Prairie Storm



I went to see a concert of Low a couple of weeks ago. It took me a while to collect and load this stuff, so that’s why I’m posting this only now.
It wasn’t my first Low concert. Their concerts are always nothing more than amazing. Up until now they always delivered. I’ve never been disappointed. Which is hard to do in their case because one wrong note or bad voice affects the quality of the entire performance. If it doesn’t sound right you’ll hear it. It’s the nature of their music. What they do looks simple but it’s not. It’s a sparse and wide open sound with long and ever winding melodies and an occasional explosion of feedback. It reminds me of those Great Plains in the Midwest (they live in Minnesota which technically speaking is not a part of the Plains). These endless fields and prairies which are usually peaceful and tranquil but which are also the homeland of storms and tornados. The eruption of guitar noise and feedback amidst songs of angelic beauty resembles a prairie storm passing by. A great overwhelming experience which has more impact and effect in this receiving environment.
For me their music (apart from the lyrics) deals with the countryside and the forces of nature. So it’s not urban music. The lyrics about human nature ad extra layers. A man lost in space and time? An inner turmoil in resonance with that of nature?
This imagery always brings me, through wild associations, to the Wizard of Oz. That prairie twister which blows the house of Judy Garland all the way to Oz.

Anyway, back on track… it seems that they also have a special bond or a relation of some sort with this country and it’s audience. Maybe it’s because we’re one of the first foreign countries where they had fans and got to perform. I don’t know? Is it because we’re called the Lowlands? Too obvious.

This is my selection of song from the Albums I have. I think they played almost all of these songs apart from Dinosaur Act, Laser Beam and When I go Deaf but I'm not sure anymore.

(That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace
Sunflower
Monkey
Belarus
Breaker
Dinosaur Act
Time Is The Diamond
Laser Beam
Sandinista
The Lamb
Hachet
When I Go Deaf
Like A Forest
In Silence
Pissing
Point Of Disgust
In Metal
Violent Past

Low was the main act in a small series of concerts, kind of festival, of like minded music on the same night. There was an up comin’ Belgian band called Krakow which was a bit of a disappointment. I only knew one song of them from the radio which was a really nice blend of alt.country and close harmony but they didn’t get around doing much harmony. They sang separately but none of them had a voice that was distinctive enough to carry any of the slow moving song (to say it mildly). More teamwork next time.
Next on the bill was another American act that didn’t ring a bell. I had never heard of Death Vessel. On the basis of the name I was expecting a couple of headbangers that would emphasis on the hard-core side of slowcore - the label Low always gets identified with - but instead it was a very pleasant encounter with a singer-songwriter in the best folk and country tradition of The Anthology of American Folk Music.
Another great surprise and disbelief was my share when this tall guy with long black hair sang with a soaring, crystalline soprano. He sang in a high register with a clear tone that’s beautifully sustained. If you closed your eyes you could hear a wonderful female country singer.
Death Vessel played it pretty straight. Just a man with a odd but beautiful vulnerable voice and some acoustic picking and plucking at a safe but skilful pace. I hope that he doesn’t get boxed as some freak country act - come and see the cowboy who sings like a girly. It would be a damn shame.

Mean Streak
Blowing Cave
Break The Empress Crown
Mandan Dink
Deep In The Horchata

I ♥ PowerPoint

I like PowerPoint’s or keynotes for that matter (I still don’t know if they’re equally good programs. Brief, keynotes should be better, I’ve heard). Sure, I’ve seen some lousy ones in my live and even made some myself, but a good presentation in general is a wonderful experience. People often mistake PowerPoint as a method - or even worse a default autopilot where you simply have to put in stuff, fiddle with some knobs and the program does the rest - but it’s not. It’s a tool and you’re the presentation.

A good story, some truly awesome visuals (but keep it simple) and a gifted, if possible funny storyteller make a great combination. I see and perform a lot of presentation myself but there’s still a lot that I can learn. I sometimes deliver, but sometimes I don’t. I’ve noticed that it usually goes wrong when I didn’t or couldn’t spend much time on a good visual presentation or when I have to rely on the outline of the support to know what I'm telling. I really don’t like using one I didn’t make myself. When a slide is simply ugly, it hurts. I get sick. Call me a sissy but I’m very picky about it.

That’s why I sometimes search the internet for presentations of all sorts and read books on the topic. An interesting site is Presentation Zen.
That’ how I learned that one can even commit Comedy with PowerPoint presentations.

Like in this one on economics. I don’t have a PhD in Economics so every once in a while I need a hand to fill in some papers. they usually contain a lot of fancy lookin’ mumbo jumbo but luckily there are people who can actually translate all of this in reasonably understandable language.
A nice story and while listening one also gets some brief outlines on a better use of yes… PowerPoint, especially the use of bullets. Unfortunately the slides look rather bland though.

Only a miner portion of the communication during presentations is verbal, as is proven in this one. Even though the person only uses one word an a deadpan standard outlook (which is probably a part of the case here, I guess) the message gets across.
Anyone who ever had to sit trough on a presentation about management and assorted stuff or technical information knows what this is about. Just watch it until the end. The clue at the end is really funny and so recognisable.


At last, in order to end, one of the best PowerPoint/keynote presentations I’ve recently found on the - as usual - great TED site. Only just images and no text this time though. It takes a while to load. You can also see it right here Edward Burtynsky on Earth's manufactured landscapes.

