Keyser & Shuriken - newsletter #64: Putting little mood music on the phonograph
Newsflash 22.08.2001
Dear friends,
Just when you've thought we were gone for good... we are back with a brand new newsletter and
an extra phat, extra long radio show!
Where do we begin? This summer has been as thick as whale-grease for us. Being deeply buried by
office-work / remix & dj jobs / diploma writing (Keyser) / London scholarship hunt (Shuriken)
we have just realised yesterday that summer is now definitely over and we didn't have a chance
yet to turn on, loose out and sit in the sun for weeks and wait for those clear days when you
can see forever...
So instead of enjoying life, summer & the sight of girls in Bikinis (or topless) we did the
following things:
2 remixes for the infamous, Berlin based Crippled Dick Hot Wax label (www.crippled.com - known
for their splendid pop porn sound & rare jazz flavours). Shuriken has been a fan of the label
since the very beginning of his dj carrier (especially crazy 'bout soundtracks like
Schulmaedchen Report & Vampyros Lesbos) and Keyser always got goosebumps when he found a new
Crippled Dick jazz compilation in the crates, so we both felt really honoured when these guys
asked us to rework some classic stuff with Mr. Tristram Shandy, our now regular partner in the
Crate Soul Brothers project. The first thing we did was a funny porn beat reconstruction of
Peter Schirmann's Auf Dem Kiez (From the '70s soundtrack, Fluchtweg St. Pauli aka Hot traces of
St. Pauli).
The other remix was a more jazz related trip, a track for the Iron Curtain Revisited LP (a
remix album for the Between or Beyond the Iron Curtain album, a compilation of Eastern jazz):
Alfa Centaura by Krzystof Sadowski's Organ Group. This track is also featured in our latest
radio mix. Just to give you a feel of stressed out working tempo: we had 13 minutes to record
our talented friend, Kristof Bacso on saxophones in Shuriken's living room, the very last day
we could still send the mix (tight, but delayed deadlines!). After 10 minutes the neighbour
started banging the door like crazy. Shuriken could hardly persuade the slightly crazy lady to
allow 3 more minutes of loud jazz music (this is how much disc space we had left in the
sampler). "We have been living in a peaceful house until you moved in!" - she said close to a
heart attack. Guess what would happen if we had a heavy metal band. She would call the cops on
us, no doubt!
Shuriken have also pushed the art of djing very close to that of extreme sports. Got a call on
Thursday from Eddy (the man behind the Kontrapunkt club-nights & Festivals in Zagreb -
http://www.aquarius.hr/kontrapunkt.html) to stand in for an ill Paolo Scotti the same Saturday!
The place was perfect (the sunniest island on the Croatian coast, a sort of local Ibiza,
beautiful girls, amazing bays, a venue that looked like a 1930s Hollywood style open air swing
night club: imagine a swimming pool right under the dj booth), only the timing was sado-maso:
Shuriken was still working on some beats for the St Pauli remix by 5 PM, caught his train by 6
PM, slept 2 hours in Zagreb from 1 AM to 3 AM. Woke up in Eddy's car by 6 AM, just to
experience an endless traffic jam in the middle of nowhere, literally. Cars were slowly
crawling up the serpentine in the beautiful Croatian mountains as far as the eye could see. We
left Zagreb early to skip this monstre traffic, but some accident messed up our perfect plan to
spend at least 1 full day on the island of Hvar (Shuriken had to get back to Budapest to play
on the Sziget festival by 10PM Sunday). After spending 10 hours in the car in the boiling heat,
we caught an overcrowded ferry & arrived at Hvar by 4 PM (leaving Eddy & his car in Split,
waiting for the next ferry). Took a quick dip in the amazingly clear sea, ate sea fish, took a
walk in the city & got to the venue by 1 AM, started playing by half past two.
Eddy had to literally drag Shuriken out from the dj booth by 5 PM to catch the 5:20 ferry back
to Split. Slept 2 short hours on the sun deck, and then back in the car, taking the risk of
what the tabloids call "disco accident" in Hungary. Got back in Zagreb after 1 PM, Shuriken
slept an hour at Eddy's mother's place, than caught the train back to Budapest. Super Dori
(Shuriken's Powerpuff Girl-like girlfriend) picked him up by the station at 9 PM and took him
to the Sziget to catch his session with Keyser, opening up for Nicola Conte! That was the
craziest party we played in Hungary in the last year, really worth to do all this die hard
travelling for. Sure, there was a moment in the late afternoon Hvar sunshine when Shuriken was
tempted to stop caring about responsibilities and stay on the island for at least a week.
