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!

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.