Did you notice how technicaly advanced these plugins are? Chapter marks and exploding views, great!

Recent Live Gigs

20 april / Daniele Baldelli / Make-Up Club Ghent
21 april / Digitalism / Dirty Dancing Mirano Brussels
Digitalism – Pogo
26 april / Leslie Feist / Le Grand Rex Paris
Feist – Mushaboom
Feist – One Evening
Feist – My Moon My Man
27 april / Justus Köhncke / Make-Up Club Ghent
Justus Köhncke – 2 after 909
Justus Köhncke – Elan (Prins Thomas version)
Justus Köhncke – Timecode
Whirlpool Productions – From Disco to Disco

Baia Sound

Going trough my Baldelli tapes and other data carriers, I realized how great this stuff really is but also how utterly obscure most of it was. I already posted some tracks before that once were heard on the dancefloors, terrace and the swimming pool at Baia degli Angeli (recent rediscovery Timing, Forget the Timing by Black Devil and Magnifico Mambo by Five Letters). I ad some others now that I think are simply irresistible.

057 André Gagnon – Surprise 1976 mix version
058 James Mason – Sweet Power Your Embrace
059 Rhythm Makers – Zone (1976)
060 Bombers - Don't Stop The Music (1978)

Culture High&Low

Gee, I won’t be able to make it to the Eskimofabriek tomorrow for 5 years of Culture Club. As a comfort I listen to this track from The Glimmers with Tim Vanhamel of Millionaire. It seems that he’s everywhere these days considering his up comming opening for Battles with Coca Cola met God.

Disco Drunkards – Let’s Get Physical

More Disco... but not as we know it

No Indian or Paki 3 day-wedding can go without this song from the movie Qurbani. It's Cheese Captain, but not as we know it. Still love it.

Nazia Hassan - Aap Jaisa Koi




Some extra's on top. Another feature from Qurbani.

Hum Tumhen Chahtay Hain Aise - Qurbani


Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - my personnel introduction to Bollywood. I saw this on a black and white tv durring a nightdrive by bus from Delhi to Chandigarh way up north in the Punjab.

Subliminal Advertising

A friend just send me this link. If it's genuine, it's really astonishing. It deals with the way you can influence the minds of people if only you play it just right.
I don't know this guy Derren Brown, because I no longer have TV, but apparently he makes documentaries of some sort on mind tricks. I'm gonna check them out.

Daniele Baldelli

I’m going to see a living legend tonight. The Italian DJ icon Daniele Baldelli will be spinning the tables at the Make-Up club in Ghent. I guess that it’s the first time that he makes a stop over here. Anyway, this is a must-go. Anybody who’s not there this evening, has his or her priorities wrong. Daniele Baldelli is nothing more and nothing less than one of the true legends in DJ culture. He’s one of the original DJ. An originator. He’s the European equivalent to pioneering New York Disco disc-jockeys like Francis Grasso, David Mancuso, Nicky Siano, Larry Levan and François Kerkovian. His early work is so influential to Disco and dance music in general that it's hard to understand today. He’s the chief architect of Italo disco and the Cosmic sound.
He was resident DJ together with Claudio Rispoli (aka MozArt) at the seminal club Baia Degli Angeli. Then came the legendary spot Cosmic in 1979. Here, Baldelli would be simultaneously spinning, triggering drum machines and samplers as water fountains boiled and bubbled frenetically behind him. Playing batucada Samba with Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode on 33 rpm mixed into African rhythms, and all on ‘70s turntable technology. What? How?!! I don’t know, but they did it. I have some mixtapes to proof it somewhere, but I can’t find them right now. Instead some vinyl.

Discoteca Cosmic - DJ Daniele Baldelli & DJ TBC - Afro Funky - Side A

The early Italian scene had a much broader range of influences than that in New York. Funk, Rock, Philly Soul, Afro, Reggae and Macho Disco got mixed together to one boiling steaming musical trip. Afro Funky is a typical name for his style. If you want to read more, there are long informative liner notes on Myspace. You also find them right here.

It was Great. A really nice and fancy place but a tuff crowd. It's sort of a place-m'as-tu-vu with a lot of talking and showing off instead of a regular danceclub. Also an awfull lot of DJ's and they are not really of the dancing kind. Daniele Baldelli did a great job. A fine selection and a mix of styles and DJ skills. He even mixed 2 records without headphones. Just stoping one and starting the other, seamless. He was really happy as a little child, that he could still pull that trick. Anyway, what I will rememer best is the old style of playing and mixing. Having 3 or 4 tracks playing simultaniously to create a brand new groove.

