A steady source of inspiration is the music by swiss trio Yello. In the late 80s they became world famous for their track “Oh Yeah” which was featured in various of Hollywood movies, most notably in “Ferris Buelers Day Off”. Yello´s body of work however comprises several albums containing a breathtaking range of musical blends, supported by analogue electronic music and the incredible sound library of one of it´s core members, Boris Blank. At a time, when computer memory would limit the length of a sample to two seconds, Yello collaged sounds from movies, industrial machines or everyday life with their middle European version of electro funk, spicing their music with a twisted passion for Mambo or Cha Cha. Parallel to their cutting edge production approach, Yello heavily supported the idea of the classic pop song, creating classics like “Vicious Games”, “Lost Again”, “Oh Yeah” or “I Love You”, making them regulars in Euroland´s pop-charts from 1983-1989. Yello also was one of the first groups to embrace the music video as an art form, with Yello´s lead singer Dieter Meier producing and directing all of the videos. Two of my favourite two songs from Yello are “Pinball Cha Cha” and “I Love You”:

Had a great gig in Geneva last Friday at le Zoo club. Me and Joyce Muniz tore it up to a great crowd of Genevans(?) and Brazilians. Big shout out to Rico, Steff and Dj Schnausi for their wonderful hospitality. As per usual, I forgot my camera, and was only able to take one half decent photo with my iphone…

Saturday was the birthday party of my radio station, FM4. I actually almost didnt make it back in time to play there, because of a snow storm in Geneva which delayed all flights coming in and out of the airport. It was proper airport nightmare. Luckily, I did manage to make it back only 3 hours later than scheduled, just back in time to see Deichkind play a wicked set of trashy electro combined with witty lyrics and an amazingly choreographed live show that was complete with illuminated costumes. The crowd went nuts for them. Photo taken from my crappy phone cam, again…

This Sunday I’ll be off on UK tour as the support act to UK indie supergroup Mongrel. We will be hitting up many cities in the UK, so please check the dates on their site or mine and come by to the shows if you are in the area! In the meantime, here is a remix that myself and Motorpitch did for their current single.

Mongrel – Hit from the morning sun (Dj Beware and Motorpitch rmx)

I’m off to pack my camera in my bag already, so you can actually see some good photos next time!

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Another reason to finally learn some German for y´all Anglo Saxons out there is the new book “Funk The City”, which will be released by Berlin based publisher B_Books next week. “Funk The City” focuses on the urban every day life of Rio De Janeiro and Berlin and the subcultures of hip hop and baile funk that shape each city´s popular culture. In both cities, hip hop as well as baile funk are considered “ghetto” and associated with violence and marginality by the mainstream press. “Funk The City” asks: Do baile funk and hip hop represent a culture of urban action as resistance, with which the residents of the stigmatised favelas as well as Berlin immigrant quarters fight symbolically against their social marginalisation? Do they create more than “exotic” music and lifestyles or are they are a mere economic surplus which gets skimmed by the global cultural industries? “Funk The City” is based on year long researches and various interviews with activists from both cities, summarizing analyses, essays, talks, photos and lyrics of the sounds and cultural practice from the peripheries of Rio De Janeiro and Berlin. Featuring interviews with Mr.Catra, DJ Marlboro, Denise Garcia (director of “I´m Ugly But I´m Trendy”), myself and many others.

“FUNK THE CITY- SOUNDS UND STÄDTISCHES HANDELN AUS DEN PERIPHERIEN VON RIO DE JANEIRO UND BERLIN”
By Stephan Lanz/Gese Dorner/Katharina Gaber/Nele Harlan
Nadine Jäger/Sigurd Jennerjahn/Birke Otto/Swantje Plähn
Berlin, b_books, 2008

metroZones 9/b_books

218 Pages
ISBN 978-3-933557-91-9

Price: 18 €

So, Haaksman and I just got back from our gigs in Asia.  It was a fun trip, gigs were great, plus we also managed to squeeze in a few days of holiday in between. In this trip, I also decided to give up smoking… I succeeded for about a week.

