Foremost Poets – Pressin On‘ I-f – Playstation #2 Black Odyssey – Sweat Telex – Moskow Diskow Recloose – MYM230 (R.I.P.) Nick Holder – Free Again Mr. Eddie Fowlkes – Untitled Brother Of Soul – Eyes Of Love Glenn Underground – Jaz Love #2 Freestyle Orchestra – Twi-Lite Eric D. Clark – Chasing Fur, Walking Armand Van Helden Feat. Duane Harden – You Don’t Know Me Studio 2 – Travelling Man Kerri Chandler – Atmosphere Kerri Chandler – Love Will Find A Way Aquanauts – Stepping Upon Mars N.Y. Connection – Messages Foremost Poets – The Spy-Chiatrist Isolée – Bleu Random Factor – Broken Mirror Rick Wade – 2AM Detroit Gemini – At That Café Jeremy – Soul Kicks Model 500 – Be Brave Presence Featuring Shara Nelson – Sense Of Danger Isolée – Initiate 2 Soylent Green – After All Orkestra Galactica – She Brings The Rain Abstract Truth – We Had A Thing Blue6 – Sweeter Love
To mark the start of our new podcast mini-series on record shops, Finn Johannsen of Hard Wax Records Berlin chats to Josh about his place of work, the state of the vinyl industry, and of course his excellent newly recorded Louche Podcast.
So Finn, this marks the first of a new mini series of Louche podcasts, focusing on dudes like yourself who work in record shops. Tell us, how long have you been working in Hard Wax and how did it come about?
I’m working there since the end of 2010. It was basically coincidental. I realized that all the deadlines that come with working solely as a freelancer were not that compatible with my newborn daughter and I was vaguely looking for some additional steady work. I was a regular customer at Hard Wax and dropped some hints that I would be up for it if there was some vacancy. Then Achim (Prosumer) decided to quit working at Hard Wax and I got the job within just a few weeks.
Your one of the shop’s house music specialists right? Do you take pleasure from discovering music to sell in store?
I’m probably particularly knowledgeable with House and Disco. But then I’m over 40 now and buy club music as long as I can remember, thus I’m able to offer some good advice on almost anything we are selling. And this applies to anybody working at Hard Wax. We all know a lot about music, and all of us are eager to learn much more. And we like to provide our customers with what we know and love. You need the urge to do so by any means, else maintaining the high standards of the store would not be possible. If you lose the thrill of unpacking and checking the week’s news or delving into sounds you were not accustomed with before, you better reconsider. But I doubt that will happen too soon. There is always good music to discover, every day.
Do you feel responsible for breaking any producers into the scene? Has anyone seriously blown up after Hard Wax stocked their music?
I certainly helped some producers before I started working at Hard Wax, particularly as a journalist. But I’m modest enough to not drop names. They know. As an institution, Hard Wax surely plays a role. A record stocked and recommended at Hard Wax is still a welcomed quality marker, and it takes some responsibility and care to maintain that status and also not to abuse it. There are quite a few labels and producers affiliated with the store who left their mark after the heyday of the classic Hard Wax labels, which is great. The same goes for labels and producers we discovered or supported over the years. If you follow our tracks on a regularly basis, you should be aware of who I am talking about. But any store in our position should do that the best they can, to keep things going.
You must have an absolutely massive vinyl collection at home, but whats the deal- do you get to take home whatever records you want?
I have a few thousand records but I decided to keep it at a certain level and thus my collection is now more or less like a revolving door. Whenever I buy some records, I also sell some. I have the privilege of being handed vinyl promos and of securing records that sell out quickly, but it is not that anything that might interest me automatically gets put into my shelf. When I’m not in the shop, I check out the website like any other customer, and I also miss out on releases if I do not have the time to do so. But if you are surrounded by so many new releases every week you also learn to distinguish what kind of records you really need. I only buy records on the terms of my musical preferences, and nothing else.
What do make of the vinyl game currently, or after the last few years? Do you think there has been a noticeable resurgence in people buying wax recently?
