David Guetta & Marten Hørger discuss their new ‘Men Machine’ project: Exclusive Interview 

Opening up on their new project ‘Men Machine,’ David Guetta and Marten Hørger provide us with further insight on this EP in this exclusive interview.

Marking a fresh creative direction for both David Guetta and Marten Hørger, their collaborative project ‘Men Machine’ is set to take the dance scene by storm, with each track on the EP illustrating the endless musical capabilities they both possess. Drawing inspiration from ’90s electroclash, the project fuses electro, new wave, synth-pop, and techno, while still maintaining that modern festival energy that is so sought after. A deep dive into underground territory, we had the privilege of interviewing both Guetta and Hørger during Miami Music Week this past March, and, as expected, the duo provided further insight into ‘Men Machine,’ its creative process, working with one another, and so much more.

Great to have you both with us! Can you introduce this new project together and the vision behind it?

Marten Hørger: 

“We are David Guetta and Marten Hørger. We are very happy to be here. We started making music together quite a long time ago. We did a song called ‘The Freaks,’ which did very well for us. And about a year ago, we sat down to talk about life mainly. And from talking about life, we started talking about music as well. And then we started thinking about what we can do that is gonna make both of us very happy musically, and that is, like, a shared part of history that we both love, you know? So we came up with this new type of sound. I would call it, like, a new type of main stage sound, something that has never been there before, and is part of, like, your musical heritage and mine. It’s like a cross-section of where we both come from and what we both love, and it’s called Men Machine.” 

David Guetta:

“So we call it Men Machine because it’s a reference to Kraftwerk, and that is a big heritage, obviously, in electronic music. In what we’ve done, we referenced a lot of the electroclash moment, let’s say early-2000s-type electronic music in Germany, and also some ’80s music. It was really about working hard on finding a sound that would be completely different from anything that is happening in the underground. This is music for the DJs. We’re not trying to be pop. This is really for the culture. But we want to be different, and we felt like everyone is playing the same stuff at the moment, and it’s very formatted. We wanted to go back to the feeling and the passion we felt at the beginning of electro, but make it sound modern, and that was the challenge.”

How would you describe the direction and sound of Men Machine compared to what’s happening in electronic music right now?

David Guetta:

“The same way that, at the time with MORTEN, I wanted to do a side project that would be something completely different. We both had the feeling that we wanted to play a certain type of music that doesn’t exist, so let’s create it. It’s the same way here. It’s not music that is meant to be in the charts or on the radio. This is music for the culture, for the scene, and it’s the music that we want to play today as DJs. We started with one record, two records. We saw that the reaction was amazing, and we decided to do an EP. We actually already have 25 records done. Once we got into it and saw that the reaction was so crazy on the dance floor, we realized that so many DJs were asking, ‘Can you send me the record?’ Okay, something is happening. We felt like the electro influence was very big in the underground world, but that DJs were still a bit scared to go all the way. So we were like, ‘Okay, let’s not do half. Let’s go full on.’ And that’s why we did this whole project called Men Machine.”

Was there a specific moment in the studio where you both realized this was something different?

Marten Hørger:

“There were a few of them.”

David Guetta: 

“I think it’s more when we played.”

Marten Hørger:

“Yes. It was the live moments that defined it, definitely.” 

David Guetta:

“It’s like, at the beginning, we were just making one record. We didn’t know we were going to make a whole project, but the reaction was so crazy, we were like, ‘Oh wow, we’re really onto something.’ And also because we want to be different, but we don’t want to be arrogant or not listen to other DJs. We listen to other DJs, and we could see that a lot of DJs were having a bit of electro influences. And I remember I was in Tulum and we were talking with Solomun. So imagine my world and Solomun’s, very different, you know? And at another time also with Anyma, and we were talking with Solomun, and he’s like, ‘Where do you see the music going now?’ I said, ‘Electro.’ And he looks at me like, ‘Wow, me too.’ But imagine having David Guetta and Solomun having the same feeling. It’s kind of crazy. So I told him that, and he’s like, Yes, yes. So, we’re like it’s just in the air. So if we don’t do it, someone else is going to do it, but not as good.”

How did each of you push the other creatively into new territory during this project?

Marten Hørger:

“So I have a shared Dropbox with David, and you have no idea how crazy it is to work with somebody who has this work ethic, so every time I open the laptop, every five minutes there’s an update going in, and I see him working on stuff, you know?”

David Guetta:

“I’m also curious because I always want to learn, and I think, if you agree with me, what’s amazing with music is you never stop learning. So I would look at some of his techniques to steal them for myself.”

Marten Hørger:

“If I knew that he was looking at it, I knew I had to make fresh stuff. You know, if he opens up the project and sees that I used a preset, my producer honor is gone. So I’m like, man, I’ve got to do something really nice here, you know?”

David Guetta:

“So we can testify that we didn’t use any Splice presets on this project. It was really about trying to sound completely different, even in terms of sound design. We were going for an analog feel, but doing it in the box, because we don’t think you need hardware to sound analog, it’s just a technique. So if you study how those synths were working and how it was done at the time. And by the way, I discovered someone even nerdier than me, really studying, like, ‘Okay, in ’85 they were using this synth that way, and the reason it was sounding like that is…’ you know? So there’s a way to kind of break the magic of analog even with Ableton or using Serum. Doesn’t matter. But it’s just about using it the right way.”

Marten Hørger:

“It was like a science project. Like, a little science project.

David Guetta:

“Yeah, it’s a little bit nerdy.” 

Marten Hørger: 

“Oh yeah, it’s not just a little bit nerdy. We went full-on nerd mode, you know? It was great, yeah, it was a lot of fun.” 

These records are built for peak-time, what do you each want people to feel the first time they hear them in a club?

David Guetta:

“I think not, not all the EP is meant for peak time.”

Marten Hørger:

“But the whole EP paints a broader picture of a feeling, you know?”

David Guetta:

“Yeah. If we think, like, the one with Vitalik, the Engage, is definitely a raging rave record, peak time. There’s nothing bigger than that. Yeah, but you have The Future that I played in many clubs. I played every set in Ibiza, and it felt really right. You have some pop, kind of ’80s pop kind of songs. You have a new version of Kongo Rock that is absolutely sick. Yeah, I would call this peak time, let’s be honest. But it’s just covering a certain moment of our culture.”

Marten Hørger:

“You know, as a producer, you constantly try to recreate the feeling that you had when you first got socialized with a certain sound. You know, when you first, like when you were 16 years old, and you had one too many drinks, and you were in the club, and you heard the most amazing record ever, you know? That feeling is ingrained in every music producer, and we’re constantly chasing to recreate that feeling. And I think that project and the EP is trying to recreate that feeling that we had when we got socialized with that kind of stuff, you know?”

David Guetta: 

“You know, it’s funny because if you hear drug addicts talking about doing drugs, hard drugs, they will tell you they always chase the feeling they had the first time, and I think we are music addicts. We just chase the emotion we felt at that time and try to recreate it in the world of today.”

Marten Hørger:

“Yes! That was deep. I love it. Oh shit.” 

Remarkable to say the very least, the highly anticipated ‘Men Machine’ EP is out now, so be sure to check it out in all its glory below, with streaming also available through all major platforms here. Don’t forget to also leave your own thoughts in the comments section. Enjoy!