Electronicbeats // Music

Slices Club Specials

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:49:39 GMT

Clubbing in the 21st century has become an international affair drawing people from across Europe and beyond together for a party.

Recently Slices introduced a couple of great places. So for those of you who missed an issue or want to look it up again on the internet we'll wrap them all up in this special online feature. In the next weeks we'll add little by little one club special after another.

Just watch the clips or subscribe to our podcast and download them to your iPod. It's all yours... See you on the dancefloor!

If you want to embed this feature in your blog, MySpace or website: click here to get the code.
To order the original and full DVDs log on to www.eb-slices.net.

The Electronic Beats Team

Myspace of the Month July 2008

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:16:36 GMT

We like the Internet and all the cool people, places and things you can find on it. It has never been easier to show your ideas and have a platform for your creations whether that’s underground Techno, street war games or just random stuff.

Here for your enjoyment are a selection of clips that have been making the Electronic Beats team push that deadline back just a little bit more. If you want to suggest a profile for next month's list, please send the link to online@electronicbeats.net . Contribution that make the list wil be rewarded!

Myspace of the Month July 2008:

Myspace of the Month June 2008

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:12:59 GMT

Myspace of the Month June 2008:

ANJA SCHNEIDER

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:48:47 GMT

Anja Schneider is the driving force behind the very successful, Berlin based, mobilee record label. Anja and the label have a huge following around the world and her music takes her on many travels. Here she tells us how one special journey (a road trip across Mexico), proved very inspiring, as directly after this she went into the studio to record her new artist album ‘Beyond The Valley’.

One of the most interesting journeys I ever went on was travelling 5000km through Mexico in my little Renault Clio – it was a total adventure. It was my idea to go – a friend told me at an after-party in Mexico that he would go from Monterey to Los Angeles and that it would take four hours, but he meant the flight, not a drive – however I thought he meant a drive and I thought “that’s not so long”, and I got inspired to drive through Mexico.

So from the beginning we started off on the wrong foot. I was with Diego – my Mexican boyfriend - and he was saying “No no, its much longer than you think”, but I didn’t really listen! We missed two flights because Mexico has totally different roads than I was used to – and I thought I would drive through it in two weeks but it took at least three; I basically estimated the distances completely wrong. We started in Monterey and ended in Baja California, a little island – we also missed the connecting ferry twice – in some ways it was a disaster but it was all so much fun!

It’s so colourful in the Mexican towns and by the coast, but then also driving through the desert was such a crazy experience with all the dust and open spaces.

On this journey I became a big fan of the Mexican Mariachi bands. They are very traditional and historically important in Mexico and yet you still hear them everywhere – the young and old both love them. Usually a mariachi consists of at least three violins, two trumpets, one Mexican guitar, one vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar) and one guitarrón (a small-scaled acoustic bass). They dress in silver studded charro outfits with wide-brimmed hats. The original Mariachi were Mexican street musicians or buskers and they usually sing about drug deals and gangsters and this sort of thing.

As this was exactly the time that I was preparing for my album, I was really inspired and I went to the Mexican flea markets to look for old instruments that the Mariachi bands use. I managed to buy some but when I took them into the studio in Berlin my producer told me I was totally crazy and that he couldn’t use them. They were a bit too old and useless, but still I think I took some of the flavour into my music. The songs on my album Cascabel (which is a Spanish word for a snake) and Safari, were especially inspired by Mexico.
During the whole trip I felt like I was in a road movie or maybe a Tarantino film – and the Mexican Mariachi music was our film soundtrack!

INTERVIEW BY LIZ MCGRATH | FOTO BY BENNO KRAEHAHN

THE COLLECTOR’S GUIDE

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:07:27 GMT

CHROMATICS: RUNNING UP THAT HILL (Night Drive, 2007)
Many would be intimidated by the excellence of Kate Bush, but not Chromatics from Italians Do It Better label, whose cover of ‘Running up that Hill’ achieves its own heights inversely by way of their very individual emotional restraint. The album is Night Drive and its narcotic, distant, pop-synth melancholia is the very essence of a night ride’s lulling exhaustion.

BRIAN ENO: AMBIENT 1 (Music for Airports, 1978)
In a perfect world, streets are free from dog shit, your real-estate agent cares about your water heater, and airports are these queueless centres where transportation blends with relaxation and we all float along picturesque walkways to the ambient sounds of Brian Eno.

B-52s: PLANET CLAIRE (The B-52s’, 1979)
This debut album is a must-have for long car journeys. Whenever the enthusiasm levels drop below satisfactory, just insert and play. Caution: may cause speeding, erratic steering or inadvertent dancing by the side of the road.

TELEX: EN ROUTE VERS DE NOUVELLES AVENTURES (Neurovision, 1980)
Few acts can boast a musical journey incorporating both Eurovision (they finished last in 1980) to being remixed by Detroit greats like Carl Craig. Many of their tracks (think Belgian Kraftwerk with more vocoders and humour) are also about trips and transport (Tour de France, Moscow Discow, Twist à Saint Tropez), and the quirkily optimistic ‘En route vers de nouvelles aventures’ will ensure a happy voyage wherever you may be going.

MOTOR CITY DRUM ENSEMBLE: RAW CUTS, 12” (MCDE, 2008)
The artist name and the soulful sounds will lead your mind straight to Detroit, but Motor City Drum Ensemble is the moniker of Danilo Plessow from Germany’s own motor city, Stuttgart. Also responsible for the jazzy house tracks of Inverse Cinematics, this musically precocious 22-year old was producing his own music at age 12. Look out for releases on Four Roses recordings and the debut album Passin’ Through out soon on Pulver Records..

KRAFTWERK: AUTOBAHN (Autobahn, 1974)
Nothing better captures the monotony of a long trip than Kraftwerk’s conceptual classic. The 22-minute title track (reduced to around three minutes for single release) perfectly transmits, in their inimitable style, the exhilaration of the fast lane, tuning of the car radio and repetitiveness of white stripes and green borders streaking past the windows.

BRONSKI BEAT: SMALLTOWN BOY (The Age of Consent, 1984)
Suffering the persecution of a young gay man in a small town is maybe something we can’t all relate to, but this timeless song about realising your individuality and following your own path nonetheless belongs on the soundtrack to practically all our lives.

FLYING LOTUS: ROBERTA FLACK FEAT. DOLLY (Los Angeles, 2008)
For journeys of the introspective sort present your ears to Flying Lotus and soar along the dreamy soundscapes of electronic experimentation. Debut album Los Angeles out now on Warp records.