Vinyl sales are still going very strong at Hard Wax, but sadly that is not necessarily a reality for other smaller shops, who are often struggling to stay open or have to close down eventually. There will always be music collectors who prefer the convenience aspects of digital releases, and music collectors who favour a haptic vinyl release. It is a fact that there still is a DJ and collectors vinyl market that labels and producers can cater for. And I do not blame anybody for preferring a certain format, as long as they make good use of it. Hard Wax is very determined to sell vinyl as long as possible, that is for sure.
Do you produce Finn? Or ever considered getting into it?
No, I don’t. Being a father, working at Hard Wax, co-running the Macro label with Stefan Goldmann, playing out in clubs, writing. Consider me well busy. Who knows, someday a ridiculously limited stamped white label hyped and killed for by people of all nations could be my doing, but I probably won’t tell. As for now, I have nothing to tell. That is the absolute truth.
Can you tell us a little bit about the mix you recorded for us please?
It’s basically a run through records I took home from the shop and played out regularly at the moment I recorded the mix, two months ago. A mixture of artists and producers I think are well worth supporting and who have their own distinctive signature sound, and some tunes that just stood out for me. It also touches most characteristics I look for when buying records. If you would have heard me playing out at that time, this is what it probably would have sounded like. I rarely ever play the same set twice, but some of these are still in good use. Which speaks for the records included.
And lastly, what are your favourite record shops to go digging through?
Since I started working at Hard Wax, I have considerably less time for digging than before, but I try to spare some if possible. But then it is mostly shops with second hand vinyl, or flea markets. In Berlin, I like shops like Audio-In, O-Ton, Power Park, Cover Music and some more. I also love checking out shops I haven’t been to before, which luckily enough is still happening. Shops in other cities that I enjoyed the most recently were ZeroZero in Zürich, and A-Musik in Cologne. My favourite shop ever for digging is a store called Plattenkiste, in my hometown Kiel. The sheer amount of rare and good stuff I bought there since the 80’s is just incredible. The owner is not really interested in music, and every record costs 1 €, regardless of format. You have to dig deep, but you will find.
Daft Punk – Revolution 909 Charly Brown – The Twilight Zone Markus Nikolai – Rood The People Movers – C – Lime Woman Moodymann – Dem Young Sconies Green Velvet – Answering Machine Jedi Knights – Big Knockers Double 99 – Ripgroove Goldie feat. KRS One – Digital DJ Sneak – You Can’t Hide From Your Bud Kenny Dixon Jr. – Track 2 Track Arj Snoek – People Know Rick Wilhite – Dreams Of Yesterday Seven Grand Housing Authority – Ambient Disco E-Dancer – Heavenly Callisto – Ambent II Sluts’n’Strings & 909 – Past The Gates As One – Freefall Vincenzo – At Throb Faze Action – Plans & Designs Forever Sweet – Untitled Fresh & Low – No Going Back Tyree – Kan I Git High Callisto – The Cimmerian Âme Strong – Tout Est Bleu Abacus – We Cookin‘ Now Abacus – When I Fall Blaze – Lovelee Dae Big Moses Featuring Kenny Bobien – Brighter Day Carl Craig – Butterfly
DJ Duke – Escape From N.Y. Sensorama – Quarzzeit Circulation – Memory Schatrax – First Heartbeat Kevin Yost – Natural High DJ Sneak – Latin Seoul GU – I Need GU 3-Play – Summer Breezz The Ghetto Kids – Summer In The City Sensory Productions – Houseluck Gene Farris Presents The DEB Project – Visions Of The Future Dave Angel – Fever Suburban Knight – Echo Location Trackman – Don’t Stop Pete Conman – The Range Count LoSoul – Open Door Product Of Da Neighbourhood – Living In Brooklyn Global Communication – The Way Wamdue Kids – Memory And Forgetting Moodymann – I Can’t Kick This Feelin When It Hits René et Gaston – Merluche Ideale Mood II Swing – All Night Long Boo Williams – Home Town Chicago Model 500 – I Wanna Be There Jonny L – This Time DJ Linus – Pleasure Netto – Like Ghosts Projekt: PM – When The Voices Come Faze Action – In The Trees Motorbass – Les Ondes
The first of a series of mixes that contain records I most played at my residency at Tanzdiele club in my hometown Kiel, from 1995 to 2001. The artworks are from a fake newspaper form the future that we made for a sci-fi themed night once.
