Our new captains are the Customs lads, sailing from London and navigating through a sea of lover soul, g-funk and garage house. 

Get in, sip your gin and juice, and enjoy the cruise !

@customs_ldn

Cruisin' with... Customs

While dropping their self-titled debut LP with us in August, Anya and Izaak from Loveshadow (@loveshadowdjs) were kind enough to also record a lovely mix and answer a few questions. Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hi Izaak and Anya, nice to have you on board. Both living in Bay Area, how would you describe your daily surroundings? Is it a nice place to be as an artist?

LS: Right now we live in SF. We grew up one town away from each other near the airport, though we didn’t meet until much later. The landscape is inspiring for sure- we spend as much time as we can out in the parks and wild areas and draw a lot from that. The art and music scenes here run deep, though the cost of living and of course covid have made things tougher.
 
MFM: The songs on your debut album as Loveshadow -which will be out in August- sound incredibly fresh where they also remind to certain pop, boogie, funk and even house from the mid and late '80s. What were some of your main influences for this project? 

LS: Thanks! We have to mention the UK act Fashion after whose song we named the group, but our tastes range all over. You could say that Loveshadow is kind of a lap around the 80’s prehistory of today’s dance music, when things were still firmly rooted in pop songwriting but had a simultaneously psychedelic and funky sensibility- one that grew out of dub/disco/punk counterculture. Getting more serious about learning the records at the roots of the whole thing allowed us to see how we might contribute something new to it in a way that was more than a style exercise.

MFM: Of course also the use of specific instruments ad up to that flavor - it seems that for example the Linndrum plays an important role. Did you aim for that sound and gathered the instruments around it, or the other way around maybe?

LS: We had an overall idea in mind that definitely informed the instrumentation but we’re not purists. A lot of the sounds on the record are replications of or deviations from the iconic originals. Those famous drum sounds in particular are like symbols, they impart a particular meaning and we use them to set a mood.

MFM: What's the dynamic between the two of you like in the studio? Is there a certain steady structure or does this change all the time? Maybe you could tell a little about your writing and recording process?

LS: It changes all the time- we’ve lived and worked in so many places separately and together since we started recording. Either one of us might come up with an idea that we’ll design sounds around, demo, arrange, and then throw it all in the trash and start again. Most of the songs on the record have had a few lives.

MFM: It feels that the music from the LP could work really well live on a stage too. Are there any plans for you to go touring? 

LS: We’re going to play a gig in Detroit later this summer that will be sort of a test run! After that, we’ll see. The project started out as an interest in records and recording, but anything’s possible.

MFM: Thanks a lot for contributing! It seems you quite regularly record a mix. Have you both always been busy collecting and sharing records? 

LS: Our pleasure, thanks so much for asking us! We’re always looking for new music. Sharing mixes online has helped us organize our favorites but playing parties is the best. We were gigging around before covid and we’ll hopefully get back to it as things continue to open up. This mix is definitely on the hype side of things- new digs, old favorites, some edits, tunes pals graciously sent our way, and what we’ve been dancing around our apartment to while we were stuck inside.

MFM Mix 030: Loveshadow

https://www.nts.live/shows/doing-time/episodes/doing-time-24th-july-2022

Big up Hampus for letting me on the best show on NTS <3

Sunday the 24th of July.



@hampus_time

NTS - Doing Time w/ Fritjof Drake

“I recorded this while I was in Melbourne. The city has a peaceful vibe everywhere you go. It’s a refreshing change from Seoul, Korea. This mix features downtempo tracks with a cosmic and soulful feel, perfect for relaxing. Hope you enjoy it! “

@Jeepsooni is a rising DJ in Korea’s underground music scene. Her sound is rooted in disco but spans many genres. Mixing italo-disco, salsa, French pop, and jazz with house and disco to create energetic sets that resonate with diverse audiences. She organizes and directs Cha Cha Mambo, a party held at Itaewon’s Nyapi Club, where she introduces fresh musical direction to the local scene. At Cha Cha Mambo, Jeepsooni highlights emerging DJs, showcasing unique sounds that differ from mainstream trends, with an emphasis on high-energy disco. 

Her online mixes have featured on platforms like Sound Metaphors, Mothball FM, Headphone Magic, and Studio Namsan, have received widespread acclaim. 


Known for her unique selections and adaptable style, Jeepsooni is quickly establishing herself as a standout DJ in Seoul’s music landscape.

Track ID's: @Jeepsooni

Proto Mix 001 - Jeepsooni

MLiR riding through 4 and a half hours of nuggets. 
ID requests ~ @/m-l-i-r

1800 triiip - Mix077 - MLiR

Züri-based selector schoolbell in the house. Enjoy the ride through his "Drum Machines XC-XCI 90-91 Mix".

