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

Many electronic music lovers scoff at pop music for being superficial and cheesy. However, I think there is nothing wrong with good pop music. Big emotions can sometimes only be expressed with epic melodies – and after listening to this mix, I hope you’ll agree.

Nerditional information:
The Knife is probably one of the most interesting bands in the past few years. Their combination of alien soundscapes, unique vocals and an incomparable stage presence is miles ahead of most electronic producers.

IAMX is a band that I once discovered by accident during a festival. Their dark synth-pop sound would certainly qualify them for a Goth festival, but they still seem to appeal to a broader crowd. They are one of the reasons why I believe that “normal” electronic music and the darker flavors (Dark Wave/EBM/Industrial) are not that much different.

“Voyage Voyage” by Desireless is quite an old track (released in 1987), but I felt it just fit very well with the overall flavor of this mix. It seems that epic synth-pop was a huge thing in the 80s , and it’s good to see that this is still alive.

Oh, and if you haven’t seen it yet, check out the video for “Papillon” by the Editors!

Tracklist:

1. Digitalfoxglove feat. Freak You – Beasts And Flowers
2. The Knife – Pass This On (Dahlbäck Remix)
3. Editors – Papillon
4. Desireless – Voyage Voyage (Euro Remix)
5. Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity Of Huge
6. Sneaky Sound System – It’s Not My Problem (Thin White Duke Remix)
7. La Roux – I’m Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix)
8. IAMX – Spit It Out (Designer Drugs Remix)
9. College Feat. Anoraak – Fantasy Park (Moulinex Remix)
10. Daft Punk – Digital Love (Algeronics Remix)
11. Dragonette – Pick Up The Phone (Arithmatix! Remix)
12. The Killers – Mr Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont’s Thin White Duke Remix)

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jliba/3934321280/ // CC-by-sa