C. Damier & R. Trent – Morning Factory
Millsart – Gamma Player
Ron Trent – Untitled
Round Two – New Day
Chez Damier & Stacey Pullen – Forever Monna
Wamdue Kids – Dreams
4th Measure Men – The Need
Jellybean – Twilight Dome Pt. 2
Ratcliffe – Grape Soda
The Salsoul Crew – Salsoul Mega Mix / Firebird
Whirlpool Productions – It Happened Last Night
Rockers Hi-Fi – Push Push
Daniel Wang – Not Feeling It
Todd Terry – Melissa’s Dream
Romanthony – Ministry Of Love
JohNick – Play The World
Ultra Naté – Party Girl (Turn Me Loose)
The Mole People – Break Night
Green Velvet – Flash
House Music Lovers – Listen Carefully
The S Man Featuring Orchestra 7 – Rhumba
Wildchild – Renegade Master
Ian Pooley – My Anthem
Seven Grand Housing Authority – Love’s Got Me High
In early 2004, I was occupied with the confusing and chaotic last stages of leaving my cozy and beloved seaside hometown Kiel up north for the bright lights of Berlin. My girlfriend was already there for a while, and I was more than happy to live with her again, but at the same time I was very sad to leave my family and friends behind for what was very likely to be a move for many years and a future uncertain. One of those said friends was the one who operates under the Gram moniker, a likeminded soul with whom I shared a lot of cultural interests and lasting experiences, and with whom I wholeheartedly clashed heads over what we could not agree upon in many nights of smart conversations (and more often than not far less smart amounts of drinks and cigarettes).
As it became clear to the both of us that we would not see each other as much again for quite a while, we were toying with the idea of recording a mix together. Some kind of final joint venture for the time being, a testament to both our friendship and music we both loved. At that point we had a few discussions about digital mixing devices, Ableton and the likes were on the upswing, and he was dabbling in a few track productions on the computer and was more open to the idea than me, as I was pretty determined to not abandon my turntables for this kind of progress. But then I felt it would be a good opportunity to try something I had not tried before, particularly instead of criticizing a method I only knew in theory. So we soon agreed to embark on the endeavour of a digital mix that should at best use what seemed to be the ultimate advantage over a setup with two turntables, meaning the use of multiple tracks and the ability to insert more sounds than you could with two records playing at once (no, I’m no turntablist). The problem was that we had no Ableton or similarly advanced mixing software at hand. Among the programs Gram knew his way around was Cakewalk, which at the time was already vintage, to say the least. We soon realized that the only way for us to do it was to combine analogue hardware with it. The idea for the source material was quickly agreed upon. I had vivid memories of the Acid House glory days, and I was miffed about how revivalists were mostly only clinging to 303 sounds whenever the genre came back into the spotlight, whereas I always experienced Acid House as template for parties that incorporated diverse styles, and not only one. So basically we wanted to use landmark records of that era with a bit of stylistic leeway left and right and play them like we felt they should be played: energetic, raw, the archetypical aural rollercoaster ride. With this in mind I browsed my record collection for the basic tracklist and also for what should be the added value of the enterprise: a whole plethora of acapellas, samples, vocal snippets from records and movies, sound detours, intros and outros, all coming from different angles. We narrowed down the selection to how much we would need to match the typical CD length, and to how much elements we could inject into a track without drowning it, and then we chose a basic record and a basic tempo (Tyree’s “Acid Over”, which strangely then did not make it to the final tracklist later on) and I pre-mixed all in sync with it on two Technics MKs and we recorded each single track and snippet onto the computer afterwards. I don’t recall how many tracks of the program we could fill with all those recordings, but for me, who rarely used more than three channels on a mixer, it sure looked impressive. What also impressed me was the hours it already took to finish this first stage of the mix. And it was only preparation still.