THE CRUEL SEA: BETTER GET A LAYER (Three Legged Dog, 1995)
Providing the ultimate backdrop for roadtrips, it’s fitting that Australia should also supply the appropriate sounds. The Cruel Sea’s unique droning surf sound and the rough and raw vocals of Tex Perkins will give you this wonderfully lawless and liberated feeling you want on the road; y’know, like a fugitive on the run from the troubles of life, love, the law.

A GUY CALLED GERALD: PROTO ACID – THE BERLIN SESSIONS (Laboratory Instinct, 2006)
A tenuous link to transport but stay with me: A quality trip requires quality acid, right? So, you want to pick your producer with care. Gerald Simpson has been breaking ground and influencing the industry for 20 years. His sound is at once psychedelic, soulful and – like himself – exudes effortless rhythm and pleasurable vibes. Just open wide and trust in the man.

TEXT BY VIKTORIA PELLES | ILLUSTRATIONS BY LEONA LIST

DANCE, DESERT PEOPLE!

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:35:36 GMT

Southern California’s desert has over the last nine years become a true mecca for music lovers and hard-boiled ravers. In fact on the last weekend of April, Palm Springs turns to just another pit stop in the Coachella Valley, and all attention is on Indio, where one of America’s biggest festivals takes place – the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Up to 60,000 people overcome misanthropical heat to see big names such as Prince, Portishead or Roger Waters, and more. For three days that boiler is indeed ‘the coolest place on earth’. We hit the road for a one-off experience.

Thursday night. We cram our rental car – a mid-size SUV – with water, vodka and dried fruit, which I know sounds lame, but we are going to the desert! We’re also equipped with a Californian camping book and a stack of information on Coachella. So we’re prepared and we have a destination: Indio, California, 200km east from Los Angeles in the Coachella Valley. Our motto: ‘our car, our home’ – don’t give a shit about a nice hotel, motel or camping site (apart from the fact that even the seediest place is thrice as expensive as usual). We hit the road! Ready and anxious to see Kraftwerk followed by Portishead followed by Prince, no matter how odd this line-up might sound for a Saturday night, but who’s complaining? We get to see the originators of techno, the light in darkest darkness incarnated as Beth Gibbons, and the funkiest MF on the planet. We couldn’t wait to dance in the desert!

It was past midnight when we arrived at the festival site. Out of curiosity we checked out the spot, even though the only light we saw were huge spotlights that beamed up towards the night-sky. So we’d arrived, but still needed a place to rest. This is not Europe, where you pull over your car wherever you want and just crash. This is the United States and they have rules! We chose the Salton Sea Recreational Area, another 33km south, but refused to pay the camping site fee for the three days (we’re keeping our tactics a closely guarded secret!).

Friday noon, and the heat is on! Especially when you have to wait in one of the many male queues, while the first three are reserved for ladies with nobody waiting longer than three minutes. Finally I’m inside though, now just wondering how on earth I’m gonna survive the boiling heat. Nevertheless, first impression of Coachella - the most stylish festival I’ve ever been to! The crowd is mixed indeed, but the young and beautiful are heavily represented. As opposed to other festivals few show off their musical affiliation with band t-shirts, but a good amount of young new ravers show off their style and – super essential – their hotter than hot sunglasses.

We, however, are on a mission, and had to figure out who we most like to see amongst the 130 acts split up on two outdoor stages and three tents, aptly named according to their size: Gobi, Mojave and Sahara. So, we checked out the Ed Banger posse, saw The Breeders, left early to get an idea of Cut Copy, rushed to the next tent for Goldfrapp, all the while taking shots and not articulating what we both were actually thinking - where did the fun go? That was the moment, having adjusted to the heat, the flow, and the fact that there’s too much to see to capture it all, when it was decided to just fully experience the main acts on Saturday, the Berlin acts on Sunday and leave all else to lust and luck.

We then discovered the VIP area, and with this one of the secrets to Coachella: the music seems not to be the main raison d’être, but more like an enhancement to the experience of a party on a polo field surrounded by palm trees in the desert. Finally we were having fun with the people including The Raconteurs and Jack White, who declared rather than asked: “What’s up desert people?!” They rocked it without a doubt. The Verve reunited followed with Richard Ashcroft enjoying himself under the desert night sky, rewarding us with ‘Bittersweet Symphony’. Our final and relevant song for the day.

Saturday afternoon and we’re already drunk in the traffic jam for the parking lot. It was insanely hot and we’re wondering if we we’re taking our job seriously! We came right on time to Erol Alkan banging the crowd in an already packed Sahara tent at five o’clock with maximal techno. Got a glimpse of Hot Chip who performed like rock stars and proved that today’s hottest up-and-coming acts are ready for the main stage. Back in the VIP area, we prepared for the glorious three headliners of the day.

Saturday evening and Kraftwerk (to whom all electronica fanatics are somehow deeply indebted) initiated the peak time with ‘Man-Machine’, and followed up with all their classics, enhanced by amazing visuals; the only literal art performance on stage. Portishead left us speechless. Emotionally intense for the canned desert people, but Beth Gibbons forces you to your knees. Portishead are brilliant, their music is written for the desert, and their latest album resumes the stunning journey on a more psychedelic and restless path. Then it was time to come down and prepare for Prince, which is the other strange but great thing about Coachella. You get jerked from one trip to another. In a blink of an eye and you are abducted by Prince – yes! The funkiest MF in the world. Not knowing what to expect (the glory of our trip!) but hoping for some of the ultimate classics, Prince played it all. We caught ‘1999’, ‘Controversy’ and the sickest guitar solo of the festival. But we couldn’t take anymore. The desert had defeated us. Energy gone, already too far back in the crowd and hardly any way to get back in, we slowly start moving towards the parking lot, believing we were fully satisfied and blissful. Here comes the only bummer of the weekend. We couldn’t find our car! Hammered and frustrated, the frustration grew with every new song Prince played. Yes, we were able to identify some of the songs, like a cover version of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ and ‘Purple Rain’ and we didn’t even want to think of what else we missed. The man played a full two hours of which we probably spent more than half in the fucking parking lot! Saturday was intense and painful.

