With 20 years of turntable experience and about 2.500 live gigs, Mike S.Kreama certainly has a story or two to tell. When I prepared for the interview with him, it wasn’t easy for me to make sense out of the long list of things he has done already.

Good thing that Mike is an open and friendly guy and helped me understand his history and his idea on good music. Let’s start with an exclusive mix from him:

“I used to play in various Funk, Ska and Reggae bands, and that still influences me as a DJ. I played drums, guitar and bass guitar, and I still like electronic music with some organic elements in it. I also have tons of oldschool HipHop and Electro vinyl at home. These are my roots.”

With these roots, it’s no wonder that DJ S.Kreama has developed a preference for Breakbeats and other funky electronic sounds. Techno has remained somewhat alien to him.

“I was interested in Techno and Goa sounds for a short time years ago, but I quickly sold all the records that I had bought from those genres. Techno is too similar to military march music to me, and my music is a kind of protest against this. Straight beats are ok sometimes, but it mustn’t be too dull and simple. I like rhythms with a little bit of shuffle in them.”

If I wanted to explain to someone how to promote yourself via social media, I would probably use DJ S.Kreama as a positive example. He does a great job of promoting himself and his buddies through various platforms such as Blip.fm, Twitter or SoundCloud.

“I wasn’t really aware of the power of social media until about a year ago. I have a friend who organizes underground parties in Miami, and he is promoting his parties mostly through social media. He explained this to me and since then, I really got the hang of it and use it a lot to promote myself and my friends or get in touch with other DJs from around the world. I get really good feedback, too. You just have to give people something that they value, that’s how you can be successful in the networks.”

Being a sound designer by education, Mike has been lucky to work on several music-related film productions. He is particularly proud of Sonic Mirror, a film about Billy Cobham.

“Billy Cobham is an awesome Jazz drummer, and it was a great pleasure to work on this movie. We really travelled around the world and traced his roots with him. He was also sampled by Massive Attack for their song “Safe From Harm“. I can’t say that I was this lucky all the time, but having had the opportunity to work with music I love means a lot to me.”

I seem to have a talent for finding DJs who are about to leave the country. After interviewing Elodie & Thompson who left for Ibiza for the summer, one of the first things that Alex B. Groove told me when I asked him for an interview:

“Sure, we can do the interview, but we have to make it soon as I am about to leave for Barranquilla in Colombia for two years.”

I hope it’s not me who’s driving good DJs out of the country…

Anyway, here’s a DJ set by Alex B. Groove that he gave me to share with you.

It’s a busy time for Alex right now. Not only is he packing all of his stuff into boxes to get them shipped to another continent, but he is also in the process of making the video for his new single “You Make Me”.

“The video is going to be awesome! There are some great people like the director Axel Schulten working on th video. We all just want the video to look perfect. Also the singer, Alison Degbe, is acting so good and let´s not forget the wonderfull styling and make up lady Baffy Schroth. I am so grateful for that, and I am very happy with the results so far. We just need a few more sunny days to film the last few scenes.”

Without friends, you are not really going anywhere in the music scene. This lesson is very important to Alex B. Groove, and while he has collected a lot of valuable contacts over the years, it is very important for him to always be friendly and down-to-earth.

“I was introduced to a professional producer at a party when I was still a teenager. We got along quite well, and I often visited him in his studio and learnt a lot from him. In the first year, I usually sat behind him in the studio. In the second year, I sat next to him. Finally, in the third year, he let me sit in front of him in the studio. That was a very important time for me. In the following years, I worked in the music business as an A&R, but this job is not good for an idealist like me. You just have to justify your decisions all the time to people who don’t really care about music. However, during those years, I got to know a lot of people that I am still in contact with today. It’s a give-and-take, but it’s important to refresh people’s memory from time to time. For example, that’s how I got to do a remix for the well-known German HipHop band Die Fantastischen Vier. We both come from the same region, we met a few times and they liked my sound.”