Now you guys have a little insight of what sad souls like us do during summers, so there's only
one more thing to let you know: Tilos Radio is now 10 years old, and for this reason we could
finally get back on air for a month (FM 92,1 if any of you happened to visit Budapest in the
next four weeks). During the last year we've been trying to get back our frequency licence, but
kept broadcasting through cable and internet. However internet radio has it's magical moment's
too (guys writing from China, Canada, ... that they are listening regularly to our shows),
there is nothing like being able to interact with the local community. We think that the
extra-energy that we get from being finally available through the airwaves in Budapest again is
truly represented by this week's show.
By the end of the mix, you'll find a lengthy section of exotica. This escapist, incredibly
strange and beautiful music takes us to places when we have to do our duties in hot buildings
of our quite paranoid city. This week's reading is from Exotica, a fantastic book by David Toop
about the Western pop-culture's search after the exotic:
"As with all exotica, the piquancy (if it exists) lies in two conflicting responses: the
immediate effect of the arrangements, which can be appreciated for their bizarre originality;
followed by (or, in some cases, preceded by) a displaced reaction to the music's absurdity
within a poisonous context. Loveable and detestable, arrogant and naive, skilful and stupid,
the nature of their kitsch leaves them saturated with levels of meaning that less
controversial, more conventionally worthwhile musics often fail to deliver.
(...)
'As a fantasy of erotic domination' wrote Ali Behdad in Belated Travellers, 'the sexual reltion
with the native woman appeals to the colonizer's imagination, because it combines erotic desire
with the desire for mastery.' We can imagine the masculine den of the fifties, stocked with
Denny, Baxter, Sinatra, Kenton, its lord and master, Mr Cool, flushed with the imminence of
sexual freedom, dimly aware that the domination he craves may soon be under threat. 'We like
our apartment' wrote Hugh Hefner in 1953, setting the scene in his first Playboy editorial, 'We
enjoy mixing up cocktails and an hors d'oeuvre or two, putting little mood music on the
phonograph and inviting in a female aquaintance for quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietsche,
jazz, sex... If we are able to give the male American a few extra laughs and a little diversion
from the anxieties of the Atomic Age, we'll feel we've justified our existence."
Keep up doing your extreme sports till next week!
Keyser & Shuriken
Playlist
Tilos Radio (http://tilos.hu)
Kristalykert (Crystal Garden - 22.08.2001) - DJs: Keyser+Shuriken+Leengum
Listen:
Lo-fi:<http://tilos.hu/mp3/24/Wednesday/0000.m3u>
Hi-fi: <http://tilos.hu/mp3/96/Wednesday/0000.m3u>
1. Atlasz Egyuttes - Alomorszag (Qualiton)
2. Rasco - Wat You'll Wanna Do (Stones Throw)
3. Greyboy - Dealin With The Archives (Ubiquity)
4. Michael Jackson - Euphoria (Motown)
5. Mos Def - Ms Fat Booty (DJ Spinna remix) (Rawkus)
6. Novi Singers - Rien Ne Va Plus (Muza)
7. The Meters - Cissy Strut (Phase4)
8. DJ Design feat. Medaphoar - NY Gates (Stones Throw)
9. Rehash - Mind Under Matter (Rehash)
10. Robert Larow - Realize (Irma)
11. Baku Tsunoda - The Sunshine (Music Conception)
12. Tipsy - Moisture Seekers (Asphodel)
13. Chris Bowden - Original Sins (Ninja Tune)
14. Grupa Organowa Krzystofa Sadowskiego - Alfa Centaura (Crate Soul Brothers Remix) (CDR)
15. Alex Kid - Strawberry Lane (F-Com)
16. Turntables On The Hudson - Shadow of Bee (RhythmLove)
17. Micatone - Step Into Gallery (The Mighty Bop mix) (No Zession)
18. Salvador Group - Crosswinds (Compost)
19. Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella - New Standards (Schema)
20. Serge Gainsbourg - Aeroplanes (Readymade remix) (Mercury)
21. Brommage Dub - Funky Badja (Svek)
22. Masters At Work feat. Wummi - Ekabo - Afro-house mix (MAW)
23. Slope - Para Los Pinchas (Mermaid)
24. Alex Kid - Arbore Part I (F-Com)
25. Mo' Horizons - Bosshannover (Stereo DeLuxe)
26. Les Hommes - Pousanda Do Amore (Schema)
27. Mystereum feat Ursula Rucker - Lonely Can Be Sweet (Scuba remix) (Talkin' Loud)
28. Sexual Harrassment - I Gave You A Party (Gomma)
29. PulserSG meet Jonny Hallyday - Noire C'Est Noir (Universal Jazz)
30. Mit Musik Geht Alles Besser (Gervais Danone AG)
31. Zero dB - Click (Fluid Ounce)
32. Madrid De Los Austrias - Belle De Jour (Sunshine Enterprises)
33. Rudeboy Lessons meet Certain Lions & Tiger - El Soul Condor (Universal Jazz)
34. Martin Denny - Exotica (Liberty)
35. Koop - Waltz For Koop (Diesel)
36. Novi Singers - The Look of Love (Muza)
37. Butti 49 - Brasilikum (Tokyjo)
38. Zimpala - To The Bass (Fantomas)
39. Greyboy - Polyphonix (Ubiquity)
40. Pete Rock - Intro/Soul Survivor (Loud)
41. Yard meet Dee Dee Barky & The Movements - Get Out of My Life Woman (Universal jazz)
42. Rehash - The Last Part (Rehash)
43. Jill Scott - Slowly Surely (Talkin' Loud)
44. Marlena Shaw - Woman of the Ghetto (Cadet)
45. Blackalicous - Making Process (MoWax)
46. Rae & Christian - It Ain't Nothin Like (Nextmen remix) (Grand Central)
47. Breakestra - Cramp Your Style (Stones Throw)
48. Jimmy Smith - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Verve)
49. The Headless Heroes of Apocalypse - Supermarket Blues (Atlantic)
50. Tommy Hools - Maire De Venise (?)
51. Mr Alfa & Senor 45 - Moulinex (Crippled Dick Hot Wax)
52. Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble/Cinematic Orchestra - Brotherhood (Comet)
53. Gabor Szabo - Yearning (Impulse!)
54. Martin Denny - Pagan Love Song (Liberty)
55. Les Baxter - Maracaibo (Capitol)
56. Martin Denny - Hawaiian Wedding (Liberty)
57. Les Baxter - Teheran (Capitol)
58. Cal Tjader - Invitation (Fantasy)
59. Arthur Lyman - Bamboo Taboo (Life)
K&S events in the near future:
25.08. Budapest, Korcsarnok: Tilos Radio Party /w Peshay, Palotai, Cadik
05.09. Plymouth (UK): Jelly Jazz /w Pete Isaac (http://www.jellyjazz.com)
06.09. London (UK): Jazz Café (http://www.meanfiddler.com/jazzcafe)
07.09. Brighton (UK): Jazz Rooms /w Nik Weston (http://www.jazzbop.co.uk)
***********************************************
Keyser & Shuriken weekly newsletter - If you don't want to get it, just write an e-mail for us.
Contact: E-mail: keyser.shuriken@freemail.hu; Phone: +36 20 9329279
Thanks for the support: Alan Brown (aka Cukipapa); Tom (Les Gammas crew); Eddy & Dus + Alen S.;
Anna @ Acid Jazz; Martin & Antibalas, Paul @ Afro Art; Paul @ Blow Up; Pat @ Chocolate
Fireguard; Manu & Eric @ Comet Records, Rainer, Michael, Kaisa & everybody @ Compost Records;
Zeljko @ Cosmic Sounds London; Vlado & Mario @ Couch; Svjet, Daniel & Toni @ Crippled Dick;
Micke @ Diesel Music; Döme & Easy Life Naturalz; Ecco Chamber; Paul @ Fenetik; Jonny & Grupo X;
Iain @ Grand Central Records; Chris @ Hospital; Dave @ Inspirit Music; Vadim & Kela @ Jazz
Fudge; Tommyboy @ Juice; Christian @ Klein Records; Andre @ Jazid Club & Records; Jazzland
Records; Chris @ Nuphonic; Jürgen, Barbara & Sonar Kollektiv; Nicola & Filippo @ Fez
Jazz/Schema; Paolo @ Mo Smog; Tomoji @ Music Conception; Alison @ Ninja Tune; Gak Sato & Rocco
@ Right Tempo; Nat @ RhythmLove; Marcus, Oscar, Reini & Toasta @ Spinning Wheel Records; Oli &
Sammy @ Stereo Deluxe; Alex "Reggie" @ Straight Ahead; Heinzi & Chris @ Sunshine Enterprises;
Ali @ Switch; Rob @ Tru Thoughts; Snorre @ Tokijo; Hannes & Flow @ Twentysomething Tunes;
Laszlo @ UCMG Hungary; Tim @ Tummy Touch; Yonderboi & Trevira Modern, Ambi & Amorf Ördögök;
United Future Organization & Kaori; Vinnie @ Ubiquity; Nik @ Universal Jazz; Unique Records,
Werner @ Uptight; Pita @ ParaRadio; Arnaud @ Ya Basta!; Gilb-r & Didier @ Versatile/Future
Talk; Rune & Dag @ Voices of Wonder; Jan & Poets of the Rhythm; Snorre (Butti 49); Tosha
(Pencilbrain); Enrico Riva & everybody else who we forgot to mention
Respect: all people @ Tilos Radio
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Wed Aug 22 2001 - 15:37:41 CEST