Our first stop was Hong Kong for the infamous Pimpin’ Aint Easy night. Pimpin’ Aint Easy is definitely THE night out in Hong Kong for eclectic dance music- a small intimate club with a great crowd who just love to hear all the latest sounds. A big shout out to the hosts of this wonderful night, my good friends Kid Fresh and Dj Enso, for always bringing the good stuff to Hong Kong, as well as keeping the vodka (over)flowing! After the gig, we all went and ate at Chui Wah, my favourite post gig restaurants. I think one of the things that I miss the most about living in Hong Kong is the possibility to get a proper meal at anytime of the day. Hong Kong is just one of those cities that never sleeps and never rests, a place where you can get whatever you want whenever you want.

After spending a few days in Hong Kong buying stuff and visiting family and friends we went on to Taipei, where we were invited to play by local dj legend and all round man of good taste DJ Mykal. Haaksman and I got there a day earlier to check out the city. Taipei is a cool city with a strong Japanese influence and excellent food – big shout out to DJ Noodles for taking us to the amazing food spots! The club where we played, Mint,  was in the world’s tallest building, the Taipeh 101. Party was big fun, and I tried to compete with DJ Mykal and Haaksman in drinking Tequila shots- I was destroyed because I am a crap at drinking.

Some pics:

Haaksman and Beware,Taipei flyer

Pimpin Aint Easy, Hong Kong Flyer

L-R Beware, Kid Fresh, Daniel Haaksman @PAE, Hong Kong

Ladies!

Some of the crowd showing love for the camera @PAE Hong Kong

Dj Mykal and DJ Beware

Once again, a big fat thank you to Kid Fresh, Enso, Mykal, Noodles, Alive Not Dead and everyone else who took care of us this trip!

Ghetto Bassquake , the highly recommendable blog from London´s DJ Vamanos, posted yesterday a link to the film “War On Democracy” by British journalist and film maker John Pilger. He is one of the few UK journalists that has been tirelessly reporting the severe political and economical problems that face the peoples of South America. A year ago, John Pilger released his excellent film “The War On Democracy” about the resistance of the Latin American people against the apalling trade sanctions, strangulating economical grip and outright murder by the U.S. government’s foreign policy in Latin American countries. Watch it here in full length:

Recent events in Latin America (the Bolivian crisis, Columbia´s FARC crumbling) however show that the influence of U.S. foreign policy in its “backyard” is waning. It´s another part of the U.S.´s imperial overstretch and its ensuing global political and economical power demise – Latin American countries today tend to take their fate in their own hands.

Bad Brains have been a constant reference and source of inspiration for everything hardcore coming from the U.S., from bands like Black Flag, Fugazi to Youth Of Today. Also Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against The Machine relentlessly cited the influence of Bad Brains for their work. Originally from DC, the all black hardcore outfit became known for incorporating both fast punk riffs as well as mellow reggae tunes in their shows and albums. The influence of the band continues: Diplo´s recent “Top Ranking” mixtape for Santogold was full of Bad Brains references, notably her cover version of Bad Brain´s “Right Brigade” as the hidden track of the CD.  TV On The Radio probably also wouldnt exist without the pioneering and still breathtaking music of Bad Brains. After seeing a range of T-Shirts by Supreme fronting the Bad Brains logo, I recently dug out their seminal, 1982 “Rock For Light” album (produced by Ric Ocasek from The Cars) and it blew me away again. P.S. In their early days Bad Brains had an incredible dressing style too, check H.R. – with a red flower in his blazer´s buttonhole, as seen in this live video from 1979.

I´m back from Asia. Shock freezed in cold ass Berlin, but glad to be back in the office and kick off the fourth year of Man Recordings which promises to be full of great releases and events. Spring 2009 will see Funk Mundial releases by the ZZK all stars from Buenos Aires: Funk Mundial #8, feat. El Remolón, Chancha Via Circuito, Douster and Frikstailers, the first ever Cumbia-Baile release. Funk Mundial #9 will follow shortly after, prouding us with a contribution by our favourite Ed Banger Feadz from Paris. His release is a collab with 8 year old Rio based MC Wesley  – released as limited edition 7″ vinyl.

