DJ Jürgen von Knoblauch played an eclectic set spanning intelligent drum n' bass to soulful hip-hop and brasil to 1,500 Tilos Radio partygoers. Hardly your typical Tilos Radio Party fare – but because of the overwhelmingly positive response, Budapest audiences can now expect more of this kind of new jazz sound at upcoming Tilos Radio parties.

Jazzanova's unique fusion of bossa-tinged jazz and soulful dance floor grooves has won over jazz aficionados and DJs alike for a sound that is smooth and seductive, yet playful and hip-shaking. The Jazzanova Collective includes three Berlin-based DJ's Jürgen von Knoblauch (JvK), Alexander Barck (Barcoholic) & Claas Brieler as well as the producers Kosma (Rosko Kretschmann) and Stefan Leisering & Axel Reinemer from Extended Spirit.

Their proximity to the East has made them keen on the East German and Polish Jazz scenes of the 60's and 70's, inspiring a sound that is both retro enough for the lounge, yet vibrant enough for dance floors

What's the story behind 16 remixes, five exclusive tracks and a number of side projects? The collective deejays clubs as well as produces. Besides this, they've founded two record labels Jazzanova Compost Records for their own specific sound and the more experimental Sonar Kollektiv.

Call Jazzanova what you will, be them thieves, mixers, collectors, or freestylers, but as von Knoblauch says, “It's not a band but a project.”

Fresh from record hunting at Petofi Csarnok's open air market with Tilos Radio DJs Keyser and Shuriken, JvK spoke with Kiki Marron about this Jazzanova thing.

K.M.: Are there musicians among you?

JvK: From the DJ thing, we are using typical patterns of producing like having a home studio sampler and a group of six people, so each of us has its own part. None of us are musicians, though.

K.M. How have you achieved your jazz sound then?

JvK: I think it comes from listening. You can do a lot by listening and checking the records…

K.M.: Do you use real instruments?

JvK: Not yet really, but we play the chords. We have special software for the Fender and we use synthesisers. We sample a lot but the live thing will be the next step. Until now, we just have a home studio. Now we have just rented a real studio. We want to get into doing something with live musicians for the second album.

K.M.: It's was just you and Shuriken (Tilos Radio) Djing last night at Pecsa, but what's the typical live Jazzanova show like?

JvK: There are three ofus Djing mostly. We come from that, so spinning is the thing we do. When we do our album tour we have a special thing we do with an MPC -- a kind of a computer. We will do this live tour when we finish our album.

K.M.: Do you call what you do “dance music” or is it “jazz”? Is it offensive to call what you do “dance music”?

JvK: No,no,no. It's dance music. The thing is to make the people dance to our kind of music… I think many people try to do that. Perhaps the difference is just the feeling. It's how to use the tunes and the feeling in the tunes used in a special way. A lot of people are combining different styles of music and all that but the feeling is different. It's not about how we play drum n' bass, hip-hop and all that. We play this kind of eclectic thing but with our kind of feeling.

K.M.: What's happening in Germany right now in the dance music scene? Is your work isolated in the scene, or are you connected to other trends happening there?

JvK: It is a posse throughout Germany so there are different places where you have these clubs where this music works at its best. Rainer Truby is playing at “Root Down” in his hometown of Freiburg. In Munich you have “Into Somethin'” on Friday nights. We have our club and of course you have all these different scenes like the drum n' bass scene and techno scenes but they are all a little bit connected now.

K.M.: So there's a fusion happening?

JvK: Yeah. The drum n' bass guys look to what we do and we look at what they are doing. It comes out when we are looking for artists for our label, the Sonar Collective. This kind of label work is for connecting with other people and mixing with other kinds of music.

K.M.: In this sense do you think you are leading the future scope of dance music?

JvK: It's another phase of dance music. You've seen yesterday with these drum n' bass guys -- they were really energetic and it's really good. I like that, but it's another kind of view. It's not like “ah, this is the leading new thing.” It's just a part of it.

K.M.: How are you viewed in Germany by the music community? I understand you won the title of “best re-mixers” at the German Music Awards? What does that mean?

JvK: It was a first time event! There were some organisers like Public Propoganda, which is a distribution company that works with Compost (Jazzanova's partner label). It had a kind of appearance that felt like, “we are so good because we integrate all the different scenes.” There was a drum n bass act as “Best Act of 1999” and Compost as “best label.” In the end, there were these trance and techno things that won all the prizes because the jury was from mainstream radio and newspapers.

K.M.: Were there any good results for you? Has the media been more receptive to Jazzanova since?

JvK: No, but I think it's a good idea to show a wider public what people are doing. It's the same mainstream thing as the other awards happening in Germany.

K.M.: But is there a new German sound getting recognition?

JvK: Yeah, people talk about that. It's a new phase, a new façade of the music in Germany. You have drum n' bass and techno which were big- and trance which was really big. Then there's a new thing coming up which is “new jazz” and there is the “minimal” sound too. So there are different posses that are better connected than earlier times and our posse is the youngest so people pay attention -- but it will become just another element in the German music scene.

