– Tell us about you… Who is Tim Hüfken?
I am a wildly energetic guy who who likes martial arts (like boxing, tai chi and kung fu), crazy dancing, making jokes, spirituality and philosophy and various styles of music. Did I mention pretty ladies? I have a not so standard view on life and I can be quite stubborn. In a good way of course 😉
– When you started in music?
I started playing piano when I was seven. I took lessons for about 11 years. But those included my teenage years so I didn’t always work hard. And I played around with drum computers like the DR-550 and did some early house music sequencing on my Commodore Amiga.
– Why did you take the path of being a DJ and producer?
I just liked to be an entertainer ever since I was very very young. I used to invent crazy shows and dances and stuff at friends weddings when nobody would expect it and I really can’t remember when I started DJing. It was there ever since I can remember I guess.
Producing music kinda was the next logical step, simply because of my interest in music. Back then I was really intrigued by the upcoming New Beat and Acid house. Remember listening to that stuff and loving it.
– Did you know about Jean Michel Jarre before your collaboration together?
Yes of course. His name was in my synthesizer presets! I mean hello? 😉
– When and how JMJ contacted with you in order to collaborate on his Téo & Téa album?
I was a free-lance specialist for Roland Dance gear back then and I was contacted by my manager at Roland that Jean Michel Jarre had some questions and that I had to call him. Excited of course I did. We had a nice conversation in which I was able to answer most of his questions and I proposed to visit him in his studio to help him some more. And he liked it. My Roland manager finally agreed to send me over and that’s how it started. Then in his Paris studio I spent almost a full day with Jean-Michel and his assistant. And as I recorded some example tracks in the groovebox Jean-Michel quickly became charmed by my programming and producing skills. That same day he wanted me to collaborate on his then upcoming album, which by that time had no name yet.
– In the Téo & Téa album you are credited as “artistic collaborator”: What was exactly this role of artistic collaborator? Did you co-composed some tracks with Jarre, maybe?
Yes I did. This artistic collaborator term is simply a description of my role as a producer. I was given raw materials made by Claude or just a few lines played by Jarre (like in Teo and Tea) and I had to spice it up and create a track out of it. The entire album basically was Jean-Michel, Claude and me. Although I never really personally worked with Claude apart from the gigs we did, I did work in the studio alongside Jean-MIchel. We would actually work in tracks together like Vintage, Touch to remember and some more.
– Is not a secret that most of the tracks of this album are heavily based on presets of the Roland MC808… Did you created this presets heared in the album, was JMJ compositions or a collaboration between you and JMJ?
Well, I have confidentiality in the contract I signed that’s why I never mingled in the discussion on the forums and youtube but it’s very easy to see which presets I created and which I didn’t. It’s in the MC-808 manual.
I didn’t create those particular presets to directly answer your question.
– Téo & Téa was a radical departure from the traditional “Jarre sound”. What was your first impressions when Jarre showed you the first demos of Téo & Téa?
Yes absolutely. I think Jean Michel wanted to try something different. Maybe he wanted to be more of a DJ-type star or something. I remember him playing in a Paris club as a DJ somewhere around that period.
And about the demos. I was only given the main theme melody as an mp-3. Played on a synth live by Jean-Michel. He told me to create a dance track from it. I guess he wanted to know what I was capable of. And he gave me about 3 songs as a reference or guidline. One of it was Pakito. I think living on video. I was quite surprised because I didn’t really like that song too much. Too flat and commercial. So I decided to forget about the reference tracks and create something that would be more of my view on Jean-Michel Jarre. Stubborn remember? 🙂
– About the recording of the album, how many time JMJ and you spent recording the album?? Have you got any bad or good memories about the recording sessions in the JMJ Studio?
I worked on Teo and Tea at home in Belgium first for maybe a month or so. Lots of conversations on the phone back then. After that I went to Paris to finish Teo and Tea and work on some other tracks like Vintage and some more. I have great memories of the two weeks approximately that I spent there. Japanese Miso soups, having steak at the hotel where I stayed. Long walks in the middle of the night with Jean-Michel. Talking about life. Showing him Borat movies and having fun. I was quite close with him in that time. It was quite an intense schedule however. We used to work sometimes till 04:30 am in the studio. Then I rode the bike he had given me back to the hotel. He knew I am Dutch so he gave me a bike 🙂 I would sleep till noon. Have breakfast. Studio by 1 pm. Then work some. Have diner at nine pm. Then back to the studio till 3 to 4 pm. This went on for almost two weeks. But it was a great experience of course.
– Did you recorded some tracks that didn`t appeared in the final album?
Yes I did. My first Teo and Tea demo was totally different from the final version. And I made a “vintage” version that was supposed to be the single but was then considered to be too dancy so we started over from scratch. And of course I made a couple of remixes of Teo and Tea but I was too late with those to be included on the single. One was performed in the Antwerp showcase however.