Sunday morning. Our second day in chic Palm Springs for breakfast. Invigorated and semi-motivated, we head back to the final round of our desert experience. The day with the lowest attendance was quite relaxing. We stopped caring at all and hung out in the Heineken beer garden next to the Sahara tent, drinking Jägermeister shots and raving with Booka Shade and Modeselektor. The latter tore the place down! Apocalyptic and anthemic, culminating in a champagne shower while covering Scooter’s ‘Hyper Hyper’! Sahara remained crammed with Simian Mobile Disco, Chromeo and Justice, who have a massive following out here. To be honest with you, we didn’t see them. But watch YouTube and see for yourself their huge lighted cross flashing while every-one sings along to ‘We Are Your Friends’ until the beat drops into insane mayhem. We were too wasted (physically!), so we left after our little moment with Roger Waters who performed the entire ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ album. Shockingly, we almost missed all of Roger Waters, but managed to rush over to hear them play ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ (which is not on the ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ album), and were a tiny bit bummed but that’s how it goes.

A guy from Portland in the desert for the fifth year running, described the festival thusly: “Coachella is like putting your iPod in shuffle mode.” You see the acts you have to see and the rest comes as it comes. So why are we out there? Because of that strangeness and bizarreness. Because of the intense and unpredictable experience. Because out there, we are all sweating more than anywhere else in the world and actually enjoying it. Prince made it even more clear: “You are in the coolest place on earth right now!” There’s no reason not to go on another road trip to Indio, California next year!

TEXT BY PEYMAN FARAHANI | PHOTOS BY ERIN MALONE

RENAAT VANDEPAPELIERE / R&S RECORDS

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:18:49 GMT

Back in the day, R&S Records were hailed as dance music pioneers. They unleashed Detroit techno on an unsuspecting European audience and were key players in the first rave revolution. Then after more than a decade at the top, they sold out, burned out and faded from view. Now, with a new digital strategy and fired-up young team in place, label head Renaat Vandepapeliere is back in the spotlight. We caught up with him to find out why he’s giving R&S a second chance.

R&S is based in London this time, instead of Ghent where you live, won’t that be a bit tricky for you?
The HQ is still in Ghent but we’ve handed over day-to-day control to the younger generation. Our lawyer Steven, who we trust completely, is President and Dan Foat from Phonica is in charge of finding new talent and taking the label forward. They’re based in London so it makes sense to run things from there.

You’re celebrating the relaunch in an innovative way, by making your back catalogue digitally available on Beatport. How do you feel about the ‘Digital Revolution’?
We now live in the digital world so I have no choice but to embrace it. These days, when you release a record it goes straight from production to the consumer, which is great in some ways, but it does make it harder to make money if you’re following traditional record label structures.

Next year it will be 25 years since R&S was born. Any big birthday plans?
For a long time I’ve had the idea of doing R&S parties. We want to kick things off in the UK and then create a club that moves around the world. It’s going to need serious investment, so we’re taking it step by step, with the first party launching in London in December.

You’ve hit the big 50 yourself – what are your goals for the next 50 years?
I just want to grow R&S and give young people a chance to work in the industry. Saying that, one thing I still want to do is sign and work with a big band. I’m much more into live music these days and plan to leave Dan to run the dance side of things.

What’s been the best moment of your career so far?
The first Tribal Gathering about 17 years ago stands out because I remember honestly thinking I’d never seen anything like it before, it was simply amazing.

And the worst time?
The minute we got involved with Sony, everything changed. Suddenly we were part of this big corporate structure. Also, I didn’t really see a future for dance music, it was all repeating itself. I felt like I had been listening to the same record for the last 20 years.

What advice would you give to aspiring label heads?
Go with the flow, follow your heart, as long as you believe you’ll make it. And be patient!

Which releases are you most proud of and which would you leave at the bottom of the bargain bin?
It’s got to be Aphex’s Digeridoo. It was the first track of his I put out and I still think it’s mind-blowing. He’s one of the scene’s biggest innovators. Nobody comes close. As for the bin – there’s probably quite a few but I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

Why is now the time for R&S to ride again?
That’s a hard one. I don’t know if there is such a thing as the right time – I’m just following my instincts. It’s definitely a difficult time for the industry, but I’m excited. The one thing I know for certain is that it will be a crazy ride, just like it was before the big corporates interfered with our small independent minds.

The R&S logo looks a lot like the Ferrari symbol, did you have to pay them any royalties?
My wife, Sabine, and I chose the design because we love horses and Ferraris. We run a stud farm together these days. There was a bit of an issue with Ferrari initially but we reached an agreement - we don’t pay them any money as long as they don’t make records and we don’t make cars!

Sum up the R&S philosophy?
Freedom and creativity. If music sounds good, it’s good – it doesn’t matter what it is.

TEXT BY SERENA KUTCHINSKY

JOSH WINK

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:30:47 GMT

A pioneer of the American rave scene in the early nineties Josh Wink is the creator of anthems like ‘Higher State of Consciousness’ and other productions which are all very much his own distinctive sound – both fresh and timeless. In this issue of Electronic Beats Wink shares the wisdom that keeps the buzz in his game after 19 years producing music. Soak it up boys and girls!

1. You are what you eat.

2. Ignorance IS bliss.

3. If you know what you have – lose it! And get a hold of what you don’t know.

4. If you go into a record shop, steal CDs and get caught, you will be arrested. What’s the difference to stealing those same CDs online? Think about it!

5. There are no accidents, there is only some purpose that we haven’t yet understood. Things happen for a reason.

6. Music makes you feel a feeling. Words make you think a thought. Songs make you feel a thought.

7. Follow the feelings in your heart, not your head, and you’re well on the right course of getting what you really, really want.

8. Keep your integrity.

9. Live, love, laugh.

10. Be true to yourself, as you’re the one you have to be with. And you do know!

11. Do what you want regardless of what people say, as long as you don’t harm others in your process.

12. Enjoy your journey, as it’s not always all about where you end up, but the process of getting there. The journey can be the best experience of all.

13. I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering. (Stephen Wright)

14. One person can make a difference. You can make a difference. Make a difference!

15. I love what I do so much that I feel I don’t get paid for performing. I do that for free! I get paid for getting to the gig, and leaving (planes, jet lag, no sleep, hotels, immigration, lines, security machines, airports, cancelled flights – you get the idea).

Josh Wink’s album ‘When A Banana Was Just A Banana’ will be released Autumn on Ovum Recordings.

THE WHIP

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:10:20 GMT

It all started when we all ran out and bought the Kitsuné compilation records like there was no tomorrow and couldn’t stop listening to that one track, you know the one that you have to sing along too, ‘I wanna be Trash’.

