“I love weird DJ sets”: Boman getting psyched for back-to-back
Interview with Axel Boman ahead of Red Bull Back2Beyond
Axel is ready for things to get wonderfully wierd...
© Axel Kalmaru
... and absolutley epic!
© Axel Kalmaru
Hi Axel! What’s your hope for the evening?
I hope the audience feels the same excitement we do. This is a new concept, new pairings, something unexpected. If you love surprises, this is a dream event. Experiencing something fresh and new.
Why did you invite the other three DJs?
Together it feels like a perfect storm: Jimmy’s sexy flair, Jennifer’s cutting-edge cool, DJ Tennis as the powerhouse, and me as the quirky Swedish guy throwing curveballs.
I invited Jimmy Jules because we’ve known each other for years and never played together. He’s a wonderful person, a very skilled and musical DJ, and great energy matters to me.
DJ Tennis is a machine. I’ve seen him turn any party around. He’s a juggernaut and a killer DJ.
Jennifer Loveless excites me the most out of curiosity. I love her music, her style, her vibe, and I want to get to know her better. What better way than playing back-to-back?
More from Red Bull Back2Beyond:
Why is it called back-to-back?
I think “back-to-back” comes from the vinyl DJ days. You had the records behind you and the audience in front. If two DJs played together, one would be mixing while the other had their back turned, looking for the next record.
These days it should probably be called side-to-side, since DJs don’t turn around anymore, they scroll through USBs or hard drives. So yeah, side-to-side is coming, guys.
How does playing back-to-back compare to a normal set?
What you get in a back-to-back is surprise. As a DJ, you should let the audience take you places you didn’t expect, but when another DJ does that too, it creates a call-and-response.
I play something, the other DJ responds, and vice versa. That can create magical moments, and sometimes catastrophic ones. But that tension is really interesting. You don’t know what’s going to happen.
Red Bull Back2Beyond: a global concept that's touched down across the globe
© Baptiste Fauchille / Red Bull Content Pool
What’s the difference between a good back-to-back and a bad one?
Yeah. In the best case, you enter a flow state where you’re aligned musically, emotionally, even spiritually. You feed off each other. A good party usually climbs step by step: more intensity, more weirdness, more psychedelia, depending on the crowd.
You help each other take that next step.
In a bad back-to-back, it can feel like you’re pulling in different directions. It’s harder to communicate, because that’s really what you’re doing - improvising, like jazz musicians. But as an audience, you can usually tell if it’s working.
Personally, I love weird DJ sets. I love curveballs and left turns. So I don’t know if back-to-backs really go bad — maybe they just go weird, and that’s fine.
Do you prepare for a back-to-back?
I usually prepare a few different openers, depending on what the night needs and who I’m playing with. That way I can align with the direction we’re going. I also bring a broader palette than in my solo sets, a more versatile toolbox.
But preparation is tricky. It’s more important to be in the moment. If you prepare too much and the other DJ doesn’t align with it, you’re screwed. So I’d say: don’t prepare too much, but have an interesting toolbox.
Is there a moment when you feel: “We’re locked in now”?
Definitely. The person I’ve played most back-to-backs with is John Talabot. We’ve had sets where we’re so locked in that one loop stays going across three tracks, while other songs are mixed in.
It becomes this patchwork of loops and tracks that plays itself. There’s no talking at all, just total wordless communication. It’s almost telepathic. I’m just there to make sure it doesn’t derail. It’s like dancing. Hard to explain, but it’s beautiful.
There’s no talking at all, just total wordless communication. It’s almost telepathic. I’m just there to make sure it doesn’t derail. It’s like dancing.
"What you get in a back-to-back is surprise"
© Press photo / TS Agency
You’ll be opening the night and closing it: what’s the difference?
The opening set should set the mood. It shouldn’t be the hardest or loudest set. You’re building anticipation, slowly adding energy. If each DJ does that, the night naturally climbs toward a crescendo, often two-thirds in.
Sometimes the last hour is total mayhem and no one wants to go home. Then you just go full throttle. Both are great.