With such a strong network in Germany, leaving the country seems to be a big risk for his musical career. Following his girlfriend, who accepted a position as a teacher in Colombia, Alex wants to concentrate on making music and trying out new things – and he is optimistic about that.

“I know it won’t be easy there because no one knows me. However, I will have my musical equipment with me and I will continue making music. I would also love to get in contact with local musicians and see what I could do with them. Apart from House music, I have also produced quite a bit of Lounge music with my band Senator Plus, and getting an authentic latin flavor into my Lounge productions would be great.”

Update: Here is the video for “You Make Me”.

I got so much positive feedback for my recent Swing House mix that I just had to do another one. So here we swing again!

Nerditional information:

Both Sarah Vaughan tracks are on the awesome Verve Remixed Vol.3 compilation. Verve is a truly classic Jazz label that was founded in 1956(!) and is still active today, and they opened up their archives to a couple of good remixers in the last few years. If you like a good blend of electronic music and Jazz, get these compilations! Yes, I mean all of them!

Mark Knight & Funkagenda’s “The Man With The Red Face” is  - of course – a remake of Laurent Garnier’s classic. While this one was probably designed specifically for Ibiza’s dancefloors, I still like it for its dynamic and truly anthemic sound.

Oh, and did I mention that I can’t get enough of Parov Stelar’s sound?

Tracklist:

1. Danuel Tate – Pushcard
2. James Jackson – What’s That!?! (David Jones & Neuroxyde Remix)
3. Parov Stelar – Libella Swing
4. Zee Code – Everybody’s Dancing (Tanzamono Extended Mix)
5. Sarah Vaughan – Fever (Adam Freeland Remix)
6. Mark Knight & Funagenda – The Man With The Red Face
7. Caravan Palace – La Caravane
8. Oliver Twizt – Another Step
9. Parov Stelar – Starlight
10. Sarah Vaughan – Peter Gunn (Max Sedgley Remix)

Have you ever watched a fire at night? I find it totally fascinating to just look into a fire and follow my own thoughts.

I don’t know if you can follow me here, but this DJ set tries to capture a similar mood: The contrast between cold darkness and a bright fire that dances in the dark…

Nerditional Information:

The opener track “Blaue Moschee” by Die Vögel is one of those strange hits that pop up from time to time: It’s a real dancefloor burner in the clubs right now even though it sounds very strange and different to other Techno tracks. Nevertheless, I really like that trumpet sound here, and it’s rare to have that swing feel in a Techno track.

I have been following Hardfloor for years now, and I am still fascinated with their simple yet anthemic Acid productions. They just keep releasing great tracks, and they have been around for a long time already. Their other project Dadamnphreaknoizphunk is also worth listening to. While Hardfloor productions are usually straight Techno bangers, the tracks by Dadamnphreaknoizphunk are more on the Trip-Hop side.

Leschet & Wilde is a duo from Cologne that is already famous for their wild live acts. Irwin Leschet, one half of that duo, is also a resident of the regular Silberschwein-parties that has a real pig-shaped disco ball as a mascot. They also started with their own label a while ago, and the first two releases are already great examples of how you can make deep dancefloor music without being cheesy or overly abstract.

Finally, I would like to highlight the track “Zoom” by Barem. This is a great example for a netaudio release that you can even download for free . I am often impressed by how much great electronic music is available for free on the net – makes one wonder about those superstar DJs even more.

Tracklist:

1. Die Vögel – Blaue Moschee
2. Vinyl – The Weasel
3. Hardfloor – Who Took Da Box
4. Depeche Mode – Everything Counts (Oliver Huntemann Remix)
5. Barem – Zoom
6. Shane – Reaching For The Stars
7. Westbam – Die Dunkelsequenz
8. Rob Acid – On Fire
9. New Delhi FM – Cable Pollution Results
10. Leschet & Wilde – Autummatik (Heiko Voss & Geiger Remix)
11. Jamie Fisher – The Calm Before The Storm (Deluna Remix)

Elodie & Thompson are doing what many DJs only dream about: Right now, they are spending their summer in Ibiza to get behind the decks of the local clubs.