When we then started to structure all the single components into a whole, it took way more time. For more than one month, we met several times a week and spent hours from early evening to early morning trying to work out the best sequence for our material that we felt we were capable of. I must add that I’m hardly a perfectionist and a studio boffin even less, but my collaborator was, and that fit like a glove with my enthusiasm for the idea and my many years of DJ experience. In fact, despite barely managing to complete more than one or two track sequences in several hours of work, it felt like we were already exploring the atoms of everything we used, and then splitting it into even smaller fractions, and it felt like a strange universe on its own. Frequently, we took a break, stepped back from the monitor and listened thoroughly to what we just did, and how it worked with what we did before, like a painter studied what ended up on the canvas (I’m not getting carried away). And it was like we’ve created a monster, too. Something that spiralled out of control. Something that seemed more out of reach in terms of finishing it with every little step we took. But then again, every small step, however long it took, seemed to lead to something we had not expected. New opportunities came to mind that led to the deletion of the ones not considered as good anymore. There were setbacks, detours, fresh and false starts, bad ideas. And there were leaps of faith, open sesames, sudden solutions, good ideas (I’m not getting carried away again). For the work on something as functional and purposeful as a recorded mix, it was pretty intense. When we finally stuck the outro to the last track, and gave the whole thing a final listening, we were surprised with how fresh and accomplished it sounded, and how little of all our efforts were apparent. We conceived artwork to complement the listening experience, and we were done with it. We were ultimately satisfied with the result. Of course anyone with enough skills could have come up with something equally or more engaging in realtime, thus sparing oneself the ridiculous amount of time we spent on it. But that was not the point. The point was to spend this ridiculous amount of time on it, together. Not caring if somebody would ever appreciate what and how we did it (and also secretly hoping somebody would). Not knowing if the dam we built would hold.
But it did. Time went by, and we are still very good friends, and still living in different cities. We never recorded something together again, but we sometimes speculate what it would have sounded like if we would have. I have never recorded a digital mix again, being too impatient and feeling too uncomfortable with anything else than two turntables. Gram, however, went on to record a few other fine mixes with the same dated setup. We both are still very proud of “Smileyville”. For us, it has stood the test of time, like the music it contains.
You are a well respected music writer writing for publications like De:Bug, RA and your own blog (among others). Has music writing always been part of what you do, and what came first? The writing or the djing?
I write about music in public since the mid-90’s, and I started playing out in the late 80’s, so definitely DJing came first. My output as a writer has also been not as prolific as it turned out to be after I moved to Berlin in 2003. I knew Jan Joswig, the fashion editor at de:bug at that time, from former days in my hometown Kiel and he asked me to contribute. I started out writing reviews and then turned to features and especially interviews, some of which got quite some attention. So that eventually led to writing for other print and web publications too, like doing the “Playing Favourites” series for Resident Advisor, my “Rewind” series for sounds-like-me.com, Groove Magazine, and a lot of other media. The Website you’re referring to is not a blog in the sense that I write about everything that goes through my head, it is more like fragmentary online archive of my activities from the 90’s until now. Writings, Mixes, Gigs, the label, and a plethora of other things. It is not that I’m that vain to want everybody to know what I do and did, it is kind of a reminder for myself that others can follow if they like. Excuse the irregular updates at this point, but I slowed down all said activities a bit to have more time for my lovely wife and daughter, and I took up working at Hard Wax, too. Consider me well busy.
Can you please tell our readers what is D*ruffalo and who stands behind it?
I can’t possibly tell, at least not anymore. When D*ruffalo was unleashed 4 years ago, it was some sort of a media experiment initiated by a semi-anonymous collective of writers, producers and DJs based in several German cities, intended to be a platform to share love for what should be loved, free of any conventional restrictions. Soon some lack of love for what was deemed not as loveable showed up as well, but basically it was conceived to be the Fort Alamo of sincerity. Decidedly non-ironical, accidentally post-cool and fiercely anti-hype. At some point The D*ruffalo Hit Squad and the according Druffmix series was brought to life, to shine a light on music no light shined upon. But it totally spiralled out of control. I don’t know what it is right now, or if I am still a part of it even. But apparently D*ruffalo celebrates its sheer existence and the 50th Druffmix with a party at Berlin’s Soju Bar on February 11, and there are negotiations about a regular residency there. If the unpredictability and confusion of the D*ruffalo members allows. Which is probably unlikely, maybe. I can’t possibly tell.
