and where does this gentle breeze of a tune come from?

one day i'll find out who wayne & weidemann are and offer them my earthly belongings and daughters

Full feature, interview and tracklist coming soon!

Off The Record Mix Series 23: Suzanne Kraft

Up next are our dear friends The Zenmenn (@user-847972032) with whom we have a new 7" and more coming up soon. For the special occasion they came up with an unexpected mix extraordinaire while being generous in answering our questions. Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: When did the first idea for The Zenmenn project present itself? Did it start with a few existing songs, or is it a conceptual project?

ZM: A couple of years back we got the opportunity to join this cool studio run by a gentleman called Franz. We did some stuff with friends and at the same time we just began jamming and recording what we did, and eventually we had a couple of songs in our hands, that we thought sounded interesting, and it dawned upon us that we should spend our time working on our own stuff. The name The Zenmenn came later, probably most of the album was recorded by then. There are still some old jams on the Zenmenn hard drive filed under Pharaohs Lounge, which is one of the earlier name ideas stolen from an alcohol free coctail bar near the studio.

MFM: Quite some fans refer in their comments on the LP to the '80s and include terms like 'melancholic' and 'nostalgic'. What are your thoughts on comments like these? 

ZM: Oh that’s nice. It’s generally very nice to hear people describe our music. Today a guy told us he thought we sounded like an Ethiopian band played on 45 with John Mayer on top… could be something to it. 
But true - it’s not really a party record and some of the songs like topaz or homage to a friendship certainly have a nostalgic, melancholic tone. Also the 80s vibe is well helped along by the Dx7 that features on every song. The presets we use are mostly the legendary e piano which features in all the 80s power ballads and the amazing fretless bass that still sounds better than any of the other fretless bass presets we’ve come across. Harp and steel drum are also great.

MFM: If all your current equipment would break down and you'd have to work with newer instruments of modern technology instead, how would that affect your music? Do you think you'd still non-mistakenly sound like The Zenmenn?

ZM: Most of our keyboards are from the 90s or even early 2000s, like the Triton Le and the Casio Ctk900 with which we recorded this whole mix. The 90s stuff is way more affordable. In some way we would probably sound the same cause we don’t loop, quantize or produce music in a contemporary fashion, and we’re into certain chord progressions and grooves. If we wanna play one pattern for 5 minutes, that’s what we mostly do, and then you always end up with some embellishments and quirks. But making music comes a lot down to workflow and if we had some fancy new synth in your hands with a thousand effects, sequences and menu diving we would probably do something different. That could be cool too,  but at the moment we prefer the old school approach. 

MFM: Thanks so much for this very special "mix". Tell us about it please?!

ZM: We made a mix of tracks we liked but it didn’t really come across too original so we decided to take another approach. Magnus plays around on keyboards whenever he can, and the way we make music is mostly just jamming something and then giving it structure as we go along. Magnus made 2 jams and we put them together and chopped out things that didn’t seem to fit, but mostly everything is recorded in one go. Our friend Helen Wells came by and played some harmonica, guitar and tweaked some pedals. We overdubbed some Casio, cool voices etc. Ben had a couple of curatorial suggestions in the end and did some great spoken words. Since our first little tour this summer Magnus has been carrying around some small drawing books and has been noodling away. This has been a great influence on this mix where all the decisions have been quick, with a loose hand and not too many layers. We’re happy to have the opportunity to make a mix and we’re very inspired to do more just like this.

MFM Mix 037: The Zenmenn

This month we welcome Mari*, a driving force behind much beloved online radio station Worldwide FM. Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hi Mari, people might know you for being one of the driving forces behind Worldwide FM. Can you tell a bit about what you do there and how you ended up with that position?

M: I am “Head of programming and A&R” at Worldwide FM. I oversea programming, produce special guest shows and develop relationships with artists and labels. I’ve been working in radio for about 20 years. Starting with college radio in Boston, and subsequently I worked in New York and then Tokyo and now I’m based in London. So, I’ve always worked as a radio producer! From 2005, I produced Gilles Peterson’s daily show for 7-8 years on J-WAVE, one of the biggest FM radio stations in Japan. I also produced music events for the radio show and brought him over to Japan a couple of times, and this is how I started working with Gilles. 

MFM: How's the online radio scene in Japan actually?

M: Unfortunately, Japan is super behind with anything got to do with playing music online due to the strict and old school music copyright laws. Even Japanese radio stations are not broadcast outside of Japan. People still love tuning into AM/FM radio which could be a good thing, but it’s hard for music to be heard outside of Japan if the copyright law is too strict. Japan is probably one of the most complicated places to start an online music platform which people can tune into for free.