I was lucky to catch them for an interview during a short visit at home in Germany. Here’s a DJ set from them – I could very well imagine enjoying that sound at the beach at night…

“Playing in Ibiza is different than playing in Germany. Of course, you also have a lot of party people in Germany, but the attitude is different. In Ibiza, you see the happiness on people’s faces, they really seem to shine. It’s rare to see that in Germany.” (Elodie)

Being fascinated with the island for quite a while, Elodie & Thompson decided to spend the summer living off of DJing for the summer and taking a hiatus from their day jobs. While this might seem risky when you’re not already a superstar DJ, the two sound quite confident about their plan.

“I speak fluent Spanish, and that helps a lot in getting along with the locals. You might think it’s all about the tourists in Ibiza, but you can’t really achieve anything here without the locals. They own all the clubs, and they have their own networks. You have to get into those networks to be successful, and the first few days, we did nothing but run around, talk to people and give away promo CDs. Few give you paid gigs right away, but at least you get some opportunities and promotion gigs and that already helps.” (Elodie)

As a couple in and outside of clubs, they are unique in a business dominated by one-man-shows. Elodie & Thompson work and live together, and this seems to have a lot of advantages:

“It’s just so much more fun to play together. I had DJed alone before, but had not played for a couple of years because I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I used to. When we play together, we can complement each other very well. For example, when one of us has a bad night, we can still deliver a good set and one can push the other.” (Thompson)

“He is more of an artist than I am, but I guess I am the better manager. I just enjoy promoting us and our music, and I am also okay with playing gigs that are not 100% my style as long as the people there have a good time. As a DJ, there’s always a thin line between being an artist and being a professional entertainer, and walking this thin line can be a lot of fun.” (Elodie)

While they draw a lot of their motivation from the fun of DJing, they do have professional goals and are working on their career:

“Right now, we still have other jobs to keep us afloat. For example, I sometimes work as a light technician, and she works part-time for an online marketing agency. However, we do want to concentrate on making music and DJing, and we are working hard to be able to do that. We are thinking about a lot of things to push our career when we are back in Germany, but I think that our Ibiza experiences will definitely help us and we are also planning other things, like organizing our own parties, producing records and more.” (Thompson)

Tracklist:

1. Clan Destino — Cortado
2. Marcin Czubala — Dont need the sun to shine
3. Marco Effe — Caryllon
4. Federico Locchi, UGLH — No Category
5. Alex Niggemann — Deep Down
6. Saeed Younan — Analock
7. Carlos Sanchez, DJ Ray — Like

The Discotizer runs a very nice blog dedicated to funky and soulful House music. Like me, he regularly posts DJ sets and writes about good music. I really like his enthusiasm about House music, and his DJ sets are really worth listening.

Here is one for you to check out what I am talking about.

Discotizer started DJing out of disappointment with the local club scene.

“It’s funny that you hear funky and soulful House music more often in boutiques than in clubs. Here in Cologne, it’s actually hard to find clubs where you can hear that sound.”

We discussed this issue for a while, but couldn’t really come up with a convincing explanation. A lot of people like funky House music, and labels like Hed Kandi are very successful with their CD compilations. However, there seems to be a mismatch between what people like to hear and what DJs play in clubs.

“I was born in Bulgaria, and I occasionally visit friends and family there. Funky and soulful House is much easier to find there than it is in Cologne. Too many DJs here just keep playing annoying Minimal and Electro sounds. I never wanted to be a DJ, but I think I can do better than many DJs that I have heard so far.”

So is this just a local thing after all? I don’t know, but I can certainly relate to Discotizers mission for more soul and deepness in current dance music.

