Crate Soul Brothers newsletter #72: Shuffering and Shmiling
Newsflash 29.11.2001
Dear friends,
This time let's begin with Shuriken's latest newsbitz from London who again
can't stop writing about what's happening over there...
"My head is blowing up, like Nena's "neun und neunzig Luftballon". I'm
digging the library of Goldsmiths College, like endless crates, the
hopeless search for relevant information in a sea of interesting letters is
a deep meditation that results in altered states. Journals transform into
record labels with distinctive profiles, articles take the shape of rare
12"s worth diggin' for, and books seem more and more like out-dated
compilation albums or full length solo albums that just can't get to the
point. In my solitary quest, I try to cut down on visiting record stores,
labels, clubs and friends, not easy in the city of omnipresent delight.
Still, these encounters keep me in touch with reality, so nuff respect to
those who could get me away from the world of abstract ideas and exposed me
to rain, sunlight, polluted London air and vibrating sound waves.
Dom Servini is still the one, when it comes to getting my ass out of the
library! He even took me out to a posh restaurant in Soho to see Mr Soulful
himself, Victor Davies live! What a man! Fortunately, none of us music
lovers were hungry that night! :)
I also visited Ministry of Sound that week to see how Gilles Peterson joins
the dots. He got Koop, the whole Co-Op/West London mob, Alex & Jurgen of
the Jazzanova, etc. together for a Thursday night at the legendary club I
never thought I would visit. At least I know, why they call it MoS! The
emphasis is NOT on the ministry bit! The main room had 6 or 8 heavy weight
sound-canons that you just couldn't escape. Guess if the Zero dB guys'
smile went from ear to ear even hours after having witnessed their infamous
Suba remix on this bad mutha of a system.
Wah Wah @ Catch was a mash up again! Reini of Spinning Wheel Records
(www.spinningwheel.de) has definitely rocked the crowd, I only wished his
set had been a lot longer! Keyser and I since long consider Spinning Wheel
as one of the most progressive labels in the scene, being about music, not
money, egos or hype. Their Club Boogaloo compilation is already a classic,
representing the wide range of musicians who are doing the rounds at their
clubnight in Pfarrkirchen. Keyser and I spent one of our most memorable
nights djing and beyond in this small, friendly town, situated in the heart
of Bavaria many months ago. This night also gave me a chance to meet Paul
Beller (one of the most vital driving forces behind the Space Clique
project), a truly fantastic guy (Watch out for his forthcoming solo stuff
under the alias of Sonicsurfer. He's got mad beats!). Thanks to Miriam (a
German arts student/music journo/organiser of social events) for
introducing me to Richard Ellis of Further Out Records, who will surprise
many, who are willing to dig the crates for starting up labels, with an
amazing selection of contemporary sample based jazz.
Big up Simbad and the Key Recordings massive! Simbad, a world traveller of
Polish origin and man of amazing experiences and stories at the humble age
of only 25 invited me for a b2b set to his internet based radio show on
Gaia Live (www.gaialive.co.uk). Missing my weekly sessions with Keyser at
Tilos, it was like a breath of fresh air. He also took me down their
studio, where all those nasty Twitch bits come from. I've got good news for
you, on-line music geeks: there is more of the good stuff from where their
first 12" came from (specialdistribution@ukonline.co.uk). Look out for a
deep blues influenced house tempo joint on Key, I probably got on Simbad's
nerves asking for rewinds (it's on DAT, fools!) 3 times! Missing my girl,
Dori a lot, this song almost brought me to tears.
Thanks to Mike & Spencer @ Goya for sorting me out with the Gypo track,
that I were going crazy about, along with a bunch of other beats (take
Viper Squad for example. It's baaaaad!) that will only be featured in next
month's chart due to the aforementioned academic headbend that didn't let
me play around with setting priorities of the freshly arrived stuff. (Same
goes for Steve & Duncan @ Zzonked, Svjet @ Crippled Dick, and the Klein
Records massive from Vienna). Thanks for showing love & care for a brother.