He's not a bad producer either. Safari vibes is a great track of his own.
Safari Vibes – Daniele Baldelli

I finally found some tapes. It's a large file, that's why I use Megaupload. This means that the link will not last forever.
http://www.megaupload.com/nl/?d=HI8G5X1F

From the public dance hall to the disco, from the smooch to the shake, from the orchestra to the deejay. Daniele Baldelli, one of the first Italian deejays, talks about and reveals the secrets of an era. Before the 1970s, the disco didn't exist. In the dance hall, live music reigned. Afterwards, people started to dance to records as an alternative or as a musical break for the orchestras. Here, we saw the birth of the first dee-jays. They had simply to put on one record after another. It will only be later on when they are able to superimpose one or more pieces, mixing songs … expressing their own ability. They will become artists skilful at playing with records, reaching a very high standard, divulging all their musical expertise and knowledge. Investing in musical research and techniques. Let's venture together, on this fascinating journey of discovery in a profession that has made history…… 1969 saw the professional birth of Daniele Baldelli. It all started, almost by chance, when he was a youngster. He was discovered by a talent scout who was the owner of the TANA CLUB DISCOTEQUE (and had been in France, where he had seen some music bars called: discotheques). So he was interviewed by the disco owner who offered him the job of “putting on the records” as the word Disc-Jockey, at least in Italy, hadn’t been coined yet). Neither mixer or pre-listening device existed, his task was limited to programming records one after the other that had already been chosen by the disco owner. You began by lowering the volume of one of the 45 rpm record turntables and at the same time that you were listening to it, you began to turn up the volume of the other turntable where the other 45 record was ready. Naturally mixing didn't exist, because it wasn’t a big deal if a gap or mute space between the two songs was heard. It was the dawning of the Dee-Jay, a job still to be invented. Daniele Baldelli, then, didn't have a model he could refer to and he had no mixing equipment (that would arrive later on), he started to experiment and invent methods that allowed his music to have a certain flow. Briefly, he disliked the pause between one record and another. Since he had no headphones or pre listening devices, he tried to listen to the noise that the needle made when the first track was about to begin, in order to understand the exact moment when he had to turn up the volume, and blast in the groove. Eventually he would mark the different variations of speed on the “LENCO” turntable to have a point of reference, or he would even attach adhesive labels to the records to show the exact point, where the music would start (a practice later copied by the scratching dee-jays, virtuosos of the vinyl records, and of D.M.C. competitions). In 1970 he moved to the TABU CLUB in Cattolica. The music he played in those days could perhaps be divided into two large categories: white music, mainly from Europe and black music mainly from America. We are, of course talking about the 45 rpm (or the 7 inches) that back in the days would cost 600 Lire. The album which cost 3.300 Lire, was almost always a useless expense, because the only dance piece it contained, was also released on 45’s. So in that year, there was a mixture of European records, which where almost always cheerful commercial songs, alongside American soul records, rhythm and blues and funk by artists such as Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, Wilson Picket, James Brown, Rufus Thomas, Lyn Collins, etc. Naturally getting hold of this material was not always easy. Usually the Dee-Jay was limited to the services of the only musical shop present in their town. Daniele Baldelli, however, used to catch the train and go to Lugano (there was a shop called Radio Columbia), and sometimes he would even go to Paris where he was always able to find imported records. Another trend of the evenings in the 70s discotheque was that the fast music was danced like the “shake”, alternating with slow dances. The proportion was 5 shakes and 5 slow dances, then over the years 30 minutes of shake and three slow dances. In 1974-75 BAIA DEGLI ANGELI opened, a club which certainly marked the historical beginning of discos in Italy. Situated on a hill in GABICCE MARE (PS) facing the sea, it was designed on various communicating floor levels. A completely white structure with a panoramic view, having many innovations such as a dee-jay console (which was a lift made of glass, that allowed the dee-jay to move from the first floor to a second-floor while maintaining an overall view of the various internal and external dance floors), it had a mechanical arm with a cage, similar to the type used when repairing high tension wires, full of lighting effects that could even be moved onto the various dance floors. There was also an internal swimming pool (with dance floor) and an external one too, an avant-garde graphic and opening hours that were never seen before : people could dance until 5 or 6 in the morning. The disco was illuminated as it was daytime and no slow dances, only beautiful American music that had never been heard before (six months ahead of the other dee-jays on the Adriatic Riviera). Two American Deejays were responsible for the music choice at first: TOM SISON and BOB DAY. After a while, everyone started to have mixers – headphones – pre-listening devices and monitors, but they probably didn't know how to use them properly. Daniele Baldelli was certainly lucky to be near the Baia Degli Angeli, and it certainly contributed in a positive way to his technical evolution as a deejay. He learned for the first time, by watching the two American dee-jays, how to execute the perfect mix. In order to mix two records, the 12 inch record (that appeared on the scene as a big single track record which was more practical and suitable) was put on top of a 45 record in its paper cover, instead of laying it on the rubber cover of the turntable: in this way the speed of the playing 12 inch record could be corrected with the simple pressure of a finger without affecting the turntable speed. The deejay was finally able to slow down or accelerate the beat by hand, overlapping the same rhythms between two different songs. It was a great surprise for Daniele Baldelli to receive Bob Day and Tom Sison congratulations one afternoon when they were casually listening to his music in the Tabu Club. They were so impressed that they recommended him to the owner of the Baia as a replacement at the end of their contract - and they even left him as a really appreciated gift, a dedicated autographed copy of LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY’s record “Hit and run”. In those days Claudio Rispoli (artistically known as Mozart) was also contacted, so the two set off together on their great adventure: BAIA DEGLI ANGELI 1977/88. COSMIC opened in 1979 in Lazise on Lake Garda. The intention of the Cosmic founder, was to create something alternative. The logo of this new disco was composed by the word COSMIC that would advance at high speed towards the viewer, crashing a glass that symbolically had terrestrial landscapes painted on it (image clearly inspired by one of the Commodores covers). The dee-jay Daniele Baldelli who was been listened and appreciated in 1977-1978 at “Baia degli Angeli” in Gabicce Mare (PS), was their final choice. Everything started with the idea that the music had to be the main element of the project. Furthermore, the discotheque that was made for 1,200 people and had a dance floor for 700, also had a lighting and sound system that was certainly something never seen before. The interest created on the first inauguration evening, gathered a number of people so high that the inauguration party had to be repeated for the next four evenings: each night was a sold out. Very soon the fame of “COSMIC” spread over and within a few months reached the provinces of Verona, Brescia and Mantua. The disco within a year, became the meeting point for all “trends” and remained so from 1979 to 1984. In the discoteque parking lot it was possible to see cars coming from Palermo, Udine, Naples, Turin, Innsbruck, Florence etc.. All of the trend setters of the Peninsula booked a Saturday evening at “COSMIC”, anxious to participate and listen to that musical phenomenon labelled “AFRO”. Naturally, even if it is still used today, this term was inappropriate, unless one considers Afro as the only root which influenced the various musical styles of Daniele Baldelli. In fact, even if various periods in the history of “Cosmic” can be distinguished (that of Funky - Disco in the first year to that of Electronic in 1980-82, followed by moments more influenced by Reggae, Fusion, Jazz and Brazil), Daniele Baldelli’s Afro style was expressed when he played Ravel’s Bolero overlapping it with a track by Africa Djola, or an experimental piece by Steve Reich on which he would mix a Malinke chant from New Guinea. Mixing the T-Connection with Moebious and Rodelius, discovering in the album Izitso the only hypnotic-tribal track by Cat Stevens, extracting Africa from Depeche Mode by playing them at 33 rpm or vice-versa by creating music using a Reggae voice played at 45 rpm. Mixing 20 or so African tracks on the same electronic drum pattern or by playing them together in batucada with Kraftwerk, using the same electronic effects of a synthesiser to overlap pieces by Miram Makeba, Jorge Ben or Fela Kuti and also by uniting the Indian melodies of Hofra Haza or Sheila Chandra with the German electronic sounds of SKY RECORD. Even if largely emulated or taken as a reference point, the Daniele Baldelli of that period was only: fruit of his fantasy, musical passion and his technical research, which allowed him to be creative and experiment with various styles without following set patterns or models. Without doubt, one can say that Daniele Baldelli was the precursor, to what is known as today, as the dee-jay. Starting in 1969 when neither mixer nor headphones for pre-listening existed, up to the invention and use of electronic drums, synthetizers and the first sampling systems in discos, which only had four seconds of memory. In 1980, Daniele Baldelli invents the “Dee Jay concert”. Consisting of four turntables, two mixers and electronic drums or live percussion, 80 to 100 tracks were mixed in not much more than half an hour: a supermegamix was born, everything being carried out live. Another novelty of “Cosmic” was the equalizer, which was used as a musical instrument, intervening rhythmically on the keys and cursors, where various frequencies could be manipulated, creating accentuation on the “Cymbal” or on a voice or base. The mix was another characteristic or almost an obsession of Daniele Baldelli, who literally spent his time by listening to his records (today almost 60.000) in order to find the ideal moment where two pieces could overlap and create a third one. The “Cosmic” closed its doors in 1984.

Sounds like Heaven

Thanks to http://gravybread.wordpress.com/mega-mp3-site-list/ I found the Holy Grail of Bollywood soundtracks. http://thirdfloormusic.blogspot.com/ is the name and it features rare Bollywood beats, ballads and bombs. Apparently this guy from Norway has a crate with 150 records. He's posting them one after the other. I hope that he carries it all the way to the end.

The fuse in Brussels is turning 13 this weekend. The club started way back in 1994. I don’t know where the name came from but it’s not by accident that in those days Richie Hawtin was working under the alias of F.U.S.E. Even before all of this was happening, I was interested in electronic body music, Cabaret Voltaire and Electro. It wasn’t my main interest so I gradually lost contact with it but one of the records that got me going again and solidified my interest in electronic dance music was WARP release 12. Dimension Intrusion from 1993 by F.U.S.E. as part of the Artificial intelligence series.

By the early 90’s you all of a sudden had lots of people making techno, in Belgium and in Sheffield instead of just those three guys in Detroit. There was a relentless demand for new dance music but the Detroit innovators couldn't take it to the next stage. Other had to fill in. Kids in the UK, Canada and Europe started learning how to make those techno records. They weren't as well-made, but they had the same energy.
Especially in a country like Belgium where all the influences were available and record labels as R&S flourished. There was new beat and Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle were very big in Belgium. Detroit techno and acid house came in and everything got mixed up together.
Beltram cuts like Energy Flash and Sub-Bass Experience pointed the way forward to other R&S releases like Aphex Twin's Analogue Bubblebath, which spun techno off into yet another direction. The WARP material in Sheffield was less brutal than the Belgian techno: still using crunch industrial sounds, but more minimal, more playful.

And then another change occurred as techno went hardcore. I didn't like that phase. It was too simplistic, crude and aggressive. At that time in England and on the continent, one wing of techno was going toward ambience and the other towards popular working class fashion of hardcore. A very aggressive period. Most techno records were made for a fucked-up dance floor. no vibe, no motivation just aggression. The drugs had taken over.

