – along comes a joker that plays music to which nobody can dance to. That’s just the way it is unfortunately.
Is that not a bit pessimistic?
I admit, I am an oldschool music fan. I loved the early rave time. The unity on the dancefloor reminded me of the 60s. Nowadays it’s just a bit of head-banging and starring at a smartphone. Where is the commonality on the dance floor?
Taking in account your point of view: What is your intention to step into the club scene or did it just happen?
In the 90s there was a lot of change in the live music sector. The technology became digitalized and everything was based on convenience. Take for example the XL4 mixer by Midas, for years a standard for live concerts. However, that piece is huge and heavy. Suddenly, everyone started using those handy digital mixers that I personally found terrible. This changeover went through all areas! This urge for convenience is less present in clubs because the installation of the sound system is fixed. In this regard I’m extremely grateful to the club scene for keeping a high value for good sound quality.