-> https://soundcloud.com/wdjc

If you want to read more about schoolbell and the background of this mix, read this! Author is the maestro schoolbell himself:

"Als Kind wollte ich unbedingt Schlagzeug spielen. Schön laut. 
Der Dorfschulmusikvorsteher war aber der Überzeugung man solle zuerst Flöte spielen und Noten lesen lernen. 

Dario, Malin und ich sorgten ein Jahr lang für viele enttäuschte Gesichter, pusteten uns da aber durch, nur um anschliessend mitgeteilt zu bekommen, dass wir uns jetzt erst Mal am „Böckli“ zu beweisen hätten. Das „Böckli" ist wohl so ziemlich die verkümmertste Reduktion eines Schlagzeugs, die sich der menschliche Verstand auszumalen vermag. Eigentlich bin ich ja ein grosser Freund der Begrenzung aufs Wesentliche, aber mit acht Jahren und dem sehnlichen Wunsch nach einem möglichst beeindruckenden Schlagzeug, kam mir dieser Teller auf drei abschraubbaren Beinen, doch mehr wie eine Erniedrigung und sehr viel weniger, wie lange Haare und Rock ’n' Roll, vor.
 
Was ich lange nicht begreifen konnte; weshalb dieses enttäuschende Ding zu allem Verdruss noch ungleich lange Beine haben sollte und schief vor mir dastand.
Mein Freund der Dorfschulmusikvorsteher war tief besorgt über die sinkende Zahl Tambouren, die die Schweizer Armee zu verzeichnen hatte, und wollte diese missliche Lage mit Hilfe des schiefen "Böcklis“, geradebiegen. Sprich, wer Schlagzeug spielen wollte, der hatte sich zuerst auf der Trommel zu beweisen. Kein Zufall also, dass das Böckli genau so schief dastand, wie die Trommel später getragen werden sollte. 
Entsprechend wurden auf diesem kümmerlichen Teller auch keine funky-drummer- oder ashleys-roachclip-breaks gespielt, sondern Märsche und Wirbel gepaukt. 
Das wurde mir irgendwann dann doch zu viel des Schiefen, und ich begrub die Idee mit dem Schlagzeug.
 
Einige Jahre später begann dann das fürsorgliche Einwirken meines Cousins und älteren Bruders Früchte zu tragen. Sie machten mir auf sehr überzeugende Weise und mit vielen Glück und Weite verströmenden Mixtapes begreiflich, dass ich es im Leben nie zu etwas Sinnvollem bringen würde, wenn ich nicht ein gediegenes Interesse an Musik entwickeln würde. Dabei waren sie auch sehr deutlich damit zu erklären, dass das mit diesen neuen CDs ja schon in Ordnung sei, aber Nichts, womit man sein mit Brot-und-Aufstrich eingespartes Mittagsgeld vergeuden sollte. 
Wie das ganze Mal sein sollte, hatte ich mir irgendwie schon ausgedacht bzw. vorgeschwärmt bekommen, aber die Suche nach dem Sound, der mich so richtig mitreissen würde, war auf dem Land doch recht orientierungslos. Es sollte sich nach einigen Umwegen zeigen, dass es weniger der Lars Ulrich aus den Kopfhörern meiner Mitschüler, als Zigaboo, Hans Heinrich Liebezeit und Klaus Dinger gewesen waren, die ich gesucht hatte. 
Als sich die Tür zum Hip-hop- und etwas später zur Clubmusikkultur auftat, wirkte das, was da auf mich zukam und mitriss, irgendwie selbstverständlich, aber dadurch nicht minder überwältigend.
 
Hip-hop war ein guter Einstieg. Anfangs zählte für mich zwar nur die Unterscheidung zwischen eben dieser und all der anderen Musik. Aber der Weg zu Clyde Stubblefield und nicht zuletzt zu all den anderen TR808-, MPC- und Linn-Sounds lag – den Samples sei Dank – bereits ausgebreitet vor mir. 
Und in der Folge schnell Mal die Einsicht, dass es für mich nicht um eine Einteilung in das eine andere Genre gehen sollte. Im Gegenteil. Überall gab es Musik zu entdecken. Wenn überhaupt unterschieden werden sollte, dann nur in gut und schlecht. (damit nicht gesagt, ich wisse was andere zum einen oder andern zählen wollen)
Die Idee der Drum-Machine-Mixes hat am Ende sehr wenig mit dem Dorfschulmusikvorsteher aber viel mit dieser Einsicht zu tun. ... und allenfalls mit dem Wunsch, dem Kreuz und Quer durch die Genres, einen roten Faden zu geben. Hier nun Folge 90 und 91. 

