In the early to mid-noughties, minimal techno and tech house were ruling most of Berlin‘s dance floors, but there also was a vital scene dedicated to playing records that were not played at most other events in town. Seasoned disco and house DJ legends were invited, and often reactivated to display their experience and skills, and local and international DJs established a network dedicated to digging deep for the more obscure and leftfield sounds of club culture, and turning them into intense and vibing events with their finds of vintage house and disco, italo, post punk, afro, latin, balearic, yacht rock and even more specialized niches. The daring and knowledgeable eclecticism of this scene established an openness that inspired more current music productions and is still around in club and festival lineups, and even led to DJs like Hunee and Call Super becoming celebrated A-listers. From 2010 to 2013 the club Soju Bar was Berlin’s main spot for this context of night life. It was located in the backroom of the Korean street food bistro Angry Chicken, which belonged to the restaurant Kimchi Princess around the corner. The club’s sound system was way above average, and the room was decorated with loving attention to detail, an impressive replica of Korean bar culture that made the room appear puzzingly bigger than it actually was. Hyun Wanner, one of the Kimchi Princess owners who was on par with his DJs in terms of music enthusiasm, booked Soju Bar’s tasteful program until the club had to close and became a part the hotel that already took over most of the building. We asked him to revisit resident and regular guest DJs via music that he associated most with their nights.
Hunee: Shina Williams & His African Percussionists – Agboju Logun (Earthworks, 1984)
This record turned into a huge Soju Bar hit. It was just the time when more and more DJs started to flavor their sets with African influences. I think it is a trademark element of Hunee’s sound these days. Another regular Soju Bar DJ called Nomad, now of Africaine 808, went completely down that road. I love this record. I bought it years before Soju Bar, because my favorite Discogs dealer recommended it to me and offered me free shipping if I buy it. I was very pleased when Hunee played it the first time. I think he still plays it today.
Lovefingers/Lexx: Carrie Cleveland – Love Will Set You Free (Cleve/Den, 1980)
My girlfriend at the time was obsessed with that song. She knew that it was on Lovefingers’ blog and made him play it at least three times. I remember Andrew playing it two times in a row early in the morning and dancing on the floor with his eyes closed. Lexx had to do the same a couple of weeks later. This was one of these classic early morning magic moments. Sometimes there was only 15 people left in the place, but they had the time of their lives!
Joel Martin (Quiet Village, Velvet Season & The Hearts of Gold): House Of House – Rushing To Paradise (Walkin These Streets) (Whatever We Want Records, 2009)
When Soju Bar started everything was really disco and balearic. Then most DJs started to pick up more and more housey vibes again. It was almost a bit like going through the history of dance music in one and a half years, and a few subsequent decades. This record contains all this history. I have funny memories of this track. For example, it was an incredible hot night and it was really empty, but the few people were dancing for hours and didn’t want to leave. Joel was the only DJ and already played 6 hours for the same 15 people. When he was playing this track a random very young girl with a record bag came up and wanted to take over. She promised us to play the same kind of music: HOUSE! We were like, OK! Well, she had her very own definition of house music I reckon! Two records later Joel and me were in a Taxi home. She went on for a few more hours, and I have never seen her again. By the way, it was first hour Soju Bar resident DJ Filippo Moscatello who introduced me to this record.
I will change. I promise.: Ideal – Schöne Frau Mit Geld (Losoul Remix) (Live At Robert Johnson, 2010)
This was definitely the residency with the best name. “I will change. I promise”. I was promising this to myself pretty much every Monday morning! This party was hosted by our friend Alex van der Maarten and was musically on a slightly different trip, but very successful and always busy. It had guest DJs like Nu and Lee Jones. This was one one of the signature tracks.
JR Seaton (Call Super): Bunny Mack – Let Me Love You (Rokel, 1979)
Call Super, or JR Seaton as he still called himself back then, played at Soju Bar many times. I think the first time he was invited by Headman who did a monthly Relish Night at Soju Bar. Call Super finished the night together with Objekt and they both blew my mind. They were playing very obscure electronic stuff and then broke it up with songs like this. 100 % early morning magic. Nobody cared which genre, which time or which part of the world the music was from. Everything melted into one amazing vibe.
Druffalo Hit Squad: Nicolette – Lotta Love (Warner Bros., 1978)
Huge Soju Bar anthem! The Druffalo Hit Squad’s residency “Love Fools” was the night where anything was possible. From pop to shock to classics and not classics! Sometimes very ironic, sometimes iconic! Sometimes hard to follow, and sometimes pure magic. At the end of their nights there was a lotta love in the air indeed.
This is a 70’s reggae track by Jackie Mittoo. It’s almost Minimal, very basic.
True. It’s got some Techno appeal, it’s just rhythm. That’s what I like about this Dub stuff, there are so many things you can recognize that were used later on in electronic music like House and Techno. Dub was so important for that.