The Whip is the band responsible for that indie-electro gem and fortunately, after listening to the new album, you realise that they’re not going to sink into the one-hit-wonder skip like so many nu-rave wannabees at the moment. They’ve managed to create the seamless dirty electro/rough-boy vocal combination that thousands of struggling bands can only dream of. The indie kids can shoegaze while the nu-ravers bite their lips and dance frantically with their glow sticks. It’s the perfect compromise.

However, it wasn’t a cracking start for singer Bruce and keyboardist Dan. “We were in another band together before The Whip. This record company piled loads of money into recording and we had three different producers and by the end of it all we didn’t sound like us.” That’s when they decided to do their own thing says Bruce: “Danny and I cooped ourselves up in a pub cellar in Manchester for about six months just writing songs. I worked with Danny and Nathan (the bass player) in a music shop in Solford, Manchester. Most of the gear we have we bought second-hand in the shop. We were like charity really.” So after all the hard work, it was time to complete the band so they asked Nathan in the shop to play bass and also his drumming girlfriend to take care of the rhythm department. A dangerous decision? “Literally like a week before our first rehearsal we split-up”, says Fee, “I look back and think how could it have been fine as it was, but now it’s just dead nice, all four of us are just like a little family. I don’t think it would’ve worked if I’d still been in a relationship with Nathan!” I guess somethings are meant to be!

After the success of the ‘Trash’ and later on ‘Divebomb’ Kitsune collaborations, English record label Southern Fried picked them up and released their debut album X Marks Destination. Considering they’ve been touring almost non-stop since they got together two years ago, how did they manage to get the album sorted? Bruce explains, “We wrote the album while we were doing gigs. We’d write some of the songs in dressing rooms or on the bus. After a year of touring we went into the studio with Jim Abbiss for three weeks and pretty much just recorded the bass and the drums because we’d recorded most of the keyboard parts on the road on the laptop.” Jim Abbiss is no stranger to musical success, having already worked with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian and the Editors.

Two years non-stop touring is a lot of work and must affect band relationships, especially after the drummer and bass player had been a couple. As Fee sees it: “When we started touring we were all quite polite to each other but now we’re brutally honest. Like I’ll say to Nathan ‘Get into the van!’ and he’ll say ‘You look like shit today!’ If one of us makes an error in clothing we all take the piss quite a lot.” Bruce adds, “But it’s good though, if you’re wearing something crap and somebody can tell you you’re wearing something crap. Sometimes Nathan and Fee squabble like brother and sister but only now and then.” Bruce does admit though that there can be downfalls to the rock n’ roll lifestyle, “It’s bad being in a band, there’s just booze everywhere!” It can’t be all that bad! Bruce goes on, “well the gig food is better over here, there’s more cheese and ham in Austria and Germany.” Fee, “... and the beer’s better!”

In between eating cheese and ham and having to drink beer, The Whip have been adding their secret ingredients to some other bands. Bruce, “Me and Danny do remixing. I like remixing stuff that doesn’t sound that dancey. We just did a Hadouken remix and I really like that. We also did a mix for The Music. We haven’t really got much time though to do anymore because we need to start working on our new album. We’re hoping to get it out by this time next year.” Good to hear and so soon after the debut album. Looks like there’s nothing standing in the way of The Whip, well unless you’re into that sort of thing!

TEXT BY EMMA MCLELLAN

JOHNNY D

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:45:05 GMT

If you’re a breakthrough DJ and producer there can’t be many more potent ways of realising you’re about to make it than getting booked to play a big gig abroad. Wheeling his record bag through Frankfurt’s departures lounge in March, the Eritrean-born, Mannheim-bred Johnny D walked to the check-in desk on one such crest of adrenalin. His destination was London’s The End nightclub, one of the UK’s underground house and techno institutions. But when he slapped his passport for the attendant to verify, the dream very quickly turned into a nightmare.

Despite growing up in Germany, Johnny’s visa was not valid to guarantee entry to the UK. With a list of British dates ahead of him including clubs like Leeds’ Monocult and East London’s impossibly cool secretsundaze, the harsh reality of border laws putting the kabosh on his international career, couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Since releasing his first EP on the Frankfurt-based imprint in September last year, Johnny D has made one of the most effortless arrivals into the underground’s big time. All three tracks, Gualia, Katalpa and Manipulation, were heavily played by all of techno’s big league. His second single Walkman a few months later, featuring his own vocals topped the charts of DJs like Jamie Jones and Dan Ghenacia. His latest EP on Oslo lead by the icy cool deep house of lead track Orbitalife is leading the mantle of a revolt in the underground against plug in heavy minimal techno for deeper, warmer textures in house. Deep, dancefloor-focussed house is currently Europe’s flavour of the season on dance music’s more discerning dancefloors and Johnny D’s records capture the mood of tastemaking clubs like London’s Fabric or Frankfurt’s Robert Johnson perfectly.

The common thread running through every record he’s made is a faultlessly polished approach to his production. Johnny D makes records with the finesse of an old master like Carl Craig, each record delicately posturing its elements to afford it the most impact, and all of them delivering a nod to the organic tones and melodies of soul and jazz.

With a flurry of remixes about to hit shops and another EP on London-based Safari Electronique (one track of which features a sample of Nina Simone’s classic ‘Feeling Good’), his free weekends should be disappearing off his calendar at a frightening rate. “It looks like I won’t be able to go until I get my German passport,” he says. “The problem is the Consulate doesn’t believe I want to visit the UK just to play music and needs evidence to prove this first. But this is not easy to provide because my official music career only started last year.”

“It’s not the first time that I’ve had problems with my passport or my Eritrean heritage when crossing a border line. Particularly in the current climate of terror, it’s much harder to get one from one country to another.”

Johnny D’s family come from Eritrea in North East Africa. His parents fled the country in the 1980s to escape a 31-year-old war against neighbouring country Ethiopia. Despite the chaos of the country they left behind, his parents prospered in Europe. His family found political asylum in Germany, and his father found work as a mechanic before eventually returning to Eritrea to open a garage. His mother had small jobs here and there and studied at the same time before also moving back to Eritrea to work as a nurse in a hospital. Theirs is a success story barely imaginable to most Europeans, but one that came at a guilty cost.

Many Eritreans in Germany felt guilty about the friends and family left behind in Eritrea and put on parties to raise money to send back home. Johnny remembers these as some of the first pivotal experiences in learning about rhythm and party culture. “I was still a little kid and can remember that the parties were really impulsive and went on until the morning,” he says. “The lyrics of the songs were filled with stories about the war and were very passionate. The songs could sometimes last for 20 to 30 minutes and people danced all night long.”