Despite various vinyl distributors folding in the 4th quarter of 2008, making us loose money and stock, and the all over world economy looking up to grim months to come, we´ll still keep up to the vinyl format. A look at the photo ensemble which we recently shot of our releases should say it all: MP3 my ass, vinyl is here to stay.

In the second download this week we offer Brazil’s answer to Girl Talk, Joao Brasil and his latest album “Big Forbidden Dance”. Rio’s Joao Brasil is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who had a minor hit with his tune “Baranga”, which basically translates as slag/whore-like.

The title of the album”Big Forbidden Dance”, literally translates as “Baile Proibidão”, though this has nothing to do with the proibidão genre of Baile Funk. It does however, have everything to do with Girl-Talk-like mash ups, in fact it is the exact same thing, lots of small parts of familiar material, stitched together to make a very danceable whole. Differently from Girl Talk, with his tendency to mix hardcore rapping with anthemic college rock to create frat-friendly party pieces, João makes collages out of old and new dance tracks all held together with the batidão of baile funk, so you get Michael jackson rubbing shoulders with Mylo and Justice with a dash of Nirvana!.

There’s an interesting essay here dissecting Girl Talk, which is well worth the (lengthy) read, and while there’s nothing very clever or very meta in João Brasil you will find a lot of stoopid funny party bombs – enjoy!

Download: (includes songs, cover and samples list)

Big Forbidden Dance João Brasil

To give you a taster here is a great remix João did for CSS.

left_behind_css_joao_brasil1

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Happy new year to everbody also from this side of the globe. Sorry for almost two weeks of non-posting. DJ Beware and me are travelling Asia these days. In between DJing (Hong Kong with Kid Fresh was rocking!) we put the blog on hold and enjoyed quality time with our girlfriends or relaxed at the beach. We´ll post a short diary of the Hong Kong and Taipeh sessions soon.

So just a quick post today: Here´s what excited the Man Recordings office in 2008. The list is not complete, just a few albums, tracks and films that kept us alive and inspired in 2008.

LONGPLAY

Portishead “3″
Santogold “Creator”
OST “There Will Be Blood”
V.A. “Funky Nassau – The Compass Point Story”
Quiet Village “Silent Movie”
Sebastian Tellier “Sexuality”

Funkmaster Flex “The 90s Mixtape”
Flying Lotus “L.A.”
Moritz von Oswald + Carl Craig “Recomposed”
Chancha Via Circuito “Album”
V.A. $olal Mixtape
Santogold “Top Ranking Diplo Mixtape”
V.A. “Daniel Haaksman Presents Bossa Do Morro”
The Beatles “White Album Covered 1+2″ (Mojo Magazine)
Jesse Rose “What Do You Do If You Don´t?”
Crookers BBC Essential Mix
Flying Lotus BBC Essential Mix
Erykah Baduh “Amerykah”
Munk “Cloudbuster”
Kanye West “808s + Heartbreaks”
Mr.Oizo “Lambs Anger”
Bigga Bush “13 Faces Of Lightning Head”
Maurice Fulton “Bubbletease Communication 1+2″
V.A. “Astigmatic Presents Frederic Chopin”
The Clipse “Road To Till The Casket Drops” Mixtape

SHORTPLAY

Snoop Dogg “Sensual Seduction”
AC/DC “Thunder – Crookers Remix”
Edu K feat Marina “(Edu K) Me Bota Pra Dançar”
Estelle ft. Kanye West “American Boy”
South Rakkas Crew “Mad Again – 8 Boy BIt Rmx”
Fake Blood “Mars”
Lil Wayne “A Mili”
Buraka Som Sistema feat. M.I.A. “Sound Of Kuduro”
Buraka Som Sistema “Kalemba”
Erykah Badu “The Healer”
Madera Limpia “Loco – Daniel Haaksman Remix”
Duke Dumont “Hoy”
TC “Where´s My Money? – Caspa Remix”
Digitaldubs feat. Duda “O Comedia Vacilou”
Freestyle “Don´t Stop Atabaque (DJ Dinho + Fú Remix)