K.M.: How do you like this label, “New German Jazz”? Wouldn't you want to stay more open?

JvK: No. It's ok. In France, they say, yeah, you will become the follow up to French House. The thing is that the French house scene was led by three or four producer teams and they did all the music which was coming out like Super Discount or the Yellow label. In fact,there were 15 people working together and they created the whole scene. In Germany it's different. You have many more producers under this New Jazz label.

K.M.: What's your relationship now with Compost Records, under which many new jazz artists are recording?

JvK: When we started we leased our first twelve-inch. It was a white label thing. We wanted to establish a label but didn't know how to go about it. We made a deal with Michael at Compost and said we wanted some information and knowledge from him. We gave him our music and we did a label cooperation with Compost. Sonar Collective is our thing in Berlin because in there are so many people there working who have good ideas but they don't have the infrastructure to get money for equipment. That's why we started this kind of label for Berlin. But Sonar Collective is also going to other countries like to Sweden and we have guys in Dublin too.

K.M.: Looking at the recent compilations like Bossa Breaks and Bossa Tres Jazz, the music is also coming from France, Japanese and Austria, to name a few, so it seems to be wider than Germany now. Did you influence them or is the sound breaking out simultaneously?

JvK: I don't know. People say we have kind of influenced the scene. I think so of course, but there are others. It's a scene that is all influenced by each other.

K.M.: How did you end up doing so many remixes -- most notably for Ian Pooley, Incognito and 4Hero?

JvK: From the beginning when we started deejaying at Delicious Donuts years ago, we were always open minded and looking abroad. At first we had these record collectors to play with us. We were always connected to people abroad and when we started to produce, we used these connections and the people checked what we did. From the start we were this kind of network.

K.M.: I gather you have an interest in Eastern Europe. For example, Jazzanova Compost Recordings has released Polish and East German Jazz. Is this your first gig in this region?

JvK: No, we played in Poland, in Warsaw. The Novi Singers release comes from the time when we were looking for records really heavily every day because East Berlin is a good scene for Eastern stuff… a lot of jazz records from the 60's and 70's and lots of Cuban stuff.

K.M.: Are you influenced by Eastern European jazz and incorporating it into your own music, sampling it perhaps?

JvK: Sometimes… but also when you check Handsome Boy Modelling School's advertisement, they are using it as well.

K.V.: So it's becoming popular to use these retro elements?

JvK: You get inspired by it. It's like a painter who gets inspired by paintings. Why not use the tracks from the past to do something contemporary.

K.M.: It seems that in the West, artists are looking East for inspiration. I'm wondering if here in Hungary or in Poland, the people realise what they have?

JvK: I think Poland was the best country for jazz in the wider sense. Pop and rock music had a jazz attitude in the 60's, 70's and early 80's. There were a handful of people, maybe 20 who created the scene and they didn't take weren't careful bringing in newer people in the beginning of the 80's or having younger people to come to play jazz. When they disappeared, the scene disappeared. With Polish jazz, there is nothing left anymore. Lots of people went to America.

K.M.: Have you checked anything out in Hungary?

JvK: These guys, Keyser and Shuriken are really interesting and are producing a brilliant tune.

K.M.: You know it is really hard to get your records here!

JvK: We found some at Deep Records. With an independent label so you always have to be careful with distribution. It's always like this.

K.M.: In that case, were you surprised to find Jazzanova enthusiasts here? Some are really on to what you are doing.

JvK: Yes, of course. Also in Warsaw there was just one shop open but the thing is always with the money. It's expensive for these guys to buy records and in Western countries DJs get more wages, and are in a better situation. It's the same price for records here as in Germany.

K.M.: In addition, there aren't many venues here where more underground DJs can earn good wages to buy the records. The money here is in large techno/house/trance raves.

JvK: It's quite the same as in Berlin. You have places where techno is still big, but you also have other places. Twice a year we do a festival where we invite people to an amphitheatre and it's like a big techno rave. It's not the same feeling but it was like yesterday's party.

K.M.: Why wasn't the party at the Royal like the last few Tilos Radio parties?

Shuriken: It's closed now because investors bought it and are turning it into a five star hotel. We're now finding a place where dZihan & Kamien can play, something the size between Pecsa and the Royal. Now there's this place under the Ballet Institute where they would fit because it holds around 1,000 people.

K.M.: You mentioned bringing dZihan & Kamien (Austria). Were you able to convince Tilos Radio at the success of new jazz in a larger party format?

Shuriken: We have spoken with Rozi and Jazzanova said it would be nice if we played before since we were in contact with the label. First Rozi said “I don't know if you guys can be in the big room.” We always play in the chill out room that fits about 300 people. We were a bit scared how the audience was going to handle the situation and now we proved to Rozi that it's a good thing and it was important thing for us too. Before the night we have been negotiating about this place (under the Ballet Institute) with Tilos Radio, and I think they will get one night. We willset up the Djs, we will think about who will play, we will organise the guests and the Radio will be financing it.