In his lifetime he’s only been back to Eritrea four times. The first was after the war in 1992 and the last was in 2002. “The country is still in a poor state and the political situation is still bad,” he says. “People are poor but generous and have a natural kindness that you don’t find so much these days.”

As a teenager growing up in Mannheim, he first found dance music via the intense rhythms of UK drum ’n’ bass in the early nineties. “Drum ’n’ bass was big in the early nineties in Mannheim and provided my first contact with the music,” he says. “A friend took me to a party at the age of 12 and I was stunned by the sound and how people danced to it.” After this he began to collect mixtapes from everywhere possible. His older brother, a dancer at the Loft Club, brought house mixtapes home for him to listen to and his sister bought him his first set of turntables when he was 13. After a while he graduated onto wanting to make music himself and bought a computer and midi keyboard. “I learned mostly by myself,” he says. “Fortunately today it’s not as hard to start making music as it was in the eighties or nineties.”
The magnetic attention of the Frankfurt scene soon pulled Johnny towards house and techno. Lead by local heroes like Sven Väth and Ricardo Villalobos he grew up raving in clubs like Robert Johnson in Frankfurt or the Milk Times in Mannheim. Now, like local producers Sascha Dive, Reboot, Nicky Curly or Vera or Oslo Records’ head honchos Federico Molinari & Nekes, Johnny is part of a tight network of new producers moulding deep house and techno into a fresh new interpretation on the blueprint laid down by their heroes.

Next up from Johnny is a barrage of remixes for key labels like Leftroom, Sushitech, Supplement Facts, Moon Harbour, Connaisseur, Hypercolor and another couple of EPs on Safari Electronique and Oslo. If he’s lucky, he might even get to ride the wave of admiration that his records have attracted with some killer gigs overseas. But if it doesn’t happen any time soon, although hugely frustrating, it won’t hurt too badly. The planes to the UK may take off daily, but Johnny D’s success isn’t going anywhere just yet.

TEXT BY GAVIN HERLIHY

Myspace of the Month May 2008

Tue, 06 May 2008 14:24:39 GMT

Myspace of the Month for May 2008:

Myspace of the Month April 2008

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:10:20 GMT

Myspace of the Month for April 2008:

BOGDAN TERAN / AMBER MUSE

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:41:06 GMT

Growing up in Communist Latvia, Bogdan Taran’s exposure to alternative music was limited and his earliest memories are of listening to his parents’ Soviet records. As the USSR fell apart, access to new music became easier, and after a friend’s visit to Amsterdam in 1993, Bogdan discovered the wonders of house music which led, at the age of 16, to hosting his own electronic music show on Latvia’s first privately owned radio station. In 2003 he launched his own label, Amber Muse, which has been working to promote local electronic artists ever since.

This issue of ‘Electronic Beats’ is all about Europe. Do you feel especially European in Latvia?
In USSR times Latvia used to be a periphery of a big country, now it has the same geographical position within the EU. After Latvia restored its independence in 1991 people felt a lot of enthusiasm about it and especially about their national identity. Latvians still relish being independent from the Soviet state and enjoy being a part of the EU.

As a relatively new member of the EU, what have been your experiences dealing with people in the music industry from other countries?
I’ve been running my radio show, Dance Box, since 1998 and in that time I’ve spoken with a lot of industry people from the UK and USA. I can say Europeans are well-educated people. I never had any confusion with what and where Latvia is. Some Americans showed they didn’t know about my country - but they were very open to new information. At the beginning of the 2000s our neighbour Estonia was the best known of the Baltic States. It’s a result of their club scene, especially the Sun Dance festival. After Latvia won Eurovision and promoters started developing the club scene here, people from Europe started to recognize us much more.

Latvia has gone from being a Soviet-controlled communist country to becoming an independent member of the EU. Do you think the country’s political upheaval reflects in the music being produced?
I believe music itself is an emotional bearer, which is used by any artistic person as an instrument of their world vision. So I would say the music produced here reflects the global processes which we are all involved in. Being a Western periphery of the USSR has always been an advantage to Latvia. Soviet people used to think about spending time in Riga as an alternative to foreign trips. This defined the thinking and approach of Latvians working in dance music. I feel modern producers here are very up-to-date musically.

Are musicians/DJs in Latvia influenced by music from the West or are they doing their own thing?
I suppose the Baltic sound is pretty special. Of course, mainstream dance music ideas make an impression on what Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian producers do, but I constantly hear from foreign DJs about our Baltic sound. I can say the people whose music makes the main association with the Baltic sound are Rulers Of The Deep and Dave Storm from Estonia, Craft B and Electricano from Latvia and RyRalio in Lithuania.

Anything coming up from Amber Muse that we should know about?
My first love was house, so the main direction of Amber Muse is house. But guys here also do harder stuff which I also spin in my sets and radio shows. So I decided to establish a sister label, Amber Digital. The name doesn’t mean I will switch to digital only. I still want to carry on putting out vinyl and CD singles. The first Amber Digital release is scheduled for spring.

Are there any other Latvian musicians/DJs which you think we should keep our eyes on in the future?
Electricano is the one of them. He is a friend of mine who has the digital label Electricano Recordings. Probably it’s immodest to speak about myself, but at the end of last year I decided to work on a production with Max Lomov, so this year you will hear a few records and remixes from me and Max!

Do you find it difficult to promote your label outside Latvia, given that the country is not a massive music market?
Yes, it’s definitely hard to promote the label and artists abroad because of this. Another reason is lack of financing. There are different grants and programs from the EU, but at least in Latvia, record releasing is not in the field where one could apply for European money. I think it would be easier to get the label and its artists known better if I had more money. Nevertheless, the future is bright for Amber Muse and Latvian producers!

TEXT BY NEALE LYTOLLIS | PHOTO BY ROMAN SIDOROV

GET SHAKES

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:17:29 GMT

On the crumbling shores of the lesser known Jurassic English island known as the Isle of Wight (or known to the locals as ‘Ioooiill ov wheeeet’ ), the sounds of cutting hi-hats, ebbing, vintage synths and new wave vocals are crashing against the high tides.
Award winning, Modular lovies ‘Get Shakes’ (formerly known as The Shakes) consist of brothers Matt and Darren Farrow. A seemingly pre-destined collaboration of musical talent ranging from keys, drums, vocals, guitar and basically anything they can get their hands on.