– Some years after the release of Téo & Téa said in the Trax Magazine that “Téo & Téa was a mistake” in his career. What is your opinion about this album?
Well. What can I say. I was quite surprised to learn that. If it had been more succesful I don’t think he would have said that. Maybe. Maybe not. However… the album revenged itself: I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Vintage was played twice in Monaco at the wedding of Prince Albert. A track in which I played a serious role. And the track was played as an encore and everywhere he plays it people go wild.. And that both Vintage and Teo and Tea were included into the last World Tour due to popular demand. It’s all over youtube. Mistake? I don’t know. I know that I did the best I could back then and I tried to make it sound better and a lot more ‘Jarre’ than a Pakito track (One of the reference demos) which would have been an even greater shock to the fans. I think my input saved the fans for worse to be quite honest.
– About the Téo & Téa Showcase helded in Amvers, what was your role there? When we see the video of the event it seems that there are a lot of playback and no real live music in it… Is this like it or did you all played live music?
No comment due to contract of confidentiality. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.
– Please tell us about your memories about this showcase, rehearsals, etc…
I liked the salmon with asparagus just before the show. No seriously it was quite an event for me. And it has been broadcast worldwide on HD TV or something. I can’t go in more details really.
– Some months after you played with Jarre again in Cannes. Please, tell us about this concert.
That was a great experience for me. I was picked up from the airport by a guy with a sign saying: ‘Artist Jean-Michel Jarre’ and driven to the venue in a big Q7. We did some rehearsing and that too was a great experience. There were many ladies in lingery dancing behind me so I was on top of the world (laughing)
I was doing drums and some percussion during the concert. Was really great to see Teo and Tea performed in front of a big audience.
– In summer 2007 JMJ were going to perform in the Powerstock Festival in Salerno, Italy, but the event was cancelled. Did you called by Jarre to perform in this event? If so, what was going to be your role on that concert? Did you going to play only Téo & Téa tracks or tracks from previous Jarre albums? How where the rehearsals for this event?
I was asked to perform there indeed. I was going to do drums, percussion and some DJ stuff there. From that moment on I was probably going to be included as a full band member. So not just for Teo and Tea tracks. I was told that I was ‘in the Jarre family’ now. However it just stayed with these two shows untill now and Jean-Michel went on with his classics tour.
– Have you any favorite Jarre album or song?
Yeah probably. I like the one with the synth sounds 🙂 Can’t think of anything particular right now though. I like how many tracks have this big epic feeling to it.
– Why you collaboration with Jarre stopped? Would you like to collaborate with him in the future?
Well. It never officially stopped. I was toldby Jean-Michel that we would be doing stuff in the future and that he strongly believed in my skills as an artist or musician and that he was going to mentor me. However in the years after that he has been quite busy touring with his old work and I haven’t heard from him too much so we’ll see what happens. And maybe it’s time to be my own Jean-Michel Jarre 😉 I mean – after all – electronic music needs pioneers and not just recycling old tracks, with all due respect. But of course he knows how to find me and I will probably say yes to any new offers. There isn’t any conflict just to make that clear.
– What was for you to work with a living legend like Jean Michel Jarre?
It was amazing and it really showed me a lot of the music industry. It was really great to work with Jean-Michel and Patrick and Claude etc. I learned a lot and well: It’s on my resumé! I wasn’t always very mature or professional at the time maybe and some years younger. 🙂 And I can tell you. He’s actually a nice and friendly person. He has treated me both personally and business-wise very well. Just to emphasize that.
– What are your present and future musical projects?
I am working on TiMM UNiTED my artist project. It will be about three emotions: Ascension, Festive and Resist (or Mad as Hell). Three totally different emotions expressed in records and different DJ sets. So I will be creating music that is not in a certain style but in a certain emotion. And I produce and DJ all of my work in the 432 hertz frequency. More relaxing and actually a healing frequency. Try it out! Quite unique I think. And the Jarre Fans will probably like Ascension. check timmunited.com (now under construction) or djtimm.nl, The latter being more for the business and private events scene. And I have some goodies coming for you Jean-Michel Jarre fans. I am having my first Teo and Tea demo mastered (the first thing I ever sent to Jean-Michel after he talked about the project) to be released on Youtube and an alternate version of Vintage (The one that was supposed to be the single) And I will be releasing the ‘unreleased remixes’ of Teo and Tea on my youtube channel . So you guys add me on facebook to stay tuned!
– Have you ever performed in Spain?
No I haven’t. So set me up for some gigs and I will come over and rock you guys!
Thank you, Tim, for your time, and best regards from Spain!
No problem. Sorry to keep you waiting and hope to meet you guys some day!
Kindest regards, Namasté! (Bows deep with hands placed together)