Scandinavian blood runs through Johannes Auvines veins—maybe that is why he seemed so calm and laid-back when attending a night at Zurich’s Zukunft hosted by zweikommasieben back in 2013. Tin Man—the stage name of the DJ, producer and label owner—was born and raised in California, but lives in Vienna where he found his heart.
In 2004, Auvinen founded his own label Global A Records, where he has released three albums as well as numerous EPs—the Dripping Acid series—under his nom de guerre. Furthermore, his music has been published via a diverse range of Finish, Austrian and US-American labels. In addition to his solo output Auvines is a collaborating with Gunnar Haslam under the name Romans. As most of the names of his releases suggest, Auvines’ work focuses on acid house: TR-707 drum action and TB-303 basslines that push all the right buttons for the dancing crowd, releasing serotonin up until sweat starts dripping from the ceiling and acid is squeezed out of the walls. Tin Man’s music, however, is way more than that: he develops the common acid house loops in a very unique direction, giving them all the more details in their highest and lowest parts. Every now and then, he adds a gentle touch with his dry voice—like Leonard Cohen—, while basslines and claps take a back seat.
There he stands in a corner of club Zukunft, his girlfriend by his side, listening to his buddy Madteo playing records. As the night moves on, Tin Man quietly leaves the scene unnoticed. In his luggage, however, he carried a disposable camera he would handle for zweikommasieben. Some weeks after the night, the following pictures were in our mailbox:
The digital version of Wasteland is out now via Global A Records.