M.A.N.D.Y.

When they’re not traveling the global DJ circuit, lifelong friends Philipp Jung and Patrick Bodmer—better known to the techno-loving cognoscenti as the world-class DJs M.A.N.D.Y.—keep themselves busy as the “heads of state” for Berlin-based Get Physical Records. In advance of their set at Spy Bar, we coaxed Jung out from behind the mixing board to talk about partying, yoga, being a hippie and why he’s in the studio in the first place.

Time Out Chicago: You and Patrick have come a long way since your childhood tennis matches in your hometown of Saarbrücken.
Philipp Jung: Nineteen eighty-five, that’s when we met. At that time, Patrick was into rock, like Led Zeppelin and stuff. I was the one into the electronic stuff. In ’89, we started going to the first acid parties. We got infected by it and started buying records. Then, in 2001, we united with Booka Shade and DJ T. to start Get Physical.

TOC: Sounds like a very organic, natural progression.
Philipp Jung: Absolutely it was. A bit hippie-like, but that’s what it was. We all knew each other for 15 years before we started the label. We’d worked for other record companies so we decided, Man, why not do it ourselves?

TOC: It’s been about 25 years since you guys started. Booka Shade has played Lollapalooza, M.A.N.D.Y. is fresh off a Fabric mix, and the label is more recognized than ever. What’s next?
Philipp Jung: We’re gearing up for Coachella, and we’ve crafted a new live performance. We’ve taken all of our releases and put them together into a very compact, solid live show. To change it up for the festival season, we wanted to present ourselves as a real act, not just DJs. For the label, it’s about us trying to survive like everyone else. We’re in a lucky position because our stuff’s selling quite well, but vinyl and CD sales have still dropped by, like, half, so it’s gonna be a lot of work to get the company ready for the next few years.

TOC: So you guys have to take off the party hats and put on the business thinking caps instead.
Philipp Jung: We have been partying a bit too much, so at the beginning of the year, the two of us did some ayurvedic yoga and took it easy to rethink everything. The plan this year is to focus in the studio. We’ve started I don’t know how many tracks but haven’t had time to finish them. So that’s what we’re doing right now. It’s all very exciting for us and hopefully for all the fans as well.

M.A.N.D.Y.’s Bodmer plays Spy Bar Thursday 16.

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