The Odyssey of the Sausage Tour Gave Andhim a Taste of America

It's over as quick as it begins. The whirlwind that was Odyssey of the Sausage: The Americas Tour 2014. With six cities in nine nights, Germany's Andhim has been everywhere from Seattle to San Francisco, Miami to Chicago, and of course, New York. After some rest and rejuvenation, Simon Haehnel and Tobias Mueller are ready to reflect.

Having been on the road for the last couple years in general, the boys have found that their brand of 'super house' works at almost every stop they've played. That notion has them stoked. But there's just something about NYC.

"Every time we play there it feels like we're coming home. Over the last two years, we have built a very strong base. But it's not only because of us or our 'Super Sausage,''" they explain. "In New York we're working with Bespoke Musik and more recently Verboten. They both put so much effort and detail into what they do. It's a true pleasure and privilege to collaborate with people who love and understand what a good party needs."

A good party needs Andhim, basically. The pair are on a hot streak that has them making a second home in North America.

"South Beach's Treehouse or San Fran and Chi-Town are also some our best-loved places to go and play. We love this country. It's hard to pick a favorite. Every city has its own charm and, just as important, its own best burger," Simon declares. "We love burgers!"

So far, the audience response for Andhim has been every bit as positive. But the relationship is still in its formative stages.

"I mean, we're still freshmen," Tobias remarks. "Our earliest shows on this continent were only two years ago, so we cannot say a lot about the scene in its entirety. But our impression of the crowd has been very positive from the first gig. We had no idea how the people would react to our sound when we came here. But we're glad to see they liked it. The audience here is very hungry and open to new music. They are always so enthusiastic. You can see the joy and curiosity in their eyes. We really like this energy."

While encountering a new place, it's advised that, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' So you have to wonder that when in America, what do two Berlin and Cologne residents do?

"Although it is the total opposite of any German attitude, we are really impressed by the 'think big' mentality here," says Simon. He gets energized at the very idea of it. "People know what they want to achieve and although a lot of them are aiming [too] high, it's still good to think like that. If you never try, you never know. This is something we can definitely learn from. You'll never step up your game if you are not willing to take risks."

This isn't to say Andhim play it on the safe side. At the moment, there are a small handful of acts in their genre of dance music who take on the same eccentric approach to branding as they do.

"It's funny how many people talk about our promotion. The truth is that we don't do it on purpose. We don't care about marketing moves. Nor do we sit together and think about the next big stunt. We just like to have a good time and do funny stuff. It is easy for us to come up with ideas like that."

While Andhim are happy their fans appreciate the jestering, musically Simon and Tobias are the total opposite. Although their tracks are positive and happy—and the feel of their videos is mostly comedic—make no mistake that they're very serious about producing.

"We put a lot of effort, detail and passion in our songs. This is also a reason we might not release as much as other artists do. We don't want to follow those yearly changing trends, let alone sound the same all the time. From 15 sketches or tunes we produce, there's only one finding its way to the public."

Of that limited selection, numbers like "Hausch", "German Summer" and "Walkmen" have helped them retain a sturdy following. The undisputed champion of the Odyssey of the Sausage tour was "Boy Boy Boy".

But quality over quantity remains a big challenge for the twosome. It gets harder for every new release they put out. One thing Andhim isn't so picky about is having a good show. When I last interviewed them during WMC in Miami, they told me that "the next gig is always the best one." Little seems to have changed in the last six months, be it Stateside or beyond.

"There was the Brown Alley in Melbourne this June. That one was really one for the books. When we hit the stage, it was more like a concert than a DJ set. Everybody did our Andhim sign and screamed like we were the Backstreet Boys. People were hanging on the ceiling, stage-diving and crowd-surfing from beginning to end." Simon is still at a loss for words. "Pure madness to experience something like this with our kind of music."

Tobias recounts another outstanding gig that took place in Ibiza this summer.

"The one we did together with Solomun for his Solomun+1 party at Pacha was insane. While the three of us were playing back-to-back-to-back, we did the love train with Sven Väth who had joined the booth. Puff Daddy came by to give us a bottle of champagne and Leonardo DiCaprio was waving from the VIP. It sounds so surreal. And indeed it was."

They tell me they could go on forever with memories like these. "We are really blessed to have the chance to do all this. It's a privilege."

Andhim continues to rise in the industry with their accessible sound. So I had to ask how it felt to be on such an incline of success. Surprisingly, Tobias doesn't see it that way. "Of course we know that we are on a good run at the moment, but we are also aware of the 'here today and gone tomorrow' nature of all this. Nowadays you don't have the time to rest on your success and you shouldn't do it anyways."

But Simon says it best: "Our motivation is and will always be to make stuff we love. Whether it is records, videos or other things we concentrate on. To be 100 percent satisfied with your own work is the best incentive ever. Why? Because you never, ever will be!"

Download Music Sounds Better With Andhim for free here.

Follow Andhim on FB // TW // SC

You can follow Christopher on Twitter and Instagram at: @theCMprogram