Clubbers have more fun in Helsinki! At least Señor Swell did, Sanna and
Kasio of Nuspirit have truly created heaven for both clubbers and DJ´s.
Señor Swell found out: he could play anything, any style, any mood, the
crowd loving it! Such warmth and curiousity, no hype, just sheer joy. Only
two things of importance that night: good people and good music (and maybe
some good drinking :-). Don't forget to visit Club Bundolo if you're
planning on going to Finland this century...
SWELL CHART MARCH 02
Compiled by Andreas Saag aka Swell Session
ARTIST TITLE LABEL
1. Various - Music & Movement vol. 1 - Climate
Our favourite still-londoneer vinyl junkie mr Nik Weston presents us a
collection of favourite pieces like Da One Away's Trash Da Junk, Domu's rmx
of Oba Funke and At Jazz rmx of Kabuki. As well as new exclusives like his
own Brighton-partner Russ Dewbury w Ben Mitchell feat Fertile Ground. And my
own Gothenburg homies Jol feat Quant! My favourite track is probably Chari
Chari's Aurora which is just so beautiful. Two CD's of pure top selection.
Dont miss!
2. Dom Um Romao - Lake of Preservance (Opaque remix) - Head 2 Toe
So how could I have owned this record since summer and not have listened
through the Opaque remix until Anna S played it to me? Someone please
confiscate my DJ-certificate! Mr Seiji, where did you get that vocal sample?
(or is it part of the original song?) My girlfriend: this track is just a
little too good to be true... I agree.
3. Jesper Dahlbäck - Sommar EP - Svek
This has probably been out for quite a while... but hey, of course I'm
destined to find a lot of good swedish stuff going record shopping in
Helsinki, right? Sommar means summer in swedish (surprise) and the track
Nyckelpiga (ladybug) sounds like a nice, big, slightly distorted broken beat
with Brian Eno's Music for Airports on top. Warming summer sounds from the
capital of Sweden.
4. DJ Marky & DJ Patife - Sotinha que esi com voce - Movement
The perfect mix between drum 'n bass and bossa, Marky and Patife once again
prooving that they're the masters of doing it and Fernanda P giving it the
perfect vocal touch with her blissful voice!
5. Nuspirit Helsinki - Album - Guidance
Soulful is the word, I believe, as the kings of Finland present a slightly
more downtempo, yet funkier blend of songs. Quite a lot similarities with
the new Jazzanova long player... pro stuff full stop. And the jazz session
mix of my favourite, Seis Por Ocho, is just wonderful!
6. Quant - Funkster EP - Hollow
Two key words: Fat. Funky. Well, this is the mother of fat funkiness and for
you who have heard Quant before, this is one level up, including some west
london influences! It's such an honour to have this guy in the same
building, in fact not even 5 feet away... this is where a lot of the
inspiration for my swell session and statless stuff comes from...
7. Kabuki - Tempest - Head 2 Toe
I really can't help loving when broken beat meets drum 'n bass elements. And
that's a perfect description of Kabuki's Tempest. The Kevin Saunderson
bass-line really tearing up the floor... yummy. And a perfect match on the
b-side, At-jazz at their very best; the beats broken and funky, the chords
clever and sparse. And isn´t that a clarinet doubling the bassline? How
creative! (and brilliant)
8. Twitch - Blow your Blues away - Key
Wow! Don't know much about this but it's sure one hell of a
afro/sixties/bluebeat/funk groove! And those rambling breakdowns... we love!
9. Gerardo Frisina- Saeta - Schema
A sparse piano solo over latin beats. Brilliant! Why? Well, first of all
because it's good musically, but second: it's got that warm sound that your
dad's old big band latin jazz records have. Those who were recorded in an
auditorium somewhere and you can really hear the reverb of the room. Saeta
has these features as well, but apart from some of the percussion the beats
are really tight and works well on a dancing crowd.
10. Buscemi - Midnight Session - Downshall Plastics
Well, if you haven't come to the conclusion yet: the perfect lounge grooves
come from Downshall Plastics. Buscemi delivers moody midnight action, the
title track with a clever chopped up rhodes sequence and the slightly
groovier Felize Viaje has some african vocal samples, perfectly hidden in
the background, not breaking the magic atmosphere.
11. Koop - Waltz for Koop - JCR
The swedish kings of jazz are back! :-) Well, what can I say, it's been
around for very long and in my CD-player ever since I got it myself. My
father was constantly bugging me for a copy for weeks... This is as
original, beautiful and smart as a reproduction of the blue-note sound gets
2002. Big up for the Stockholm boys!
12. Domu - Up+Down - (Archive)
This, I believe, is the biggest moment of broken beat since IG started it
all... You may ask me then: is it that original? Perhaps not, but Domu's
just got a vibe of it's own and we do have a term in sweden for it: "Det
svänger!". Literally translated it would be "it swings" but I guess the best
translation is "the groove is there!". And it sure is. The programming of
the beats is often quite simple for being broken beat but every single
shaker, snare drum or little twist of the beat structure is totally
necessary. There is also quite a drum n bass feel to Domu's music. He's
added all the deep sounds and atmospheres that used to blow our mind when
that sound was new. To experience the darkest and most agressive track on
the album "Space Monkeys" at the original broken beat venue, co-op, is one
of my greatest club experiences. Someone complained about co-op turning into
a drum n bass club. As long as it sounds like this I really have no
objection...
