Quiet, reserved, soft-spoken and armed with a good command of English (which is uncharacteristically good for a German), Rainer Truby sits comfortably in the Hotel lobby bar, taking a rest after his long, rigorous schedule in Japan. The DanceandSoul crew was fortunate enough to catch an interview with this prolific DJ, who has charmed dance floors all over the globe with his musical virtuosity and immaculate selections.

Huge thanks for doing this interview, Rainer. So a brief description of how it started musically for you?

Well, it all begun basically in the late 80s, when I was really digging the sounds of hip-hop, u know, De-La-Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and stuff like that. And it started to change when I was in this flea market. I stumbled upon this record store that was playing some old jazz and funk. I checked it out and it was the Black Byrds in the background. I was amazed at the similarities between that and the hip-hop stuff I was into. It was quite a moment of revelation for me because I realised that was how hip-hop was configured, the whole concept of sampology. Yeah, I sort of never look back ever since then. I started collecting all sorts of jazz and funky bits as long as the record sleeve had an afro-man image! (laughs)

That whole journey brought me into other musical territories u know, like rare groove. It was around 1990 that I started to dj. That was in Stuggart. When I moved to Freiburg, I had the chance to meet up with Bernd Kunz, who showed me the technical bits involved in production. That led to the A Forest Mighty Black project and incidentally, the Compost label was also conceived.

When I travelled to England and hooked up with Gilles, I was exposed to the whole range of old 60s Bossa sound and was instantly hooked. I think it was the trip to England that really gave me the platform for ideas and putting together compilations like the Glucklich series. It was fun too when Gilles and I did Talkin' Jazz 3, which focused on the MPS fusion stuff. In 1997, the Fauna Flash guys approached me for a joint collaboration. They wanted to move into other areas as well because they started out as Drum and Bass outfit so that kinda gave birth to Truby Trio.

Was that when the ‘Root Down’ sessions came about as well?

Ah well, I guess everything sort of came together. I think I started ‘Root Down’ in 96 and it has seen the likes of quality acts, like Gillles himself, the Kyoto Jazz Massive, Kruder and Dorfmeister and many more. I think it was a pivotal stage in the dissemination of the fusion sounds that subsequently inspired a number of artists.

Listening to most of your compilations, the Brazilian sound is definitely one of the major sources of inspiration. What do u think it is that makes this sound so unique and vibrant?

Lots. The rhythm, the percussive elements, the melody, the harmony. It possesses so much sentimentality, u know, sad but uplifting at the same time. I really fell in love with Edu Lobo because to me, his songs capture the essence of human spirit. And the whole spectrum of Brazilian jazz covers Batucada, Samba, Bossa and so much more. There are numerous varying rhythms that one can listen to.

It’s interesting that u mentioned that. Because a lot of today's sound is termed ‘Nu-Jazz’ but honestly (to us at least), it really is just fusion, reworked with different medium and ideas. What’s your take on that?

Yes. It can be quite a misleading term. It’s actually just Acid Jazz. In the mid 90s, Acid jazz was getting hugely unpopular. It sounded the same over and over again and people were getting into different sounds like Drum and Bass, 2 step, deep house and so on. Genres became intertwined slowly through time, u know, the layering of ideas and I think it has become a melting pot where different genres all mix together. I mean you are hearing house, Detroit techno, drum ands bass, funk, Latin, soul, jazz all at once. So yes. It’s fusion, although I can understand the need for the media side of things to categorise music.

So where do u think the direction of music is heading given the fact all avenues seem to have been explored?

Well, it’s hard to say. I guess for any new directions to evolve, it really depends on the sensibilities of the musicians themselves. That is, how much they understand and how much they are willing to push it. But of course, new collaborations will lead to new combinations, fresh hybrids. It is a never-ending process and hopefully, more promising developments will come.