You are running Macro Records together with Stefan Goldmann. How’s the process been running a label and what can we expect from Macro in 2011?
When we founded Macro we decided to only release music we find worth releasing, at the potential risk of longer stretches with no releases at all. But then the label took up so much momentum that we now have more releases lined up for this year than in the years before. March will see a new EP by the rather sensational Elektro Guzzi and Stefan’s magnificent “The Grand Hemiola” 2×12″, you can hear excerpts of both in the mix I recorded for you. We will follow that up in April with a live album by Elektro Guzzi and a compilation of the late works of the composer and conductor Friedrich Goldmann, Stefan’s father, who sadly and much too early passed away in 2009. We are also in the process of preparing several other projects for later this year, which are not yet ready to be unveiled, but well worth waiting for. We worked very hard to achieve a position in which we can do whatever we want, and as long as this strong support will stay with us, we will do just that. Expect the unexpected.
You’re known for your eclectic dj sets. What can you tell us about this set you prepared?
My sets, be it in a club or radio context, can be quite diverse, that’s true. But I don’t believe in eclecticism per se. Meaning, I don’t want to attract opposites just for the sake of it. If you neglect a certain coherence, structure and narrative you will end up sounding like a jukebox, however interesting it might be musically equipped. I like thinking of a concept when doing a mix, as subliminal or not it might be. With this one, I just intended to combine an experimental streak with a dancefloor functionality, while providing a glimpse of unreleased Macro material and tracks of artists I consistently admire, and tracks I still find as interesting as the day I first heard them. Which in the case of this playlist, was not too long ago. At any other time the set would probably have sounded differently, but this was what I then had in mind for this purpose and I hope it makes as much sense to the listeners as it made to me when I recorded it.
Stefan Goldmann – Mining The Vein / The Grand Hemiola Raime – This Foundry (Regis Version) Shackleton Vs. Kasai Allstars – Mukuba Special Theo Parrish Ft. IG Culture – Traffic Elektro Guzzi – Boom Room Margaret Dygas – Hidden (NSI Mix) Farben – Kursbuch 1&2 Son Of Sam – Nature Makes A Mistake (Âme Mix) Marco Bernardi – Klinsfrar Melode (Sprinkles Deeperama) WK7 – Higher Power (Hardcore PCK Mix) Pinch – Croydon House
Im Gespräch mit Ulrich Schnauss über “Force Majeure” von Tangerine Dream (1979).
Ich nehme mal an, Tangerine Dream waren nicht so ein gängiges musikalisches Thema zur Zeit Deiner Jugend. Kannst Du Dich noch daran erinnern, wann und wie Du die Band für Dich entdeckt hast?
1991 erschien das Album “Frequencies” von LFO – eine Platte, die mich sehr nachhaltig beeindruckt hat – zum einen musikalisch, zum anderen da sich im Inlay der Text des Openers “What Is House” befindet: im Prinzip einfach eine Aufzählung der wichtigsten Vertreter der elektronischen Musik der vorangegangen Jahrzehnte. In dem Alter hatte ich tatsächlich keine Ahnung, wer Yellow Magic Orchestra oder Tangerine Dream sind – als großer LFO-Fan hat es mich aber interessiert, wen die beiden da als ihre Vorbilder nennen. Ich habe mich dann einfach Stück für Stück durch die Liste durchgearbeitet – als ich schließlich bei “Tangerine Dream” angekommen bin, hatte ich so eine Art musikalisches Erweckungserlebnis.
Ich kann mich noch daran erinnern, wie Du in den 90ern im kleinen Rahmen eines Clubs Deiner Geburtsstadt Kiel ein DJ-Set mit Deinen liebsten Tangerine Dream-Platten bestritten hast. Hattest Du damals schon die musikalischen Ideen im Kopf, die Du dann an anderen Orten umgesetzt hast? Wie wichtig waren Tangerine Dream für Deine persönliche Entwicklung als Künstler?
Ja, ganz bestimmt – ich habe eigentlich seit meiner Kindheit eine bestimmte Art von Musik im Kopf, die ich gerne irgendwann machen würde – alles was ich veröffentliche ist Teil eines langsamen Annäherungsprozesses an dieses Ziel.