K.M.: Any ideas why last night's Tilos Party worked so well? New jazz isn't really what Tilos audiences are used to.

Shuriken: The last Tilos party was quite a while ago so people were really hungry for new music. It was really good music compared to what the usual Tilos parties, so I think people were open-minded.

K.M.: The prevailing opinion was that the variety was really enjoyable. Even people into trance were impressed by the quality -- how smoothly Jürgen was progressing from say, hip-hop to Brasil sounds. It was really eclectic.

Shuriken: One successful party was Jon Carter from Monkey Mafia. He played eclectic stuff. It's great when a DJ lets himself freely play what he likes to play. With the David Holmes show in October, the problem was that he was hard to follow, he hardly played new stuff and people need hard beats.

JvK: I think yesterday was a good combination because after two hours it's enough of that kind and then the drum n' bass guys came on (Palotai and Cadik) and really rocked.

K.M.: You played for a very long time, something like three hours. Is that typical?

JvK: When I play in a smaller club it's not like you have to concentrate so much so you can play a whole night of course -- but after two hours something gets lost.

K.M.: What was your impression of Tilos Radio?

JvK: It's a kind of independent thing and a meeting point for the people. There is hardly a city where you have that, perhaps Kiss FM in London but that's more commercial. This kind of radio is very good.

K.M.: Anything like that in Berlin?

JvK: We had this in earlier times -- but it was just available via the cable and people met there but now it's very commercial. It's so important for a scene to have a radio like Tilos because the music can get to a wider audience -- and the commercial radio won't care about this kind of music. There is a good atmosphere there.

K.M.: Do you think many people are aware of Jazzanova in Budapest?

Shuriken: If Deep Records can exist and they are selling that stuff on CD it means not just DJs are buying this stuff so there must be guys listening to it.

Keyser: There are always people asking what we are playing on Sunday nights (at Suss Fel Nap) and they are calling into Tilos Radio where have four hour show every Sunday morning from 6.am. to 10 am.

K.M.: Kruder & Dorfmeister have chosen to do a broad range of remixes, even crossing into the mainstream (ie: remixing Madonna). Have you thought about going in the same direction?

JvK: We did a lot of remixes for our favorites like Incognito or 4Hero but for the bigger things, there's a guy in Los Angeles who is working for Madonna's label and it's the same contact that Kruder & Dorfmeister had.

K.M.: Are you known in the U.S.?

JvK: We did a little tour in November and yeah, people know us because did some things for American record companies like Guidance recordings. We were in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles… it worked really well. We played San Francisco, Atlanta and Seattle too.

K.M.: Has the Internet made it easier for you as Hungarian DJs to get into contact with independent labels and artists?

Shuriken: This is how we came in contact with dZihan & Kamien. This is how it works: You write email and say “we like your release and could you send the promo and we'll play it here”. We didn't have anything to convince them with. We played in the radio and there's an Internet address where they can listen to us. The radio is appreciates that. We have a regular club and no record company can check to see if we are playing.

K.M.: But at the same time, there's a growing celebrity dome surrounding DJs and the whole dance music scene.

Shuriken: They are selling much more. Imagine a label selling 15,000 and imagine 200,000. They don't need small guys to promote their stuff because everybody is still buying it.

Check out the following links for more information on this scene!:

Into Somethin', the Munich based club of Compost founder Michael Reinboth and DJ's Theo Thönnessen http://www.intosomethin.com

Jazzanova's partner label Compost Records http://www.compost-records.com

By Kiki Marron

To the Clouds with Djabe
Budapest's metro's are often the home of South American sounds as musicians passing through this city, or even making their home here play traditional instruments to the delight of crowds. While Budapest is not really known for its world music scene, a well organized local band called Djabe will make an appearance at Budapest's Petofi Csarnok on April 14th. The name Djabe means freedom in the Afro-Ashanti language. Whether the music sets you free or not, that's up to you to decide: one thing for certain, the mixture of different musical styles will take you from the land of the Magyars through a cultural array of musical influences and styles!

Industry- take 2!
Monster Night Club will Try Again...

After a false start late last year, the producers at the Industry night club say that this time April 8th will be the much-awaited opening of the gigantic 2200 square meter, 3 dance hall 64,000 watt venue! The original opening was a non-event after police found the club to be missing some of the required permits. These problems behind them, producers promise a splash of an opening with International guest DJ's. The big question... will people schlep their way out to Szentendre for a big party every weekend?

Industry, at Kosza utca 8 in Szentendre. Take Hev to Pannonia Telep. For more information call 06.20.975.0761

Masterful Felix Lajko
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3,600 Ft, April 12, 20.00 at the Korcsarnok, XIV. Stefania ut 2
Tel. 266.7070