Rewind: Fantastikoi Hxoi on “The White Room”

In discussion with Fantastikoi Hxoi on “The White Room” by The KLF (1991).

What introduced you to the KLF? Were you already familiar with their previous incarnations as Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu or The Timelords, or did it start with their period from KLF onwards?

Well, I was something like twelve years old when “The White Room” broke internationally. I remember the “Last Train To Trancentral” video coming on after Paula Abdul on TV. I was like “ok, this is different”. It was a bit spooky to my young mind to be honest, all that faux-ritualistic imagery – and the music was equally gripping. Some years later I discovered The Orb and re-discovered the KLF and all their previous incarnations. Slowly I started to realise what they were really about.

Considering that “What Time Is Love?” was already released in 1988, would you say that The KLF introduced rave to dance music with all the according signals, stadium noises and such, or did they pick up on developments that were already there? Did they actually relate to a timeline in dance music?

As far as I can tell, they are one of the first underground rave acts that brought this kind of music (or elements of it) to the mainstream, complete with conceptual visual imagery and a certain philosophy. And ‘mainstream’ of course, is not 20.000 punters in a field in the UK. It’s a 12-year-old in Greece, on telly. Read the rest of this entry »

Druffmix 30 – The Up And Down Default Pt. 1

“Do not go gentle into that good night.”

Gun Club – Sex Beat
Buzzcocks – What Do I Get?
The Messerschmitt Twins – Sleeping With The Radio On
Joe Jackson – Steppin’ Out
Thrash! – Time Will Tell
Madness – Sign Of The Times
The Divine Comedy – Your Daddy’s Car
The Cure – Close To Me
The Alljacks – Guilty
Makin’ Time – Scarlet Sky
Haircut One Hundred – Fantastic Day
Aztec Camera – All I Need Is Everything
Propaganda – Duel
Veronika Fischer – Dann Ist Liebe Ein Teufelskreis
Pulp – My Legendary Girlfriend
Culture Club – Church Of The Poison Mind
Fehlfarben – Tag Und Nacht
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Plan B / I’ll Show You
Richard Ashcroft – A Song For The Lovers
Blumfeld – In Der Wirklichkeit
The Smiths – Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before
The Go-Betweens – Head Full Of Steam
Julian Cope – Bill Drummond Said
The Chrysanthemums – Bullshit
The Prisoners – Whenever I’m Gone
Mission Of Burma – Dirt
That Petrol Emotion – Can’t Stop
The Wedding Present – My Favourite Dress
The Undertones – Teenage Kicks
Orange Juice – Felicity
Phoenix – Too Young
Commercial Breakup – Holding On
Everything But The Girl – Each And Every One
The Clash – Lover’s Rock