»W E A R E E U RO P E ! «
23
“I guess f rom a DJ /club point of view it ha s only been more recently in the last three years that Eastern E u r o p e a n m u s i c h a s b e c o m e r e a l l y p o p u l a r,” s a y s R u s s Jones. East Is Best: the Balkan boom “Regional European differences within music have been explored for a long time,” comments Swiss-Iranian producer and DJ Samim, “and with the dawn of the EU this process has accelerated. More interesting is how European countries are still digesting the culture they picked up through colonialism and more recently through international integration (e.g. refugees, the Internet, free trade etc.). All major European music trends of the last few centuries can somehow be linked to this. Just have a look at cities like London or Berlin. It’s fascinating to see the dawn of mega cites, which in many ways are more important than nation states in the 21st century. It’s no surprise that these hubs are deeply interlinked and produce strong synergetic effects between them, which are more dominant than the competing forces.” Samim – whose ex-girlfriend from Croatia exposed him to the “melancholy and deep emotions which define their music” – is one of a new wave of producers looking towards traditional eastern European music for inspiration. With festivals like Exit hitting record numbers, Ricardo Villalobos putting out 37 minute songs like “Fizheuer Zieheuer” (based on a sample of a gypsy song by Blehorkestar Bakija Bakic, “Pobjednicki Cocek”), The Italoboyz’ “Zinga” using Eastern violin players, and the likes of Romanians Raresh, Pedro and Rhadoo all exploring folklorish sounds, there is a definite turn towards the east of late. British DJs Russ Jones (Future World Funk) and Felix Buxton (Basement Jaxx) have been digging on eastern vibe too, releasing their acclaimed compilation album ‘Gypsy Beats & Balkan Bangers’ - though perhaps the most significant focus for the worldbeat Balkan explosion has been Bucovina, a club in Frankfurt run by DJ Shantel, whose grandparents live in the town of the same name (now part of the Ukraine) and who has been fiercely championing these eastern fusions. “I guess from a DJ /club point of view it has only been more recently in the last three years that eastern European music has become really popular,” says Russ Jones. “Within that time, the main sound has been Gypsy and gypsy-inspired music. I think the main reason for this has been because a few producers have really got their act together from that region and turned to their roots to create some great music. This has inspired others and there is a general trend for proper groups and artists to turn back and celebrate their indigenous creativity, from established
bands like Tarafe De Houks to newer acts like Mahaha Rai Banda.” Klezmer, a folk music developed by Ashkenazi Jews in eastern Europe, has also been en vogue via bands such as Oi Va Voi and London-based Ghettoplotz, who are part of the so-called Hassidic House movement. Mixing old recordings of virtuosic Klezmer clarinettists with house and jungle beats and fusing Madonna with Jewish choir recordings, GhettoPlotz migrate Jewish music onto the dancef loor and develop a thriving Jewish Club scene at Yid Kandi events. “We were working on straight-up house tracks together when we were inspired by the Asian beats scene to integrate Jewish roots music into our production,” explains Ghettoplotz’s Mark White. “We’re both committed to Judaism in different ways and it just made sense to draw on this original Jewish party music to make our tunes stand out. It adds depth and originality to the tracks and means that two worlds collide when we play. Bands like Gogol Bordello and Balkan Beat Box have also helped, and DJ/producers like Sinden, Switch, Herve & Jesse Rose are doing it for us at the moment, incorporating samples from all over and using weird folk songs chopped up with glitchy beats. It’s great that producers are abandoning the same old tired disco/eighties samples and venturing into new territory.” Europe remains a deeply diverse – and sometimes divided – place, but the last few years have seen a number of positive integrative changes and accelerated exchanges. In the absence of a universal spoken language, European music – from the modes of Ancient Greece to the DJ productions of today – is very likely the closest the peninsula will get to a Pan-European form of communication. Let’s keep on talkin’.