Gradually there was also another category, where people were making music for you to pay attention to with your full mind, and we're trying to make something now that would last. WARP came up with the Artificial Intelligence series and a concept: Electronic music for the mind created by trans-global electronic innovators who prove music is the one true universal language. Coincidental to the Artificial Intelligence compilations, R&S released their In Order to Dance series. Together they trashed the boundaries between acid, techno, ambient, and psychedelic.
The original Detroit techno was very sophisticated. What they we're putting out around the early and mid 90’s had a similar level of sophistication. This is were Richie Hawtin and The fuse came in. The fuse started off as a heaven for high quality techno music. One of my first gig at the fuse was Black Dog productions right at the very beginning. They brought the best and most innovative DJ’s on the scene and developed into a place for house lovers with a unique mix of techno, minimal and house.
So together with my own birthday… happy birthday fuse!

F.U.S.E. - New Day
F.U.S.E. - F.U.
F.U.S.E. - Dimension Intrusion
F.U.S.E. - Uva
F.U.S.E. - Mantrax

Soy La Terremoto


I’m back from Barcelona. It was great. Barcelona feels more like home every time I go there and my fellow travellers were also in fine shape. I didn’t get around doing what I had programmed but I got a lot of opportunity to satisfy the anthropologist in me. Learning how people live and organise their lives is always interesting stuff.
There was one thing though, that I finely got around doing and that was visiting Razzmatazz, home of the Loft. People we knew in Barcelona had an evening planned for us at the Razzmatazz. On Monday Samantha Fox was coming to Barcelona as part of her comeback tour. I never was that much into Samantha Fox but it brings back memories. On the same bill there was a drag act from Madrid that I didn’t know.

Samantha Fox was fun, sometimes even hilarious but she had some of the coolest female dancers I ever saw. Great show but then it really had to start. I thought that Samantha was the main act and the drag show was the support but it was actually the other way around. La Terremoto was the name and apparently she/he is really hot in Spain.


When La Terremoto sang – or playbacked – one of her hits, I suddenly realised that I knew this person. La Terremoto was all over youtube a while ago with a silly cover of Madonna’s Hung Up which was on it’s turn again a reworking of an ABBA song. Time goes by, con Loli. A real anthem. And so was the rest. A fine selection of tracks, old and new stuff, random styles, very disco, badly mixed though, but it added to the charm of it all. It just went on and on until 6 ‘o clock. A wild crowd and crowdsurfing drags. It’s been a while that I had so much fun. Something to remember, La Terremoto de Alcorcón & El Arte De Las Feldene Flesh.

There was also a guest appearance of La Prohibida. Another drag from Spain but this one I knew from the song Flash. So enjoy!

Barça

I’m off to Barcelona for a couple of days together with some friends of mine. My birthday is comin’ and I usually spend those days abroad. Often in Spain because of those first rays of sun that don’t spell spring but summer. For now it’s Spain but maybe next year or the year after that it could very well be Italy or even Greece. Just for change, but why change?

Soit, for now it’s still Barcelona. It has a lot to offer. I really like going there. I think it’s the 7th time, I’m losing count. Anyway, always just for a couple of days. I never spend a long time there. Maybe that’s why I like coming back. I’m a city person and Barcelona really is the city of cities - just as one can have a musicians musician but only this one is a very well known one, a real VIP.
I guess it’s the most complete city around and they know it and they know what to do with it. They practically invented city branding. Somethin’ every city today is keen about. One city does it better than the other but Barcelona was first and does it best. There’s an idea or a plan behind it. It’s not just marketing. It’s the result of almost 25 years of brave policy, of living for and working with the city. At first, just after the death of Franco, it was only just very basic stuff but gradually it got more advanced, experienced and daring. There’s always something new going on. They’re always looking and planning ahead.
They also have a thing with towers. Something some other cities are scared of. The city gets one landmark after the other. A while ago it was Foster’s Torre de Collserola and now it’s Nouvel’s sensational Torre Agbar. Almost all of them ad meaning to the city. In the way you experienced the city and certainly in the way you see and read the city. The skyline is lid by these beacons of light.

I’ve always lived in the city. Most of the time in an apartment building. Nice ones. I can’t imagine my life without it. Sure, I like spending time in the countryside, at the sea or in the mountains but it’s different. I really feel alive in the city. Any city. Off course I’m most of all attracted to the things that make’s one city unique or different from the next one and I have my favourites (Barcelona, Berlin, Istanbul, Prague, Rio,…) but there’s also a basic quality that any major city has and which is almost a kind of generic feature. I can’t really explain what it is. I sometimes wonder whether it would be possible to simulate it in a studio like in that movie, the Truman Show. If everyone around you is a hired actor and just tries really hard enough, one can just sit, relax on a terrace in the middle of a setting underneath the sun with a little drink and image that one is part of city life. But than again one has to be able to wonder around too and get lost among crowds or empty streets, continuously discover new quarters, places and stuff. The sense of entering a unique place that nevertheless resembles so many other places. A sense that you’ve been there before although in fact, it’s the first time and probably also the last. It’s a strange sensation which resembles what the French situationists called detournement. An unsettling, even destabilizing sensation. Great movies can also have that moving, or even chocking effect. Shedding a different light on certain things. It’s off course very closely linked with the very act of traveling. Getting away from your normal habitat but in great cities you can have it almost any day, extremely loud and incredibly close. When you least expect it. Maybe 9/11 is also something like that. Changing the appearance of an entire city and the way one perceives it. No matter how cruel, it’s an act of pure (bad) genius but one, one can better live without.
For many people all of this can maybe be difficult or to hard to handle. That why so many people leave the city I guess, to live a more quiet life in the countryside. Maybe at peace. In don’t know. Maybe I should give it a try myself to see what it’s like.