Viel Spass damit!"

CV Podcast #14 Presents - Schoolbell

Postman

Ahead of Outro Tempo II close friend John Gómez (@johngomezldn) contributes to the MFM Mix Series with this wonderfully soothing second episode titled Spring Awakening (photo credit: @marionavilaros). Q&A here below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hey John! So, before we talk about the present and future let's briefly flash back. How do you look back on the first Outro Tempo compilation? It seems that it has opened up quite a lot of ears and doors, do you think it had the same impact in Europe as it did in Brazil?

JG: It had different sorts of impacts, in the sense that in Europe Outro Tempo was very much an introduction to a world of music most of us didn’t know about, but in Brazil it offered an alternative take on its own musical history. It generated a lot of interest in that period – I mean, you can see how many reissues of music with a similar sound have come out in the past two years. I was amazed at how much it resonated in Brazil: I still get emails, occasionally from quite prominent musicians and journalists, thanking me for my work promoting Brazilian music. I never could have expected that kind of response and, to answer your first question, on a personal level Outro Tempo generated a lot of good will for me in Brazil. 

MFM: Outro Tempo II the full compilation will be out in May but first there's the Single Promocional teaser EP, containing 2 exclusive tracks. How did you decide these 2 tracks had to be on it? Do they connect both the compilations in one way or another?

JG: Yes, naturally they connect, as two of the members from Bruhahá Babélico were in another group that features on the compilation and were part of the São Paulo scene. The idea for the EP came from being blown away by the incredible Babélico II when I first heard it. It was actually a 26 minute jam that was recorded directly to cassette and it would have been difficult to release in its original form. I edited the music in a way that was true to the original, but as it was taken from cassette it had very different sonic qualities to the rest of the music on the compilation. I felt this would interrupt the overall flow of the comp, so I thought it would be a nice idea to release it independently as a teaser EP. It’s totally bonkers and I’m thrilled that people seem as excited by the track as I am! 

MFM: Would you say Outro Tempo II is the logical or natural follow up to its predecessor, does it really continue where the first left off?

JG: Initially I didn’t really want to do a follow up. I thought there was no point in just compiling the tunes that didn’t make it on to the first. But eventually I distanced myself enough from the compilation to see another narrative emerging in Brazilian music of the time. There are points of intersection but it feels like an evolution from the first, moving in a different direction towards the experimental soul of Brazil’s gigantic cities and the relationship developed with new influences from outside. 

MFM: So, thanks for contributing to our new mix series! When we first asked, you said about maybe doing a more 'chilled' mix. Did you have a specific purpose in mind with that? 

JG: I just wanted to record something less functional and self-promoting than the hundreds of dance mixes that are uploaded each week. Last year I did an RA mix and a Beats In Space but it feels like ages since I’ve simply put together some nice songs. I like saving my dancefloor tunes for the dancefloor as I think they lose some of their magic or impact if they’ve been heard many times before. This is definitely not geared towards the dancefloor: it is deep music for listening and features outsider folk from North Carolina and the Basque country, fusion from Mexico and Argentina, cosmic sounds from Martinique and Nigeria, and hypnotic rhythms from Brazil, with a little nod to Outro Tempo II.

MFM Mix 002: John Gómez

Millos Kaiser is onboard for one hour of brazilian soulful jams. 
Make yourself 1 liter of Caïpirinha and lie down in the sun until you turn red. 
@milloskaiser

Cruisin' with... Millos Kaiser

We had the pleasure to put together some of our old & new favorites for our dearest @gintonic-6 's DJ de Quartier mix series.

"Dive into the Other Side of Midnight and get to know the story of a Mystical Man in his Ocean of Dreams. Like Sorcery, there will be Bluebirds & Silhouette Calls... you'll get Lost in your Meditation Blues and eventually be Found, Star Dreamin’. This is An Attempt At Understanding Love (Pt's I, II, III, IV & V) on a Rare Summer Night..."

DL the mix and check other great DJs contributions here: https://stepasidemtl.com/

Painting by Linda & Norm.

DQ006 (Step Aside): Linda & Norm - Magic Jive mix

Mix of the Week #364 is by Ken Kuusk & Louis Largo
Track ID requests:
0-30 min - @mrkuusk
30-60 min - @louislargo
60-90 min - @mrkuusk
90 - 120 min - @louislargo

Mix of the Week: Mobile app http://dreamchimney.com/motw/app
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Mix of the Week #364: Ken Kuusk & Louis Largo

Ritmo Segreto
@fritjofdrake

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClqu99EOLAn-dTT9TQJJ0YA/featured

Bookings/ mix requests: fritjof@nittygritty.se