MFM: It seems that the pandemic brought many new online broadcasting stations, likely due to a lack of a stage for artists. How do you feel about this development?

M: It’s great that people realised there is so much potential in online radio stations during the pandemic. Hopefully, listening to radio will stay part of people’s life. Now the norm is back, people are getting busier and artists are back in the studio and touring. It is impossible to run a station in the same way as it was during the pandemic, so stations need to keep up and make relevant adjustments in their programming to fit into this changing world. Continuation is key to success, and also “sustainability” is another essential element to be considered, especially for independent online radio stations.

MFM: How important do you believe online radio is in the current field of music? What do you believe should be its main purpose?

M: With online radio there are so many possibilities and more freedom of expression, whereas traditional radio has to deal with regulations and politics. Online radio can build a strong sense of community as most of them were started out of sheer love to support music and culture. The interesting thing is that online radio can build a community that is Worldwide! Also, online radio could be a good start for young DJs and a place to develop young and up and coming artists as the presenting skills you need are much less on online radio than the traditional radio. There isn’t any format how online radio should be or sound like so there are more possibilities to create something new. I hope to continue searching and developing the unique and engaging platform where people feel welcome and part of by tuning in from any part of the world.

MFM: As a host yourself, what do you seek for in a show? 

M: I like to insert unique content in my radio show which is not just about presenting new music. I like to have some humour and personality in my show, and make people feel great with my music tastes. I don’t have much to say about other people’s show but being original is very important, people follow personality, great content and like to enjoy a show.

MFM: Any future plans at Worldwide FM you'd like to share? A scoop maybe?

M: We are building a new studio which will allow us to do more including live sessions! I cannot wait!

MFM Mix 042: Mari*

Small biscuits, large tea, lit candle, green tree, red nose & distant sound of TV. Kids screaming for candy!Checked pyjamas, silk robe, emblems on Pantoffels, Finally it’s Christmas at Lord Doffel’s

PUBLIC POSSESSION "Lord Doffel’s Pantoffels"

For the first show of the new year, The EDWIN Music channel welcomes Tokyo-based producer, DJ, and "Organic Music" Record Store owner Chee Shimizu (@organicchee).

For the full interview and tracklisting, please visit https://edwin-europe.com

№ 114 - Chee Shimizu

MIXES

WAYNE & WEIDEMANN - SANPO 057 (NTS 29/1/17 Pt. 2)

Back by popular demand: Tako's wonderful Holiday Mix!
Here's what I wrote 7 years ago:

I was about to post this beautiful summer mix of Tako with the following words:

"What do you expect from a mix when it's done by a supernice guy with an excellent taste in music and a wonderful record collection? Yeah and that's exactly what you get here. Also make sure to get a copy of the first 12" of the Sombrero Galaxy, released on Lovefingers long awaited ESP Institute. Sombrero Galaxy is the collabo between Tako and Jonny Nash and their "Journey to the center of the sun" is one of my favourite releases of the last years, cheers!"

That was yesterday. In the meantime something terrible happened. Tako's friend Petros Malevis from Athens passed away without a warning. This mix is dedicated to Petros! He will be missed. Rest in peace, Petros.

Tako - Holiday (Guest Mix, 2010)

https://www.nts.live/shows/panorama-heaven/episodes/panorama-heaven-w-bianca-lexis-20th-may-2020

Panorama Heaven w/ Bianca Lexis 200520

Trujillo - SANPO 164 (Lockdown Series)

Celebrating Chill Pill II w/ a Radio 80000 takeover. Starting at noon going all the way until 9pm. Only the best music with contributions from Nice Girl, Bell Towers, Laura Groves, Andras, DJ Chrysalis, Eden Burns, DJ City & Secret Circuit.

PP Chill Pill II 80000 Takeover (ANDRAS)

For our second installment of the Musik Mix series we are joined by 5ive from japan and Samo from Sweden in a remote joint effort.
Tupplur simply means - to take a nap in swedish. 
Taking an afternoon nap is happiness!

artwork by Tobias Centerwall

WAYNE & WEIDEMANN - SANPO 057 (NTS 29/1/17 Pt. 2)

Sanpo Disco

Recent comments

Goran

ajajajaj ajajajaja

Goodbye Mirage / Martin Kuška

ingenting16

Related tracks