In this sense, returning to Barcelona could very well be a kind of semi-religious or piteous act of believe in the city that I’m not aware of. Renewing the vows so to speak :-) I don’t know. Usually it’s rather a more bacchanal and wasted affaire I have to recover from afterwards.
I also have more personnel reasons for going back. I really have a love/hate affaire with Barcelona. I lost my first love to the city. She left for Barcelona with an exchange program called Erasmus, well known to most European students, and never came back. So maybe I still feel like it owes me, like for instance a new one. How silly, I know, but true.

So I’m off for some ace architecture, climbing yet unclimbed towers, watching some Easter Hanky Panky, walking the walk, talking the talk, shopping for shoes, having my way with great food, partying, drinking and loving the city, life and my friends. Tell me, what else does one need or want…

JUNO in The Trees

In 2007 Juno Records is ten years old, and to celebrate that they are releasing ten classic dance tracks, each remixed by leading producers including Julien Jabre, Spirit Catcher, Dimitri from Paris, Lindstrøm, Troy Pierce and many more.
To launch the series, Faze Action's seminal deep house classic In The Trees is remixed by Carl Craig, Jerome Sydenham and Tiger Stripes. Especially the Craig remixes are worthwhile and makes one press the repeat button.

As someone else wrote it on the net: beginning with dramatic stabbing synths, Craig slowly layers the key elements – a subtle kick, chugging breakbeat and pitch-shifting pads – into an impressive, all-encompassing groove. The eventual arrival of the distinctive orchestration of the original is quite an event – doubled-up and slightly phased, the strings carry an impressive malice unthinkable from the original. Craig is content to let them play out with only the lightweight breakbeat for support – the kick arrives a full two minutes later, supported by a 'Throw'-style snippet of the original bassline and those marauding synths. It's a big track –

To say the least. The original isn’t that bad either. What’s more it’s a classic that deserves this kind of treatment. Faze Action's 1996 original on Nuphonic was one of the first and best things released on the then brand new label. 2 brothers, Simon and Robin Lee are behind the concept. As bona fide disco music connoisseurs, their sound was an instant blast: lush strings and heavy bass bringin' the dancefloor back to the best underground disco years, without the cheese or the roller skates. They fitted right in the Nuphonic credo - almost anything goes as long as it's good, and not techno. It’s still today luminous and sensitive dance music, the epitomy of deep house that you could actually get lost into in da club and listen to at home on a rainy Sunday. In those day’s it was for a year or two the best thing around.

Faze Action – In The Trees (original 1996 version)
Faze Action – In The Trees (Carl Craig C2 mix #1)
Faze Action – In The Trees (Carl Craig C2 mix #2)

For Free!

They've got a new system of free tracks over at emusic. So check out this high energy sampler of African dance music. Take the offer while it lasts.

African Dance

Oh My God, Could It Be True?

I've been posting a lot lately... that means that I'm spending a lot of time behind my computer which is true because I've got muito trabalho y ocupações. I'm leaving for Barcelona next week with a couple of friends so its rather muchos trabajos and yes oh boy, I still got work to do. I no longer measure the extends of the labour because it's that much. But I'm going anyway, it's not a convenient moment but than again, nothing ever really comes that way - as a friend with the same problem spook wisely, so is death.
Looking back it's not that bad that The Arcade Fire aren't comin' next Wednesday. Extra time for work :-) but that doesn't mean I don't take the occasional five in order to relax behind and away from the screen. We where thinking of taking a swim in Barcelona and I suddenly remembered a nice open pool on the Montjuïc with a spectacular view. It's the location where the Video Slow from Kylie Minogue is shot and while googling for tha video I stumbled upon this one. Could it be true? I wonder.

Random Bambiboy


The Arcade Fire cancelled their European Tour because of illness of the lead singer Win Butler. What a pity. Luckily there’s unique life footage on the net like for instance The Take Away Shows. It’s a simple concept but so effective. Just invite a band for a life performance on the streets of Paris and film what ever happens in just one shot. The Arcade Fire’s show is different because apparently that day, it was to cold outside. Instead they filmed inside an service elevator and between a puzzled crowd waiting for the concert.
Arcade Fire away

There's a silly popsong that's been buggin' me for days now. It's Little Donna from the Dutch band Benny Sings. The singing Benny reminds me a bit of a Bambi dressed guy I once met outside a dresscoded party. The video is pretty in pink and hey, apart from a horse in the corridor there's also a Bambi in it somewhere.



The Chemical Brothers got a new release in their ongoing Electronic Battle Weapon output of tryouts and the last one is really smashing. N° 8 sound totally unique, crossing the borders of techno, minimal tech, Big Beat & electro house with finesse, style, dept and dancefloor destroying potential. I definitively wanna hear this life. They Still kick ass!