DJ Edgar “Montagem Smoke On The Water”

DJ Beware + MC Gringo “Tamborzão Con Scratchy”
Funk Mundial #6
Sergio Mendes “Day Tripper – DJ Fú+DJ Dinho Remix”
Byano DJ “Montagem Piroca No Cha”
Larry Tee “I Love U – Bart B More Secured Dub”
Italoboyz feat. John Coltrane “Bahia”
Peter Fox “Haus Am See”
Kid Cudi “Day + Night – Crookers Remix”
Zombie Disco Squad “Esperanto”
DJ Mujava “Township Funk”
Chavy Boys Of London “Friday Night”
Crookers “Mad Kidz Ep”
Dédé Mandrake feat. MC Maiquinho “Hey Hey”
Dennis DJ feat. MC Dandara “A Buchecha É Minha”
DJ Znobia – All tracks
A-Trak “Say Whoa – Sinden Remix”
Jesse Rose feat. Deize “Toca Pra Mim”
Edu K feat. Marina “Edu K Me Bota Pra Dançar”
Daniel Haaksman “Whos Afraid Of Rio?” EP
Busy Signal “Tic Toc”
Oliver $ feat. Deize “Tá Com Medo De Mim?”
Boyz Noize “Oh – A Trak Remix”
Walter Murphy “A Fifth Of Beethoven (Soulwax Rx)”
DJ Amazing Clay “Supa Jones 2008″
Jazmine Sullivan “Need You – Seiji Rmx”
Buraka Som Sistema “Yah – C+S Mix”
DJ Blaqstarr “Shake It – Santogold + Switch Remix”
Alphabeat “Fantastic 6 – Radioclit Remix”
Herve “Cheap Thriller – Armand Van Helden Remix”
T.I. feat. Lil Wayne, Jay Z, Kanye West “Swagger Like Us”
Beastie Boys “Intergalactic – Cumbia Remix”
Ku Bo EPs 2+3
MC Gringo “Fucky Fucky”
Young MC “No Hat – Debonair Samir Remix”
Yo Mayesty “Fuck That Shit”
Count+Sinden “Stinging Nettle”
Lützenkirchen “Drei Tage Wach”
etc. etc.

FILMS, SERIES

Klaus Kinski – Jesus Christus Redeemer
Before The Devil Knows You´Re Dead
There Will Be Blood
Cocaine Cowboys

No Country For Old Men

Burn After Reading
The Wire Seasons 1-5
Entourage Seasons 1-4
The Office Seasons 1-3
The Dark Knight

Waltz for Bashir

Zodiac
Bastards Of The Part

Happy new year Man people. As a new year’s gift to you all I present the KL Jay Mixtape “Rotação 33″. KL Jay is the DJ for brazil’s biggest hip hop group Racionais MCs, who come from the favelas in the suburbs of São Paulo and whose songs potray quite harrowing scenes from the periferia and are chock full of ctiticism of the social situation in Brazil (all in Portuguese of course). They are into quite epic structures with songs typically stretching for 7-8 minutes and musically they are influenced by gangster rap but also RZA’s productions for WU-Tang Clan with heavily string laden backgrounds. One of the downsides of their popularity is that virtually every rap group that came out of São Paulo after them wanted to sound like them. And this is where the mixtape comes in as it mixes the old school of Braziilian Rap, De Leve, Costa a Costa, with the new school, Maloka S/A, Livia Cruz E as Camaradas, to show where Brazilian hip hop, rap, whatever is today.

My personal experiance of KL Jay was when I put on party with some friends a few years ago and KL Jay djed for us (racionais MCs had played in town the previous night). His Djing was pure old school funk, with him playing old funk, disco and soul tracks ( to a mainly bohemian white crowd) which must have been what they played in the 70s and 80s bailes in the periferias. he even slowed things down for couples to slow dance and was constantly chatting on the microphone between tracks – unbelievably he included “Grease is the word” by Frankie Valli in the set, and it sounded great!

Download Mix.

Pic and link courtesy of the ever-fantastic Trabalho Sujo.

kl-jay-19-humilde-mas-ligeiro-maloka-sa

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