We've been missing out this newsletter for a couple of weeks, so I'll grab
the opportunity to go on even longer and welcome Cukipapa, the one and only
Alan Brown, most important contemporary admirer of London life back in the
virtual world of newsletters! Oooh, how we've been missing you! Your Boots
Bit is still da joint! Seeing him in his very relaxed person (He's about to
grow a beard! Beware women of the world!) on the crowded London tube and
behind the decks @ Charterhouse Bar and Plastic People made me think
whether I also should move to Vienna. Not just the fact that this way I
could get in about 2 hrs driving distance of my girl, but also I'm almost
sure I'd look less like the loon on the run that this city is transforming
me into with violent pace.
I'm also glad to have witnessed Zeljko Kerleta's lesson in jazz, attitude
and style @ Plastic People! This guy is definitely teaching a lesson to us
all behind the decks! I was trainspotting his records like a beaver on
acid! Not only did he play the same sort of uncompromisingly exciting blend
that I've only heard from the Belgradeyard Sound System guys, he did it
with a deep knowledge and understanding. There must be something in the
water in Belgrade that just turns you into a daring person, who loves music
so much to give the audience what they need (and not necessarily what they
want). And those of you, who don't know: he is running a label in London.
Cosmic Sounds (http://www.cosmicsounds-london.com) is my most reliable
source when it comes to quality jazz music from Eastern Europe. The CS
compilations helped me a lot in mapping the past of Eastern jazz (and you
know, I'm from that region too and still, Zeljko knows more then I probably
ever will), not to speak of the reissues ultra-rare albums by big-guns like
Dusko Gojkovic. However, he is also releasing new stuff (and you probably
know by now that he's quite picky, don't expect the average nu-jazzy bits
that lack real musical substance). There is a new 12" (Alex Rostotsky -
Once Upon a Time in the City of Kazan) out to convince anyone.
Alan Brown has since long been telling me his favourite club is Plastic
People. Silly me couldn't get my boots down there before this weekend. I
guess Zeljko's invitation will have long lasting effects on my local
clubbing habits. It'll be hard to schedule any Saturday night without
dropping by PP. It's The Club. It has the baddest soundsystem that pumps
out more bass/sec than all the submarines of the US Navy, and still manages
to keep the sound clean and warm, like your mother's eyes. No lights on the
dancefloor keep away those who think clubbing is about flashing designer
fashion. It is not. It's all about the music and dancing. Love the
attitude! As I love the attitude of Ade, who makes it all happen (and
judging by the friendly crowd response, I'm not alone). And I thought
Keyser & me were sick carrying 2 huge bags of records each for a one hour
long back to back session. Ade alone had 4 bags for 150 minutes!
Big up Reka & her crew for throwing a birthday party for me! Without them
I'd probably spent that night reading books!
As Keyser's exams toughen up from now (I'm proud of my boy having passed 2
of them already) and I have to finish 3 essays (5000 words each) by the
16th of December, we'll be gone for quite a while (both from the club scene
and the newsletter world). If you start missing us in the meanwhile, I
suggest you visit our newsletter archives
(http://tilos.hu/musorok/telibe_vagy/newsletter.html) to witness the last
two years of Keyser & Shuriken history."
Have you ever thought that this report will end? :) OK, I don't want to
write lot more, except that from this Tuesday our weekly radio show starts
an hour earlier (see below). And now here's the reading from the vaults of
Shuriken. It is just an opinion... we still hope that this is not true...
"I see music industry as just another industry within the Babylon system.
The Babylon law is a jungle law - the fittest of the fit survive. The music
industry happens to be the one I'm involved in - but the whole system is a
jungle of vampires, parasites, ticks... lice.