Tracklist:

1. Manyus and Dario Guida – Fever
2. Trouble Men – Do It
3. Glaubitz & Roc – Sunshine Day 2002 (Sgt. Slick 2002 Mix)
4. Soul Avengerz – Dancing In My Sleep
5. Full Intention pres. Deep Down – Give Me Your Love
6. Stone & Heller – San Francisco ’99 (Milk & Sugar Extended Mix)
7. Bran Van 3000 – Astounded (Eric Kupper Extended Mix)
8. Thomas Bangalter & Bob Sinclar – Gym Tonic
9. Armand Sarkowski – I Love It
10. Richard Grey – Is A Friend Of Mine
11. DJ EQ – Got Feelin’ (Original Mix)
12. Voodoo Chilli – Get On Down (Original Mix)
13. Voodoo Chilli – Check Out Our Groove (Herve Club Edit)
14. Black & White Brothers – Put Your Hands Up (DJ Disciple Vanguard Dub)
15. Conga Squad – Learn To Phonk
16. Czr and Ito – Bringing The Funk
17. Basement Jaxx – Do Your Thing (Jaxx Club Remix)
18. Michelle Weeks – Don’t Give Up (Baffled’s Midnight Mix)
19. Da Hoodfellas – Peep The Technique (Hustle & Flow Chi-Town Peepin Remix)
20. Stacy Kidd – Street Jazz (Original Mix)
21. Fabio Bacchini – Funk Is The Message
22. Cassius – Cassius ’99 (Fabio Bacchini 2009 Re-Tweaked Mix)
23. Cricco Castelli – Life Is Changing (Original)
24. One-T – Music Is The One-T Odc (Denis The Menace Club Mix)

Latin and electronic sounds have been fused by many people already, but I often found that combination a little cheesy. However, over time I found enough tracks that blended those styles very well and preserved the best of both worlds. I combined a couple of my favorites in this mix.

Tracklist:

1. Bajofondo  - Grand Guignol
2. Jean Claude Ades & Vincent Thomas – Shingaling
3. Major Lazer – Hold The Line (Edu K Remix)
4. Toni Rios – Incapaz de Parar
5. Curv – Cuban Clown
6. Sarah Vaughan – Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix)
7. Rainer Trüby – Es Lo Que Pasa
8. Michel Cleis – La Mezcla (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix)
9. Mihalis Safras – Chicas Latinas
10. Swen Weber – Samba de Bochum
11. The Fort Knox Five – El Barrio (Mo’Horizons Remix)
12. The Mighty Dub Kats – Magic Carpet Ride (Son of Wilmot Mix)

Nerditional information: Bajofondo is probably one of the best and most authentic Latin electro projects so far. It consists of a couple of musicians from Argentina and Uruguay and you can tell by their music that there are some real musicians at work here. A very refreshing contrast to the many, many sample-based tracks in this genre.

The Gotan Project has also been around for a while. With their combination of Tango and electronic beats, they can be found on many lounge compilations. I really like their music, although most of what they do is not really dancefloor music.

Rainer Trüby is not from South America, but he is still one of the evangelists of good Latin electro sounds in Germany. Talking about Germany, it is actually funny that Latin sounds have been popular with German producers for quite a while. Two good examples for this are “Shingaling” by Jean Claude Ades & Vincent Thomas (released on the Munich-based Great Stuff label) and “Samba de Bochum” by Swen Weber. However, to understand the irony in the track title “Samba de Bochum”, you probably have to be German: While one would expect such a track to with “…de Janeiro” or some other beautiful city, it actually ends with “Bochum” which is a grey industrial city in western Germany.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lievensoete/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

This mix is hard-beating, fast-cutting and takes no prisoners – just like a ninja. I selected some truly banging tracks and forced myself to mix faster than usual. Sorry for some transitions being not as smooth as they’re supposed to be, but this level of energy just wouldn’t work with too much planning.

Oh, and by the way, you can also hear my first remix in this set: A dirty house version of “New Noise” by Refused.