With these boys, you have the feeling that what they are producing electronically is also reassuringly musical, being that they are so, well ... musical! Matt: “We try to be as active as possible on stage, walking around and trying to make the show as exciting as possible, we don’t want to be like some artists you know, especially in the electronic world where they tend to be sat behind their computers almost looking like they could be sending e-mails! We’re actually playing what you’re hearing, essentially.”

With these strong musical ethics as their backbone, the creative process for ‘Get Shakes’ is the same as that of a band, even though it’s electronic music. Darren goes onto describe, “For each track we write, the process can be different. For example, if Matt’s got an idea, then we’ll jam it out together on drums and guitar. We’ve got our own studio in the middle of the house, so we can be working on our own stuff and then come together in the middle and, like, reach a happy medium and gel the two tracks together or go in our own direction. In the jamming situation we kind of know where each other’s gonna go, if that makes sense. I suppose that brother connection kind of helps in a way. It’s not a hindrance. It’s like, with people we’ve played with before, we’ve had to move our goalposts to fit theirs, so working together is kind of the natural thing to do.” Matt goes on to reiterate, “As brothers, we’ve learnt to set our differences apart. I mean that’s the thing, when it’s your brother you know how far you can push him, you know when you can get lary [angry] with him. After a while we learnt how to reach a compromise.”

That compromise certainly turned up trumps, the trump card being their biggest hit to date, ‘Sister Self Doubt’. Think LCD Sound System meets Who Made Who (without moustaches) meets Adam and the Ants’ tribal ‘ooh waa ohh’ vocals, then you’d be getting somewhere near the syncopated beauty of this well-produced and deliciously textured song. It’s sexy, it’s bassy, it’s everything a good electronic dance song needs to be without having to include the cheesy house-style vocal break-down in the middle. Would you dance producers please stop doing that now! Anyway, their self-doubting sister certainly didn’t go unnoticed when they first started performing live on the London circuit. Darren, “Modular Records heard ‘Sister Self Doubt’ on the circuit and contacted our gig agent. They said they’d like to include it on their second ‘Leave Them All behind’ compilation album and we were really thrilled about it. We were really big fans of their first compilation album, so when they said they wanted us to be on the next one we were really pleased.”

So that was the first real push and exposure for Get Shakes, and since then the only difficult decisions they have to make are which record company to go to. Yes that’s right, they’re still officially unsigned! Darren explains, “We’re not actually tied down to any labels but we’re thinking of putting something out with the Wall of Sound. I think that’s happened because we won the Diesel:U: music award for best electronic act, so it’s come off the back of that. We are composing a few tracks now so we’re planning on releasing an EP in the next couple of months.” The Diesel:U: music awards seem to be a pretty big deal, being held in Camden, London (where the boys are currently hanging out as well), with past winners including Tom Vek and The Infadels. So were there any star struck situations in their moment of award winning glory? Matt, “We met famous photographer Mick Rock after the Awards. You know, he’s the one who did the famous photo of the heads in a circle with Queen, and some Rolling Stones and stuff. We did a photo shoot with him and I wouldn’t say we were star struck as such, more worried! He’s basically a Mike Myers character, he scared us a bit!” Darren, “Yeah it was funny. He had his forehead up against ours trying to get a reaction out of us. Austin Powers is literally based around him, he’s just so funny.”

Ok, so they’re pally with Modular and Wall of Sound, they’ve won a rather impressive prize, how could it possibly get better? ... Matt, “We’ve got some exciting stuff coming up. Do you know the game Grand Theft Auto?” Come on! I might be a girl but I’m not that oblivious to the PS2P... or 3... or whatever!! “Well, we’ve got a few tracks featured on that which is supposed to be coming out next month.” Before I could take a breath, Darren then proudly added “Yeah, and on Kevin Spacey’s new film ‘21’ we’ve got ‘Sister Self Doubt’ featured twice, and that’s out next month as well.” It looks like these guys aren’t really going to have to do anything for the next few years because they’re going to be loaded! “Well, it’s all quite cool ’cos the shelf life of a game or a film is much longer, but we won’t let it go to our heads just yet!”

TEXT BY EMMA MCLELLAN

RPR SOUNDSYSTEM

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:54:54 GMT

One of the European Union’s newest nations is currently the source of its hottest dance music. Romania signed on the dotted line on January 1, 2007, and ever since a new minimal party sound has been migrating towards the West.
Champions of this new techno wave are RPR Soundsystem, otherwise known as Raresh, Pedro and Rhadoo, a hotly-tipped DJ collective that took Ibiza by storm this summer. Hailed by the media as ‘Minimal Techno’s new Messiahs’.

Since the border controls came down, they’ve been busy using their new-found freedom to further their careers. A hectic gig schedule means they’ve racked up a lot of air miles, caused roadblocks everywhere from DC10 to the Panorama Bar and won fans across the continent. It also makes them extremely hard to pin down – giving rise to rumours of diva-like behaviour and a disregard for the press who are currently singing their praises. After all – who needs to give interviews when Ricardo Villalobos is your new best friend?

Hype is a fickle friend, as RPR it turns out are acutely aware. Engagingly down-to-earth in person these three twenty-somethings (Raresh is the youngest at 23) come across as firm friends, brought together by a shared musical passion and industrious spirit. It’s refreshing to find such a total lack of competitiveness in today’s cut-throat age. As Raresh, the nominal spokesman despite his tender years, explains:

“I think what makes us special is the friendship between us. We keep being asked who the boss is – but there is no boss! We’d known each other for some years and then decided to start this project in the summer of 2006. We really believe teamwork is the key to making your dreams come true, even if that does sound a bit cheesy!”

Once they decided to pool their talents, the inspiration for their record label ‘Arpiar’ quickly followed. A desire to remain true to their underground roots and promote Romanian talent drives them forward and defines their philosophy. Yet, despite their verbal adherence to releasing ‘completely non-commercial music’, they seem fully tuned into the zeitgeist and their tracks are selling pretty damn well. Surely there’s a contradiction here?
“We don’t strive to make what we do commercial,” says Rahdoo. “We’re lucky to be able to make a living out of music at the moment and that’s great, but money was never our goal. The message behind Arpiar is clear – it’s a platform for our music and the work of other Romanian artists. It’s a purely musical message.”

It’s certainly raising the profile of Romanian music abroad with names like Boola & Demos, Petre Inspirescu (Pedro’s solo moniker) and Dan Andrei suddenly appearing on blogs and ‘Ones to Watch’ lists. It seems the world has woken up to the Romanian scene and crowned the RPR boys its founding fathers.