Chemical brothers - Electronic Battle Weapon 8

And Soulwax has a new remix and it's for the Klaxons this time. As always, they got their act together.

Klaxons - Gravity’s Rainbow (Soulwax remix)

Anti-Kamasutra

super surprise

Well what a surprise. This Friday James Holden and Rob Hall - part time collaborator of the part time collective Gescom - are coming to Les Halles in Schaarbeek Brussels together with Autechre.

I've seen Autechre play multiple times. A show by Autechre is always interesting but over the years they're getting further and further away from the dancefloor, far off, almost to the point where I loose interest. As a reminder of those first eye-opening shows in the '90s some Autechre and Gescom classics.

Clipper
Motor 1

Ein ganz heitere Himmel über Brüssel

Mann-o-Mann, 7 mai konzertieren Mouse on Mars [Köln/Düsseldorf], Barbara Morgenstern [Berlin] und Planningtorock [Berlin/Bolton] im Brüssel auf Les Nuits Botanique.

Allen dort hin!

Stones Throw’s indie rap and soul

I’m not a religious person but thank god for labels like Stones Throw. Stones Throw knows that the foundation of hip-hop starts with classic soul and rare grooves. For more than 10 years now, they’ve been releasing throwback left- and offside hip-hop and funksoul projects that nobody else would dare to release or re-release (an extensive part of their catalogue consists of old skool material).
As a kind of random field guide, I offer a private collection of songs that are full of fire and spirit and — above all — soul.

046 Gary Wilson - Soul Travel 1973
First some early ‘70s bizarro funk Soul Travel from Gary Wilson. He’s one of those persons for whom the term cult is a highly appropriate brand. Just read this Wikipedia article on Gary Wilson.

047 Percee P & Koushik - Reverse Part 2
Next Percee P’s speed raps over a sample of Turkey’s first lady of funk, Selda, in a collaboration with Koushik on Reverse Part 2. Percee P has been emceeing since 1979 and is considered one of the few old skool rappers still in the game. He is something of a legend in the underground scene although he has never released an official album of his own. Instead he performed many guest appearances on other alternative and underground hip-hop artists' releases but change is on it’s way, Percee P is currently working on his first official release at Stones Throw.

048 Koushik - Be With
049 Koushik - None In Mind
More output from producer and a vocalist Koushik and somethin’ you might not expect to come out on Stones Throw. Be With and None in Mind are melodic and textural works reminiscent of '60s psychedelic pop, Shuggie Otis, Manitoba or even Beck. What does the trick for me is Koushik's soft, airy voice (reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine and Manitoba) but it doesn't act as the main attraction. He rather uses it as a DJ would, as another sound to add to the songs.

050 Jay Dee aka J Dilla - Two Can Win
American hip hop producer and MC J Dilla aka Jay Dee emerged from the mid-‘90s underground hip-hop scene in Detroit. J Dilla's work received cult-status and embodied the neo soul or nu-soul sound, playing a defining role up till 2006 when he died. J Dilla was highly regarded by better known producers as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, who named him as his favourite producer.

051 Dudley Perkins - Falling
After the success of Lauryn Hill more and more rappers and emcees changed their style and started back singing instead of rapping. Dudley Perkins, also known as rapper Declaime, is Madlib’s vocal muse. Perkins has an extremely unique sounding voice, but he’s no traditional singer. He released an album of just him singing and doing spoken word over beats produced by Madlib. The track Falling is one of the best songs on the album and mainly a spoken-word piece over an incredible Madlib beat. The mid-tempo rhythm just glides along as a complicated and melancholy orchestral motif plays. The many different melodies change and integrate with each other. It is the best Madlib beat I have ever heard.

051 Mr. Magic - Earth Break
052 Mr. Magic - Coast to Coast [Edan Edit]
053 Mr. Magic - Potential 1980
054 Outlaw Four - Million Dollar Legs
055 Cuzz Band - I Just Wanna Dance
056 Positive Choice Band – 2001 Kazoo’s
And in order to end, a strong emphasize on Mr. Magic as heard on the compilation of old-school rap Third Unheard. Mr. Magic was New York's first all-rap radio DJ, but before that he was a Connecticut rap impresario. Connecticut's proximity to New York allowed it to be among the first to fall sway to the newest form of party music in the late ‘7os. Third Unheard is full of naive but fresh old-school amateur charm. Something nostalgic for the old folks, as to speak.
12-year-old Pookey Blow, nephew to Magic, shows up with Magic for the highly rated rare groove Earth Break, followed by Coast to coast and Potential 1980.
Apart from Mr. Magic there was in 1980 more going on in Connecticut as shown in the tuneless-yet-still-compelling chorus of the Outlaw Four's disco-rap Million Dollar Legs, Cuzz Band’s I Just Wanna Dance and Positive Choice Band’s 2001 Kazoo’s.

Electrolatino

Ricardo Villalobos will be playin' at the fuse this evening. I don't know what to expect because I've never heard him dj before. So far, I can only get an idea on the basis of his last album which is really great but I should better check http://linkset.blogspot.com/.

As a forproof listen to Unflug and Que Belle Epoque at an earlier post from the beginning of this year or at my public box over at the right counter.