Tracklist:

1. Heads We Dance – The Human Touch (Sideschains Remix)
2. La Roux – Bulletproof (Hyper Crush Remix)
3. Ladybox – Cookies Fly (Prod. AC Slater & B.Rich)
4. Who Da Funk – Shiny Disco Balls (Sex On Monday Remix)
5. Jan Delay – Disko (So Called Friend Remix)
6. NAPT ft. Louise Marshall – Make My Day (Jack Beats Remix)
7. Timid Tiger & Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way ft. Ludacris & The Notorious BIG
8. iPunx – Dizzee Busta
9. Shodan & Fatman D – And The Beat Goes (Sonz of Mecha Mix)
10. House of Pain vs. Micky Slim – Jump Around
11. Refused – New Noise (Sweet Headache Remix)
12. The Prodigy – Everybody in the Place (AC Slater Remix)
13. Geht’s Noch? – Horny
14. Cyberpunkers – I Needed To Go
15. SebastiAn – Killing In The Name

Nerditional Information: For the international visitors of this blog, Jan Delay’s “Disko” might sound somewhat strange. Jan Delay is pretty big in Germany and has successfully proven that the German language can actually sound soulful (as in Soul music). The remix I used is a lot rougher than the original though.

I really like the remixes that Hyper Crush release, but I can’t really decide if their own productions are still cool or already too cheesy. Anyway, it’s refreshing to hear some good electronic pop music, and I got a feeling that they’re gonna be big.

Timid Tiger is actually a rather tame-sounding Indie Pop band, and I don’t know why they released such a banging remix of Lenny’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way”. Well, obviously they did, and they did it well.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gi/1689138/ // CC-by-sa

Can old Swing melodies and modern House beats go together? I think they can – and this mix proves it.

Tracklist:

1. Parov Stelar – Chambermaid Swing
2. Der dritte Raum – Swing Bop
3. Jeff Doubleu – Foxy Jazz
4. Gramophonedzie – Why Don’t You
5. Parov Stelar – The Flame
6. Coolshop – Trumpet Girl (First Original Mix)
7. Basti Grub – Wenn ich an die Kosten denke
8. Eule:nhaupt & Molle:nhauer – Candyshock
9. Andy Korg feat. Dani Cargo – Sax and Soda
10. The Dining Rooms – If I Could (Roland Schwarz & Parov Stelar Remix)
11. Caravan Palace – Dragons

Nerditional Information: I was somewhat surprised to learn that there have been quite a few Swing House releases in the past few months and years. I’d even say that this has developed into a sub-genre of its own. Don’t know if this is just a hype, but right now I love it!

Parov Stelar from Austria was the first artist that I heard this style from, and he’s still one of my favorites. Nevertheless, there are also other great Swing House tracks like Gramophonedzie’s “Why Don’t You” that even got into the UK Top 40.

I also would like to mention the Techno veterans of Der Dritte Raum who re-created their 1998 classic “Hale Bopp” and gave it a strong Swing flavor. I wouldn’t have thought that Techno could translate to Swing that well!

Spring has finally arrived in Cologne, and I can’t deny that this does have certain effects on my mood. It’s just sooo good to feel the sun again! As a consequence, I just can’t listen to cold Techno right now. I need funky beats! I need melodies! I need….House music! And if you feel like I feel right now, then this mix is for you.

Tracklist:

1. Gorillaz – Stylo (Alex Metric Remix)
2. Lorenz Rhode – Shake It
3. Malente – Rok der Haus
4. Jay West – It’s Boogie Time
5. Fever Ray – Seven (The Twelves Remix)
6. Parov Stelar – The Mojo Radio Gang (Club Version)
7. Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil (Fatboy Slim Remix)
8. Tom Novy feat. Michael Marshall – Your Body
9. Tyrell – Robofucius
10. Diamond Cut – Teardrops (Treasure Fingers Filter Disco Edit)
11. Alan Braxe & Kris Menace – Lumberjack
12. Annie – I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me (Feel The Moog Remix)

Nerditional Information:

I find it amazing how Alex Metric turned the somewhat gloomy “Stylo” into a very positive House track. The same is true for the The Twelves‘ remix of “Seven“. If you don’t know the originals, take a look at the videos: