This week’s Heal Yourself and Move—a biweekly column about dance and electronic music—interviews Berlin disco producer and lover Hunee and checks in with Lovefingers about new releases on his Black Disco label. Check the column after the jump.
Hunee, Tour De Force EP (WT Records 2009)
Hunee, "Cut Down Trees"
Y'all need this one, without a doubt. WT Records does it again! This time, Berlin's Hunee goes deep with some house workouts. This has been out for a couple months, and it crept into my crate with "Cut Down Trees," which employs a killer sample of someone hating on work, which I can always support. I dunno if I'm alone here (I don't think I am), but I always used to memorize the skits on hip-hop albums as if they were an extension of the lyrics. This gives me that same vibe. I will probably bother some friends of mine by saying "...eating dog shit? Just to wake up and have to go to work again? Fuck that..." at random times this fall. The track itself reminds me of Ace & The Sandman's "Let Your Body Talk," as it employs the same sort of airy, bouncy vibe, while maintaining the thickness. "Tour De Force" is exactly what the title describes. Get it while you still can, I'm sure distros are about to run out. I recently talked to Hunee about a few things:
So the talking on "Cut Down Trees" is such an excellent touch. What are the circumstances of the recording? Who's talking (if its not secret)?
Well, thank you Andrew. The first track signed to WT was "Tour de Force," but William didn't like any other old track I sent him, so I basically did the two other tracks for the release just messing around with quick ideas. The "Cut Down Trees" basic idea was in my mind for some time, since I wanted to go more into a weird percussive thing, lazy as I am I only used on synth to do all the sounds on it, and when it was done I told myself to change the sounds and play around with other synths, but lazy as I am, I just kept it how it was. I had a problem with it sounding too digital, but, well, you seem to like it, so that's cool. I sold the synth after doin' that track so it is kind of the requiem to that machine. The vocal comes from a busy bee from Connecticut, but its pitched down like 1 or 2 notes... It's properly licensed underground style—a few e-mails and a Paypal payment. It's not a real secret, but its more fun to keep guessin'...
You are based in Berlin. Sup with your parties out there? Do you do a regular party?
We used to run a night called "The Loveroom" at lovely Tape club, with incredible guests like Mark Seven, Beppe Loda, Lexx, Gerd, Sean P and other killer DJs. We tried to bring real DJs and not just the hot names, but that party stopped after a year. I am done with promoting big parties I think. Now, all i want to do is lil' parties every once in a while, just for the love. On the 22nd of October we will do a lil' thing at this underground basement place called Edelweiss in Kreuzberg with Patrice Scott. For November we're tryin to do a party with Rahaan from Chicago. We want to put up balloons and really make it a friendly dancing environment.
Do you find it difficult to play disco and boogie sounds out there in Berlin (where techno seems to be the name of the game), or are audiences starting to get into it?
Disco in Berlin is much more fun than everyone thinks, the people are pretty open and we had a lil' disco hype goin' here and we, the disco babies, kept pooping in our pants for gigs and stuff and the whole thing got almost rinsed out by the usual club-hype dynamics. But now I feel the disco scene has matured and it is pretty supportive and everyone joins forces. A lot of parties turn into something special. It's fun!
What are some big tracks for you right now? What are you playing out this weekend?
Weeeeeell...I still cant get over the beauty of "Lotta Love" from Nicolette Larson, which my friend Finn Johannsen got me into at six in the morning after playing seven hours back2back at an open air party at Picknick. That moment will be stuck in my heart forever, so will that song... then there is that strange underground disco song called "Dance It Off" from Rena, that i found in Valencia this year. That shit makes me wanna dance! The production and the mixing is just sick. Well, Bunny Mack "Love You Forever," which I found in the same shop keeps makin' me happy too, although a lot of my friends cant handle the cheesy vocals You're my sweeeeety, my suuuuugar... Hahaha. Boo Williams and his "Home Town Chicago" album keeps fascinating me. I bought a record in New York from Logic (Wayne Gardiner, New Yorkian, Larry-Heard-twin) called "The Difference" that is deeep and lovely. Matias Aguayo "Lineas" and "Jack My Body" from Yellow House have not left my bag for some time. Well, blabla, duuuude, i gotta go to The Thing to get my hands dirty...
What's next? Tracks, 12-inches, mixes, huge parties?
Next release should be a track called "Took My Love" on the new Drumpoet compilation - working on a 12-inch version for a vinyl release. My "Brother" EP for Prins Thomas' Internasjonal label should be out pretty soon. i have a track finished for Permanent Vacation which i like a lot called "Standing High", and an EP called "Barrio Payment" for my vinyl-only-boys from Retreat will come out in October.
Huuuuge parties. Well I pretty much look forward to any party that I can play records at, but a big thing for me is my first gig at Panorama bar [in Berlin] in October. It's the Macro night and Serge from Clone is playing too. Although I probably won't hear him, since I will play from nine to 12 (morning to noon) which is another fact that excites me about that party. But the parties with Patrice and Rahaan excite me equally, but for different reasons. Anyway, I'll see you on the dancefloor!
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Speaking of the dancefloor, attention all you New Yawkers, Hunee is playing PUBLIC SCHOOL tonight, hosted by Galaxie and Rong Music. The WT homie Speculator is also DJing, along with residents Lovefingers, Spun, and Tommy Moye. 107 Suffolk at Rivington, NYC. For more information check out the Facebook event, if you swang like that.
And speaking of Lovefingers ("let's get a mojito, son"), his Blackdisco label has been lighting it up:
Blackdisco - Soft Rocks EP (Blackdisco 2009)
Soft Rocks, "Bagwan Boogie"
These Soft Rocks dudes from England are onto something in a major way. "Bagwan Boogie" is my favorite cut off this one. It reminds me of some of the first electronic music I ever got into, as it carefully rides a line between old "sampledelic" stuff from the ’90s (imagine if Towa Tei was actually really really really really really really awesome), and new disco edits. The song is a wild assortment of chops from (I assume) some Indian tune, including accordion leads, Bollywood-sounding Simmons drums, and some intense violin sweeps. It also has that slink, know what I mean? You can imagine doing some serious bank-robbing or other hijinks while this song is playing, and I love it for that.
Blackdisco - Abel EP (Blackdisco 2009)
Abel, "Round in Circles"
This joint is not out yet (check here because it does drop any day now) but when it does come all out your blue-eyed rock homies are gonna convince you to play it. Sometimes I can't hang with the whole ROCK side of "cosmic" DJing; I think more than anything I just get really into drum machines. But this new Abel continues the Blackdisco streak with some major groovers, the grooviest for me being "Round In Circles".
Whew, that's it this week!
Have yourself a good good time!
-AFP