Back to Black

The show must goes on. Bringing you this time some older and more recent stuff that I stumbled upon while wading through my digital files.

042 Joss Stone - Girl They won’t Believe it

Joss Stone has a new album out. I'm not really a big fan of her but I like ze genre and some of her songs. This one is great though. A nice steady offbeat shuffle. I went through the backs of my mind but I can't recall having heard this rhythm before. Which probably says more about my musical knowledge than the originality of the songwriting. But one never knows.

043 Flanger – Outer Space Inner Space

Electronic Jazz. There's tons of it out there but I find most of it rarely satisfying. A happy exception is Flanger. Some people will find this just noodles but I like the hard uncut edge. It doesn't have to be perfect. It ain't Rocket Science.

044 Sun Ra – Space is the Place

And since we are talking 'bout space and rocket science now... Space is the Place, indeed. I wonder whether one's inner space is as vast as outer space. Or whether the inner space can be a metaphor for the depths of the far far galaxy. Is everything we can imagine, also somewhere out there? Is there a limit to our minds? Am I ready for Los Straightjackets right now?

045 Joe Bataan – Chick-A-Boom (Chris Joss remix)

I recently purchased a compilation of the Thievery Corporation's ESL Label. Last year they produced their 100th release. Favourite track is the David Byrne collaboration The Heart's a Lonely Hunter in the Louie Vega Mix. You can already find it somewhere else on this site. But a nice surprise (and reason of purchase) was the Joe Bataan song Chic-A-Boom. I like Joe Bataan. A Salsoul and early hiphop pioneer. I knew the song but I couldn't find it anywhere. Now I have it in a worthy Chris Joss remix. A genuine Floorfiller!

By the way, I'm using Zshare right now. As a test because I'm running out of storage space at the Box. It's easy. A nice features is the possibility of hearing first what you're going to download. If you don't like it you can just split.

Superdiscount

put on yer dancin' shoes... you dirty little swine 'cause Etienne de Crecy is comin' to town with a whole lotta Digital Soul... Oops. There was no digital soul apparently, but a four to the floor partyrave. Well, for once that's just as good for me.

...and somethin' else, a suprise from a friend at meckermeckermecker Kompakt's cool taste Partial Arts - Trauermusik

...and more Battles Leyendecker

What do you do with the pieces of a Broken Heart.

Sometimes I feel like the bandleader of a Lonely Hearts Club Band. Recently I had multiple friends lamenting on me about their present and past love life. A nice side effect of listening and worrying about other people's misery is that one forgets one’s own.

So, for those poor suckers with a broken heart (be it unanswered or played around with) here's a nice comforting video Chinese Translation from M. Ward. A lot gets lost in translation and the will to communication. Let’s just all stop wanting. You’ll know what you want if you get it. Si Vis Amari, Ama.

So sail a wild, wild sea, climb up a tall, tall mountain, meet a old, old man beneath a weeping willow tree and ask him these questions three.

Awesome

There are some great new Warp label releases that I simply have to share with you all.

First, the new release Atlas from Battles's forthcoming album Mirrored. I never liked Helmet but I really like this stuff. It's something fresh. Some primitive bouncing rhythms which refer to German Motorik but the end result is something else. It has a catchy edge while those Krautrockers usually kept noodling on and on.



Next a song from last years album Body Riddle by Warp label protege (Chris) Clark. It's out on a special EP now. My favourite track at this moment. I just can't get out of my head. Dirrrty!

Clark - Ted

Candid Sauna

And the magic word for tonight is Patrick Wolf. His last album The Magic Position is really first-rate smashing ausum. It’s not yet for sale over here, but what the heck, it’s circulating all over the net right now. I downloaded it a while ago but I know I’m gonna buy it anyway, if it isn’t for the music than at least for the fancy silly album cover. It’s completely over the top and full of attitude but hey, that’s the spirit if you wanna sell records and get attention these days. What is it with the orange hair? Too much carrots... It seems that he changes looks like other people change their undies but I think it looks great. It’s my favourite colour anyway, especially for everything that spells... hair.
Favourite track this time is Bluebells which sounds a bit like David Sylvian to me.

This post is meant for a friend who, I reckon, is craving for this album and it's cover right now ;-)... so it’s password protected since I have the policy of not posting complete albums (most records these days aren’t worth listening all the way trough anyway). Have fun.

<>

One year in business

II started this Blog just one year ago. Around this time of year there are always 2 major events. One is keeping the memory and legacy of Serge Gainsbourg alive and the other one is the International Women's Day. The 2nd of March has passed and 8 March is still on it’s way so as a foreshadow of future events an the occasion for men to express their love to the women around them, this tribute from Tom Zé to the women of brasil and a lament on the still harsh conditions some of them live in.

These studies on the musical genre of Pagode are set up as a form of soap-operetta. Pagode is a natural evolution of Samba, Rio style, bringing funny and smart lyrics about malandragem (freely translated as the way of live of the outlaw), hard life and the brazilian way of solving problems in a convenient manner. In many lyrics, the small criminal outlaw who lives this kind of live, the Malandro, gives comment on his lifestyle, the government, the police and… bad women. This way Pagode is also known for it’s often women unfriendly lyrics (reminiscent of gangster rap).

As a form of critic Tom Zé used this musical style to give form to one the most powerful musical tributes to women I know.