13. Grupo Arembre - laia (Butti 49 remix) - Back to Rio Sampler - Strut
Butti 49 remixing old dancefloor stuff from Rio. The result: nice and busy,
groovy dancefloor jazz... what else would you expect from the Norwegian duo?
There is an old Rio Latin version of the classic rappers delight/good times
groove on the flip... but I don't know about that yet. It's an intresting
blend though... Have to give it another listen.
14. CALM - Organ Language EP 2 - Revirth
Uptempo Japanese atmospheric frenzy on the A-side and a down beat 70's
synthsolo excursion on the flip. But the track I've played the most is the
The bonus track Organ language Beats. This is where the live bongo action is
at. The groove is really there...
15. Sasso - Black Soldier - (Sing Sing)
The A-side is best described as any James Bond film score in 2-step light
version. The flip side takes you back to the the good old acid jazz era, an
up-tempo funk groove with LOTS of congas and a long solo parts, dubbed with
vocals...
The result? So swell I just h a d to play it at again and again for one
whole day at home... (18 times?)
The focus is set on the Swell Session and the Stateless albums right now.
Though the feedback on my jazz techno release on SLS has been amazing... and
the live act as well as spinning records keeps me busy as well: The Swell
Session live act has duplicated into Swell Session + Ernestos. The set is a
little busier and less melancholic than before - great!
The Swell live act has been in Malmö at Fusion and in Copenhagen at Rust.
Had a great time in both places, big up to Sweet Fred in Malmö and Lars B in
Copenhagen for taking so good care of me and my crew! And to Jan and his
friend from April records for coming to Malmö for the gig. And to Anders aka
DJ Wunderbaum and Katrine for a nice chat in the backroom in Copenhagen.
And greetings to Mr Tomas Madvig at Det Store Mix, Danish radio. What a man!
What a pro! Making us comfortable for the interview with a beer (like that
would happen in the swedish radio house :-) in total control of the music,
making the whole show feel like a pre-party with decks. Respect!
--------
The best experience in a very long time though was my stay in Helsinki. A
small city with half a million people, very similar to gothenburg. The DJ:s
and musiscans and their friends are the sweetest people just like in
gothenburg.
Though with Club Bundolo Sanna and Kasio (DJ Anna S and Kasio) have created
something very different and special, I believe. Instead of narrow minded
brats that won't move unless you play a 4/4 beat you find yourself playing
to curious people of all ages knowing nothing about the music but loving it.
You could play a slow bossa track and they would dance on the double tempo,
giving you the perfect opportunity to sneak in a drum n bass bossa tune...
you get the picture.
It turned out that Sanna had very good muisical taste as we had and played a
lot of the same records :-) Her good sense of music selection was no
surprise though, she's got her own show on radio Helsinki, check it out on
www.radiohelsinki.net
Playing back to back with such a sweet girl was just a pure pleasure!
Also a big pleasure to meet her partner in crime Kasio, part of Nuspirit
Helsinki. Apart from nice discussions about music production we had a good
jam at the bar piano after the club had closed down...
Anyway sweetest hosts you could ever have, big up for finnish hospitality!
:-)
Greetings and Peace also to Vesa and the rest of the Leftside Ensemble. And
to the two lovely, gorgeous sisters Johanna and Bella! Thanks for teaching
me the only necessary phrase you need in finnish: Torupakke! (shut up :-)
These people know how to have a good time anyway: A sunday night out with a
lot of "quality time" (refreshments?) in 5 different bars/clubs should spek
for itself :-)
-------------
Here's what to expect from me in the near future:
Singles
* Stateless - Falling Into / Rejected for Life on Freerange. Including my
own Swell rmx (yes me remixing myself :-) and a Russ Gabriel rmx.
* Jazz Lesson EP on SLS. Jazz education for the techno heads? For those of
you who have heard my first twelve on this swedish techno label I can tell
you that Jazz Lesson will sound like a mix between that and Swell Session. A
true experiment in the studio but I believe it turned out very intresting.
Remixes
* A Swell Session rmx of Ernesto´s on Hollow.
* A Remix of High Contrast's Return of Forever on Hospital
* A remix of Universal Funk on April.
Compilations
* A Swell Session track on Companionship from April records.
* A Swell co-op with Ernesto's on Soul Searchng Part 2
Yes, the groove is on... and regarding gigs as well!
Some gig dates
March 22nd, Swell Session & Ernesto's live at Club Mecca, Nefertiti,
Gothenburg.
There are also gigs planned in Scotland (April). And a Señor Swell + Ste Van
B DJ tour in the US in the middle of June.
Check the Hollow website for latest info: www.hollow.nu
Take care and keep it swell!
If you would like to contact me or unsubscribe from this chart, please write
to saag@home.se
Feel free to mail stuff to:
Andreas Saag
Valenv 1.
S-430 91 Hönö
SWEDEN
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Mar 14 2002 - 00:19:36 CET