Tangerine Dream war für mich in verschiedener Hinsicht wichtig – grundsätzlich erst einmal um zu erkennen, dass man mit Hilfe von elektronischen Instrumenten nicht nur Dance-Musik machen kann – für Jemanden, der zum ersten mal bewusst Synthesizer im Rahmen von Acid House gehört hat, ist das nicht unbedingt eine Selbstverständlichkeit. Zum anderen finde ich Edgar Froeses Herangehensweise an dieses elektronische Instrumentarium immer wieder inspirierend und das ist zu einer Art Leitidee auch für mich geworden: anstatt die Technik zum Fetisch zu erheben und die Transformation zur “Menschmaschine” zu propagieren (wenn auch zunächst in ironischer Brechung), steht das Werk von Tangerine Dream für ein Modell, bei dem der Mensch der bestimmende Faktor bleibt – das Sounddesign von Tangerine Dream unterscheidet sich grundsätzlich: warme, organische Farben, die den Hörer auf eine “Reise im Kopf” (pardon für das Klischee!) schicken – weit entfernt von technokratischer Kälte und büro-germanischer Sterilität (wobei ich nicht bestreiten will, dass sich unter dieser Voraussetzung nicht auch interessante Musik produzieren lässt – mich persönlich hat das allerdings nie sonderlich gereizt). Read the rest of this entry »
I recorded this as a guest mix for the website of my dear friend Michael Joyce aka Truly-Madly, who was then a true aficionado of all things deep. He became a famous DJ much later than me, but once he did (and he is probably more famous than I ever was by now) he seemed to have deleted the mix from his website to cover up traces of my influence throughout his career. Story of my life.
Ok, kidding. Love ya, Trudy!
Picture is my old friend Jan Carter Boche (left) and me leaving one of our favourite kebap shops in our hometown Kiel. We never did eat anything anything there, but they had cheap and cold beer. I loved that “Escape” shirt, bought in London sometime in the early 90s. I instantly wore it to the next fish and chips shop right after I purchased it, and the elderly woman behind the counter asked me if her food was so bad that I wanted to run away. Not THAT bad.
Sensory Elements Vol 1 – Explain It Infra-Red – Love Honey Funtopia Feat. Jimi Polo – Do You Wanna Know? Beautiful People – I Got The Rhythm (Club Mix) Underground Inc. – Magie Noire (Rick Lenoir Mix) Ronald Burrell – Quiet Song Jovonn – It’s Gonna Be Right (Be Smoove Dub) Debbie Gibson – One Step Ahead (Masters At Work Mix) Ecstasy Boys – Seven Steps To Heaven Language – Tranquility Bass Liquid Variety – The Best Part Of The Trip (The Best Part) Boo Williams – Home Town Chicago Glenn Underground – May Datroit Tribute – Rain (Dub) Stardust – Love Will Find A Way (Sweet Embrace Mix) Aphrodisiac – Just Before The Dawn (Exclusive Remould)
So there I was in Berlin, surrounded by all these clubs and buzz, and I was adapting quite well actually. But dear me, the minimal hype at that time was difficult for me. I was ready to party, but hours upon hours of reduced subtlety was not what I was really hoping for. This mix was a reaction to that. I recorded it late at night, and it consists mainly of some personal favourites that I used to play at my residency at Tanzdiele in my hometown Kiel. I was not exactly homesick. But I was slowly getting the notion that there was maybe more fiction than fact with the celebrated Berlin scene. Sure, there was a whole lot happening, but I missed the musical variety I experienced in other cities. Strangely enough this mix became quite well loved, so there was hope. Still had no plans to go back into DJing though.
Sensorama – Helgoland DJ Duke – Escape From New York Soylent Green – Untitled Isoleé – Initiate 2 Johnny L – This Time DJ Linus – Pleasure Forever Sweet – Untitled Reset – Robodisco Prescription Underground – Untitled Jon Cutler Feat. E-Man – It’s Yours Johnick – Don’t Stop DJ Sneak – Manos Que Tocan Sensorama – Harzzeit The Untouchables – Something Bugged Orkestra Galaktika Feat. Michael Fewtrell – She Brings The Rain Saint Etienne – How We Used To Live
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