So these ancient production techniques are still valid? There seems to be a direct line from Jamaica to today’s productions.
Yeah, I listen to Dub. I don’t listen to a lot, but I like some of it. But I like to use the state of mind of Dub in my music. It’s more a musician thing. I like to use the techniques of it. I’m getting more into the music, too. It’s amazing, the way they were mixing the bass and the drums in the 70’s. Really crazy.
They also put some emphasis on just doing tracks, not songs.
It really is the basis of what came afterwards, from Hip Hop to House to Techno. Drum and Bass also, of course. They all took elements from Dub, that’s really interesting.
> Yukihiro Takahashi – Walking To The Beat (Pick Up Records)
The next one is by Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Yukihiro Takahashi. A Synthpop track.
It is interesting. It has this kind of proto-House feeling. What I really liked was this crazy soprano sax solo at the end. It is almost like Free Jazz, for 30 or 40 seconds, and then it stops. That was quite bold.
I think he actually wanted to do some kind of pop hit though. The singer on this record is the one from the 80’s pop group Icehouse for example. But for a pop hit it is probably too weird.
I think the harmonies are built up quite traditionally, but this solo part really surprised me. It is almost like New York ‘s Post Punk era. Trying some new crazy stuff.
Maybe you should use some sax solo in a House track.
Well, I used to play sax in the past.
Really?
Yeah, for a long time. But I kind of really got tired of the sound and I don’t think I’m going to use it. But you never know. I started playing Alto Saxophone when I was 13 years old. I had tried piano a few years ago, but I wasn’t so much into it. I don’t remember why I chose saxophone, but I remember I wanted to do a wind instrument. With the saxophone, I learned to play jazz and I absolutely loved it! I began rehearsing with a few bands, mostly Jazz or Funk groups. When I discovered DJing, I was instantly hooked and I started playing less and less saxophone, until I quit around 2001. DJing, collecting and discovering music became more important for me. I dabbled into production around 1996, but got a home studio setup two years later. I remember that my main reason for producing was that I found that certain records were lacking something or were arranged in a way that I thought was not so effective. I was thinking “Hmm, the producer should have put this part first” or “the chord there doesn’t sound nice although the beat is dope”. After a while I just thought I should make my own tracks.
I remember that a lot of the early Deep House tracks used the same sax sound. Really flat and synthetic. They seldom used a real saxophone, always this cheap sound effect.
Jørn Pørn alias Dølle Jølle und Todd Terje sind keine einfachen Kunden. Als Shari Vari machen sie als DJ-Team und Veranstalter die Runde, schon ihre Namen sind ein Witz, sie sind die Hofnarren des norwegischen Disco-Hofs, und die Referenzen, die sie in ihr Schaffen einfließen lassen reichen von humorig bis unantastbar, von obskur bis allgegenwärtig. Die nordische Sehnsucht nach dieser goldenen Ära des balearischen Eklektizismus, in der alles ging, solange es nur dieses Soundideal und diese mythische Stimmung erzeugen konnte, die bringen sie oftmals genauer auf den Punkt als ihre Weggefährten. „Balearic Incarnation“ ist im bauschigen Original und im etwas intensiveren Terje-Remix nichts weniger als genau das, ein Konglomerat aus allen Inhaltstoffen, die jemals für das Genre ausgemacht waren, mit der Konsequenz echter Besessener ausgeführt, und doch mit genug Mehrwert, um seinen Zauber auch über diese Szene hinauszutragen. Die Praxis Feelgood.
Die Stücke von Antena, erstmals 1982 als Album auf dem Les Disques Du Crépuscule veröffentlicht, bieten einen prima Nährboden für Nachbearbeitungen zwischen Il Discotto, Amnesia-Rekapitulationen, Benelux-Wavepop und Gardasee-Discoexperimenten und diese sind hier alle auf dem Mannschaftsfoto versammelt und jonglieren die imaginativen Urlaubsimpressionen zum Beat. Joakim und Todd Terje stolzierten schon im Spotlight durch die Clubs, beispielsweise Lexx und Escort zogen angemessen nach und hier gibt es noch die würdige Nachhut obendrauf, in Form von den Chromatics, Enne, Steve Yanko (dessen “The Boy” Mix auch noch als 12″ rauskommt) und vor allem Pink Alert, die “Joppo+Eno” so freundlich dubpoppig und melodiegewandt in Balearik tunken, dass man nur dankbar sein kann für all die vorwiegend bewölkt aufgewachsenen Mitteleuropäer, die sich darbend früher, jetzt und zukünftig quer durch die Musikgeschichte zur Sonne komponieren. Die deutsche Entsprechung wäre vielleicht “Ich werde in der Sonne immer dicker” der Zimmermänner in den richtigen Händen, nur so als Vorschlag.
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