Shlomi Aber (@shlomiaber) returns to Chris Liebing’s CLR with the Schema EP, which just dropped on April 24, and the release fits neatly into the run he has been on across the past few years. It follows his Retrospective EP for Ben Klock’s Klockworks and earlier CLR releases like Limelight and Remote 101, two records that stayed in the Beatport Techno chart for more than two years after release while picking up support from names like Carl Cox, Alienata, and Dave Clarke.
That kind of consistency tells you a lot about where Aber sits in techno right now, because he has never relied on novelty. He has built his reputation through pressure, patience, and a very clear sense of function.
The new EP stays locked into that approach.
The title track, “Schema,” drives straight into low-end tension and tightly managed percussion, while James Ruskin steps in with a remix that pulls the record deeper into late-night territory through eerie pads, swampy bass, and a colder sense of space. Closing cut “Gasolina” takes a different route, pushing into broken-beat territory with looping rhythm, ghosted synth touches, and a more heady finish. Put together, the three tracks give the release range without losing focus, and they also show why Aber remains such a reliable presence on a label like CLR.
That makes this interview feel especially on point. Aber talks about DJing as a live exchange rather than a rigid structure, and his answers align closely with how Schema itself is built. He gets into instinct, restraint, timing, and the need to leave space inside a set so the room can actually breathe.
In other words, the same things that make this EP work are the things he still values most behind the decks, and that connection gives the whole conversation a lot of weight.
Interview With Shlomi Aber
When you’re deep into a set, do you feel more like you’re controlling the energy or riding it?
When I’m deep in a set, it’s never just one thing, You come in thinking you might shape the night, but very quickly you realize the room has its own soul.
So it becomes a dialogue, Sometimes I’m leading, sometimes I’m following.
The best moments are when you can’t tell the difference anymore, when you and the crowd are moving as one organism.
How much of your set is usually planned versus improvised, and has that balance shifted over time?
My sets are never planned, but they are somehow generally prepared. Means Im spending hours digging, organizing, thinking about direction. But if I stick to a plan too much, it dies.
Over the years I’ve learned to trust less the structure and more the feeling.
Early in my career I probably held tighter to control. Now, I leave more space for the unexpected.
Have you ever had a moment where you let go of the plan and everything clicked in a new way?
There have been many moments where I completely abandoned the plan. I remember nights where one track changed everything, suddenly you feel the room opening up in a different direction, and you just go with it. Those are the sets people remember, not the perfectly executed ones, but the ones where something real happened.
What does it take for you to trust your instincts in the booth even if it means taking a big risk?
Trusting your instincts… it comes with time, but also with letting go of ego. You have to accept that not every risk will land. But if you’re too safe, you’re not really saying anything.
The risk is part of the honesty, The crowd feels that.
Do you think trying to control every moment can actually get in the way of connection with the crowd?
trying to control every moment is the fastest way to lose connection. People can feel when something is forced.
Techno, for me, It’s hypnotic, it breathes, If you overthink it, you break that spell.
Have you ever had to pull things back because you realized you were pushing too hard or overthinking it?
There were definitely times You get excited, the energy is high, and you think “more, more.” But sometimes the right move is to pull back, create space, let people breathe. Dynamics are everything.
What helps you stay open to the moment when the pressure to “deliver” can feel so high?
Pressure comes from overthinking, what should happen next, im not that guy honestly, we only exists in the present.
The more ill anchor myself in now, the less power that pressure has, Then I can respond instead of react.
Ill also add that Preparation gives you freedom, When you know your music thoroughly, you don’t panic, You can take risks because you trust you’ll find your way out of them.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