“We’re not sure why there’s so much interest at the moment.” Raresh says, sounding genuinely puzzled. “It’s true that minimal is the big, fashionable sound in Bucharest at the moment, and perhaps the parties are a bit crazier there because it’s all so new. But sometimes there’s too much hype around new artists and new scenes because everyone is always looking for the next special thing. We just try to ignore it.”

As big as the hype that surrounds these three Romanian amigos is, less attention is given to their solo projects. While their back-to-back trickery in the DJ booth is impressive, it’s their individual efforts that show the full extent of their considerable talents. It’s here that the largely silent Pedro shines. Releasing under the name of Petre Inspirescu, he’s responsible for two of the standout tracks on one of last year’s most-raved about albums – Luciano’s Cadenza Contemporary. “I started DJ’ing about seven years ago at a small club in Bucharest called Web Club,” muses Pedro. “It was here that my love of deep, loopy house began. That’s the sound you can hear in my music today.”

‘Deep, loopy house’ with a dash of tough techno beats is probably the best way to sum up the distinctive RPR sound. They all have their own take on it but work together to find inspiration and, as Raresh says, ‘follow the same groove’. It all seems almost too good to be true – three impressive artists, who happen to be best friends, working together without the slightest hint of tension. Three, it seems, really is the magic number.

Let’s just hope that the speed of their success doesn’t lead to future strife. Raresh’s smile falters slightly: “I wish people would stop all this super hype and just let us make music. We hate it! People come to see us with huge expectations based only on what they have read, not what they’ve heard. It’s really frustrating.”

TEXT BY SERENA KUTCHINSKY

Myspace of the Month March 2008

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:31:05 GMT

It is also full of downright weird funny and strange stuff which makes us laugh, smile, cringe and occasionally cry. So here for your enjoyment are a selection of clips that have been making the Electronic Beats team push that deadline back just a little bit more.

Because we like this stuff so much, we want to hear from you, and the sites you think are cool. Help us avoid the daily grind and send us the myspace links or websites that have been making you smile. We will pick our favourite every week, and you can win a signed CD by some of the hottest electronic acts around. Simply write us an email with your favorite myspace sites to online@electronicbeats.net, and include your contact details.

So, without further ado, our Myspace of the Month for March 2008:

MY MUSIC MOMENT:

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:40:03 GMT

It’s hard to talk about that ONE music moment in my life, it could be being blown away by listening to Inner Citys Big Fun for the first time on the Radio, going to the first Houseparty or the first proper Rave. But nothing exceeds the quality and quantity of music moments I had in a recordshop.

When I first found out about the Hardwax Recordshop in Saarbrücken, I didnt dare to go there right away. I circled the little alley it was located in until I worked up the courage to enter the store. Before, I was sent away from other recordshops with the words “I dont think we have the kind of music you are looking for”, judging by my attire. Therefore, a very shy me entered Hardwax. But the vendor took me seriously and tried to meet my needs. There it was: The Promised Land. Thousands of records to be discovered, people with similar tastes in music and sellers with immense knowledge about music I was hungry to assimilate. And from visit to visit, I became more confident, started to be a regular, made friends.

Some records were not just handed over, they were celebrated. One of them was Romanthony’s ‘The Wanderer’. I remember the people who were there that day, even where they where standing when this record was played out loud to me. Judging from the silence and the look on the other faces when the needle was touching the groove, I knew that this was going to be a special one. The spirit of the campfire-style intro on the record was spreading through the room. Then the lyrics ‘You gotta be movin’ on the dancefloor’ and the beats kicking in, knowing smiles on all faces. I walked home that day with a testpressing of my first record on the label Prescription, today still one of my most praised labels. Sometimes, music can touch you deep inside, sharing music can be extremely intimate. These intimate, almost spiritual experiences at Hardwax Saarbrücken shaped me; most music I love today was introduced to me there by Henner, who started the Shop and became a close friend and guide to me. Nowadays, while DJing or going to a club, I always look for these moments of sharing. It is about the special, memorable records, not about the tools that are forgotten the next day. It is about sharing inner emotions through music, about passing on. I hope these quality moments will be there forever.

Prosumer and Murat Tepeli featuring Elif Bicer ‘Turn Around’ is out on Ostgut Ton,
their Album ‘Serenity’ is released 28th of January

TEXT BY PEYMAN FARAHANI | FOTO BY JEANNICK GRAVELINES

The collectors guide to:

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:20:51 GMT

FRANKIE TEARDROP, SUICIDE / SUICIDE (Ariola, 1977)
Being ahead of your time can be real painful; when Martin Rev’s ferocious electronics accompanied by Lou Vega’s psychotic Elvis-like crooning exploded on the early New York punk scene, the bottles thrown by an audience hungry for the customary guitar, bass and drums often drew blood. But it’s never too late to appreciate, and 30 years later that sound still counts as progressive and also as one of the most important influences on 21st century music.

WINDOW LICKER, APHEX TWIN (Warp Records, 1999)
Forgive the hyperbole, but isn’t Chris Cunningham’s work with Aphex Twin one of the most successful collaborations of all time? The perfect marriage of form and content, where each supports and gives extra meaning to the other. Perhaps best seen in hilariously surreal rap video parody Window Licker.

SMOKE ON THE WATER, SENOR COCONUT (Emperor Norton, 2003)
Certain music is sacred, so generally electronic remixes or sampling of classic rock tracks should be punishable by – say – removal of the ears with a blunt object or at least heavy fines (a recent cheap butchering of Jimi Hendrix’ Foxy Lady springs to mind), but this rework of Deep Purple’s classic track just works and there’s no point getting all fundamentalist about the whole thing.

I’VE SEEN IT ALL, BJÖRK / SELMASONGS (One Little Indian, 2000)
Aside from the fact that Björk is quite possibly from the future making anything she does a sort of collision of worlds or dimensions, her collaboration with equally genius Lars von Trier in the musical film drama ‘Dancer in the Dark’ is very well known for two reasons: they suffered such ‘creative differences’ that Björk famously vowed she would never work in film again, and at the same time the movie is a genuine rarity in its courageous and affecting nature, which awarded it the Palm d’Or and Best Actress for Björk at the Cannes film festival.

99 PROBLEMS, DANGERMOUSE / THE GREY ALBUM (Bootleg, 2004)
Brian Burton’s mash-up between the Beatles White Album and the a cappella version of Jay-Z’s Black Album undeniably appeals also to a naïve listener, but music geeks tend to get especially masturbatory about it. This is not sampling, but more a deconstructive art form where Burton has built the music around Jay Z’s vocal tracks using only the Beatles album and the software Acid Pro.

