Henrik Schwarz has long been seen as a different kind of electronic artist, not quite fitting the mould of what you would expect from someone who has dedicated the majority of their career to house and techno. With his recent Schwarzmann project however, he has pushed the boundaries more than ever before, arguably redefining what it means for an electronic artist to perform ‘live’. Schwarz has torn up the rulebook in terms of what can be expected from a live act, creating something that is arguably more creative than any traditional band and vastly more versatile than the most eclectic DJ set. Back in the day – and I’m talking a yawning chasm of 20 or more years ago if your memory can cope with that – producers didn’t just make records in order to DJ. Nowadays its part and parcel of the electronic music business that to make the leap from obsessive hobby into career, you’ll almost certainly need to DJ, and while some undoubtedly still produce for genuine love of the music, for a healthy proportion studio time simply allows them to do what they’re always wanted to do at clubs and festivals around the world. When Henrik Schwarz started out on his career, quite the opposite was true. Schwarz never saw being a DJ as the goal, more a necessary step: it was the music that interested him. The longer Schwarz’s career goes on, the more it seems he is veering towards experimentation; pushing back boundaries that for some are seen as a comforting box to sit neatly within.