The only way is to study and understand how the system works, then you can
start to do something about it. When you are naive, when you come with
honesty in your heart, you find the world isn't so - it's really a matter
of studying. I've had a lot of hard experiences throughout my career, not
only with the film, but with records. These mistakes can't be made again.
The whole system is a vampire, everybody's out to dig you or to rip you
off - you have to learn or you'll get burnt."
Jimmy Cliff, 1983 in Roger Wallis and Krister Malm - Big Sounds from Small
Peoples, p287
Keep on learning till next time!
Keyser & Shuriken (Crate Soul Brothers)
Playlist
Tilos Radio (http://tilos.hu)
Kristalykert (Crystal Garden - 23-02h 27.11. 2001) - DJs: Keyser & Leengum
Listen (archived till the next show):
Lo-fi: http://tilos.hu/mp3/24/Tuesday/2300.m3u
Hi-fi: http://tilos.hu/mp3/96/Tuesday/2300.m3u
1. Isaac Hayes - Joy (Stax)
2. Blackbyrds - Spaced Out (Fantasy)
3. Incognito - Bring You Down - 4 Hero mix (Talkin Loud)
4. Chris Bowden - Beautiful Nasty - 4 Hero mix (Ninja Tune)
5. The Dining Rooms - Cosi ti amo - Four Tet mix (Schema)
6. Chiaroscuro - Despues (Irma)
7. Princess Superstar - Wet! Wet! Wet! - Instr. (Rapster)
8. DJ Force - Shadow In The City (compost)
9. Mr. Brady feat. Swollen Members - Summer Lightning (Battle Axe)
10. Greyboy - Ghetto Boogie (Ubiquity)
11. Art Konik feat. Bobby Few - Finger (Comet)
12. P'taah - Flying High - Chateau Flight mix (Ubiquity)
13. Bayaka - Mande Lanme Ya (Foundation)
14. Fauna Flash - Tel Aviv (Compost)
15. Rise Ashen - Second Kind - Blissom mix (Spot)
16. Momo - Digital Garab - Ministry of Bullshit/Steve Hillage mix (Ocho)
17. Fela Kuti - Shuffering and Shmiling (Kalakuta)
18. Femi Kuti - Truth Don't Die (BBE)
19. Seelenluft - Manila (Klein)
20. Airlock - Face Down (Downsall)
21. Koop - Relaxin' At Club Fusion - Dorfmeister vs Madrid de los Austrias
mix (JCR)
22. Tapani Tolpanniemi - Jazzin Around - Dan Balb + Eugene Cho mix
(Briquerouge)
23. Art Konik feat. Bobby Few - Finger - U.F.O. mix (Comet)
24. Ben Mono - Moments (Compost)
25. Deadbeats - Funky for You - Dorfmeister vs Madrid de los Austrias
version (20:20 Vision)
26. Bougie Soliterre - Got The Bug - Bettinas mix (BBE)
27. Kaidi Tatham - Ladies (Laws of Motion)
28. Big Bossa - It's All You (Viktor)
29. Flanger - It Ain't Rocket Science (Ninja Tune)
30. Funki Porcini - Carwreck (Ninja Tune)
31. Neotropic - Weeds (Ntone)
32. Crackpot - One Shade Lighter (Tummy Touch)
33. The Bald-headed Guy from Vienna - Booty Love Song (CD-R)
Events in the near future:
29.12.2001 Budapest, Millenaris Park: Mozgo Haz party /Keyser & Shuriken
with Palotai, Leengum a. o.
01.01.2002 Budapest, Rudas Bath: Cinetrip - Jazztrippin #3 /Keyser &
Shuriken with Alan Brown, Tom Wieland and Palotai
08.01.2002 Budapest, Rigoletto: Jazzkedd'v /Keyser special Eastern European
jazz set with Badihali & Sanyi
09.02.2002 London, Catch 22: I Love Wah Wah /Keyser & Shuriken with Dom
Servini, Simon & Chris Goss (tbc)
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