BIDI BIDI BOM BWAH, JAMIE LLOYD / TROUBLE WITHIN (Future Classic, 2006)
Sydney talent Jamie Lloyd finds sonic inspiration in the most unusually usual places; a mosquito flying past or the sound a cat makes trying to cough up a fur-ball can be the start of a new piece. His found sounds and own voice collide in surprising yet harmonious ways with conventionally sourced beats and bleeps with the sound of a tree branch breaking replacing a snare drum or the particular sweet acoustic of a public toilet door shutting taking the place of a bass drum.

THE ADVENTURES OF GHOSTHORSE & STILLBORN, COCO ROSIE / RAINBOW WARRIORS (Touch and Go Records, 2007)
Coco Rosie is this delicious dish you can make when you separate two sisters for ten years and marinate one in classic, operatic training at the Paris conservatory and infuse the other with linguistics, sociology and Brooklyn intelligentsia, then place together and steam intensively in a small bathroom in Montmartre.

THE SUNDAY SMILE, BEIRUT / THE FLYING CLUB CUP (Ba Da Bing! Records, 2007)
What would it sound like if the soul of Tom Waits and the voice of Rufus Wainwright were reincarnated in a 21-year old musician from New Mexico, who, on his teenage trip to Europe became completely infatuated with Balkan brass music? – Certainly something like this drunken, melancholic melody straight from the heart of wise-beyond-his-years Zach Condon.

MUSIC TO THE CREATIONS OF GILLES JOBIM, CRISTIAN VOGEL (Station 55 Records, 2007)
Vogel is a true challenge to preconceptions. Firstly, despite the name he’s not even close to German, but a Chilean living in Barcelona via years in England. Secondly, the experimental music he is known for truly stretches our sonic imagination. And finally, with his compositions for the contemporary dance and multi-media art world he dispels the stereotype of what an electronic act and producer should be.

MORE THAN PUSSY, THE REMIX EP, BRAZILIAN GIRLS (Verve Forecast 2007)
From the quintessential melting pot of New York come this quartet and their self-named ‘melting pop’ wherein a multitude of languages and genres are mingled. The remix EP just released in August is a yummy treat where their hybrid brand of music is reworked by Carl Craig (genius), MSTRKRFT and armsofghandi, and also includes the Brazilian Girls take on the Talking Heads’ classic Crosseyed and Painless recorded in English and Spanish.

TEXT BY VIKTORIA PELLES

2ManyDJs

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 21:24:38 GMT

Just before their set we grabbed 10 minutes with one of the biggest DJ and live electronic acts in the world 2ManyDJs aka Soulwax – super nice guys in super white suits.

We are excited to talk to you especially as our new theme is ‘when worlds collide’ – how do you find new inspiration for all those songs you mix together?
For DJing we have to sift through thousands of records, for performing, it’s important to believe it and just feel it. And for inspiration we are always traveling which is very inspiring.

How do you know when two tracks will work together?
It could be a melody or just a sound – it’s actually really easy to find. Not to boast but we have been doing this a while now and we are almost psychic within the band, we don’t need to explain things to each other.

What’s been the most interesting group to remix?
Actually remixing the Sugarbabes was interesting, ‘Round Round’ was like a live sound, and then we did Kylie’s ‘Cant Get You Out Of My Head’ that was more electronic but we play it as a band – that’s coming out on our remix album this month. We like sabotaging these songs a little bit; we never do what people expect us to do.

Does it ever bother you how many people have jumped onto what you guys started?
No, because once you put something out there, it’s just out there, and there’s nothing you can do about it, and it’s fair enough. I have no problems with people using the term mash-up or bastard pop or bootleg because I hate these names. I would call it DJing or mixing, it’s just guys putting two records together.

What was it like at the very beginning?
Well we came from playing in a band, we know what it’s like to set up your own equipment, we listened to Zeppelin you know? But then we got into electronic music and started joining these worlds together. And then for some reason what Erol was doing, and what Dave and I were doing, it all of a sudden blew up. And then the minute that happened, and I remember cause we used to go to Rough Trade record shop every fucking week, and we loved to see all these A+R guys walk in going, ‘where’s that new mix, with er…., with where they mix up ‘I Am The Walruss with what’s-it-called,’ and we used to stand there and go ‘wow they really have no clue’, and so me and Erol and Dave would hide at the back pretending to look through records and trying not to laugh. We felt a bit like the Trojan Horse you know, we had done something, which was about an attitude, saying fuck you, we can do it, we can do it at home, and it went out on the internet, and I’m really proud of that, but the minute that something like that gets branded, like MTV saying we give you 2ManyDJs and we give you a Mash-Up hour, you realize that can never be right, that will always be wrong. So that’s why we did Soulwax and stuff like that.

How do you view what you do now that you guys have got so big?
I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be like Richie Hawtin or something, where like I believe there is a theory and a whole thing, I think a DJ is a guy who plays music that people can dance to, and usually you are playing other people’s music, sure your technique sets you apart from other people, but we are not that special really. It’s about fun. It should not be taken too seriously. All my heroes who were pioneers of electronic music had a great sense of humour, think about Kraftwerk or Aphex Twin or Daft Punk, all these people have applied humour and humility to what they do and how they present themselves. I can’t wait to jam with The Cuban Brothers, they are really funny.

INTERVIEW BY LIZ MOGRATH

JR

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 21:12:19 GMT

At checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, soldiers used to stop cars at gunpoint before they entered the American sector. In this area, which has now become a place for tourists to buy cheap Soviet-memorabilia on their way to the Berlin Wall museum, a young French artist is making a bold statement of giant scale against artificial borders on the surrounding walls.

The young man goes by the name JR. His project “Face 2 Face” combines close-up portraits of a Palestinian and an Israeli of the same profession grimacing into a 28mm lens. The photos raise a simple but serious question: Are people on different sides of the West-Bank barrier any different from one another? JR puts it this way: “They are like twin brothers raised in different families.”

The posters, which were originally set up in the Middle East, span up to 15 by 25 metres on the house walls – where they will stay until the rain washes them off. Until this happens, Berlin’s visitors will be constantly reminded that there are still walls up in this world. “Today, ‘Face to Face’ is necessary. Within a few years, we will come back for ‘Hand in Hand’,” says JR. For now, you can see his portraits in Paris where he stops next.