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

Today we are pleased to welcome Mannheim based Herr Dobler. Since 2019 he is part of the Cosmic Gathering team and organizes a music event series on site called Der Automat, which is still in its infancy. For us, he recorded a little journey through his favorite oriental-influenced records and tracks he's been wanting to put into a mix for a long time. Especially the last three tracks are absolute gems for him, which Kyran frequently listens to, but rarely plays anywhere. We hope that you enjoy listening as much as we do.


@herrdobler
@dermusikautomat
@cosmicgathering

LAF Podcast #029 | Herr Dobler

Efficient Space's Swiss connection Ivan Liechti expands on his Ghost Riders compilation with an hour of North American coming of age garage ballads, salad day hymns and small town criers.

Image Credit: Elise Gagnebin-de Bons

https://www.nts.live/shows/efficient-space/episodes/efficient-space-20th-october-2022

Efficient Space w/ Ivan Liechti 201022

Delighted to host Brandon Hocura Influence mix on Oddity Radio for @seance-centre.

Brandon Hocura : Thinking back to my formative musical experiences brought back places, moods, and memories, mostly from my late teens and early twenties. For the mix, I wanted to connect those salad days with my long-term interests; basically I chose some foundational favorites and filled the spaces between them with sonic portals, linking then and now in my mind.

Turn on, tune in and don't drop out!

For regular updates please follow : www.instagram.com/oddityradio.fm/

Brandon Hocura - Oddity Influence Mix

I just followed a certain kind of mood for this mix. Something in the vein of "comfortably isolated." Recommended environments: driving solo, home alone, or a long metro ride.

Dereck Higgins - Heaven
Jehova Meltdown - Messed Up
KOU - Gartenschläfer
Richard Sanderson - Babes In The Wood
Spivak - The Fucking Bed On The Floor
Aardvarck - Monkey See Nothing
Jam Camp - Stitches (Do You Where The Sun Don't Shine Edit)
Giovanni Venosta - Woman In Late
Matching Mole - Signed Curtain
Panxing - Coexisting
Cindy Lee - Last Train's Come and Gone
Tres & Kitsy - They Call It Love
Harmony Index - Blue Rose (Instrumental Demo)
Children Maybe Later - Wouldn't You Be Glad
His Name Is Alive - Sitting Still Moving Still Staring Outlooking
Julia Holter - Cordula Murder Ballad
Hector Zazou - Havet Stormar [Featuring Lena Willemark]
Maxine Funke - Clear

020: Suzanne Kraft

This is the sonic universe of Eiger Drums Propaganda, where sound transforms into a boundless, surreal experience. In this vivid, psychedelic realm, krautrock, tribal rhythms, and dark experimental textures swirl and ascend, reimagining the Neo Trance genre.

Led by Louis Ebola, half of The Pilotwings, Eiger Drums Propaganda is an electronic project formed in collaboration with various musicians. Together, they created a powerful triptych of albums on the renowned Macadam Mambo label, blending krautrock, ritualistic tribal beats, and shadowy experimental sounds. This artistic journey inspired Louis to develop a solo live set, where he brings these albums to life through a fusion of electronic equipment, electric guitar, wind instruments, and a vast range of vocal experiments.

This November, Eiger Drums Propaganda will bring this immersive experience to China. Catch him in these tour dates:

11.15  Loopy, Hangzhou
11.22 Zhaodai, Beijing
11.23 Riff, Changsha

QUIET CHAOS w/ Eiger Drums Propaganda 百会 Baihui - 05/11/2024

Mutant Radio (Tbilisi, GE) monthly residency, episode #45, March  '25. Bound to happen sooner or later after last years fully Deutsche guest mix approved by so many, happily informing you the man with the gooooods is back for another homerun. Big up to Valentin aka Baile de Mainman and his pair of well-functioning ears for guiding us through the first hour this time. Rumour has it he might be returning to Amsterdam pretty soon for some more action. What's not to like? Dive in!

@valentin-hauptmann

Mutant Radio - Inner Overtones w/ Valentin & Jouko [20.03.2025]

Kiosk Radio is an online community radio and streaming platform broadcasting 24/7 from a wooden kiosk in the heart of Brussels’ historic 'Parc Royal'.

XOGN @ Kiosk Radio 26.05.2025

The Humber Hunter. Pete Dymond

Trujillo - SANPO 164 (Lockdown Series)

From the City of Angels it is our friend Bianca Lexis (@biancalexis) representing the 22nd mix. Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com 

MFM: Hi Bianca, nice to have you on board. How's your day so far?

BL: Thanks for having me! Slow start to my day today, just woke up, worked out, and cooked myself some eggs and chorizo with pears and tahini. I’ve been hand modeling for extra money for a year now... LA is a crazy place.

MFM: ...hand modeling?

BL: Yes hand modeling! Like that episode on Seinfeld hahaha. It kind of fell into my lap at the perfect time.

MFM: Haha, wow. So, you've been doing quite a lot of radio, with regular shows at Dublab (where you've worked) and NTS too. What is it about radio that you like? 

BL: Yes, I volunteered at both stations for a while. It’s really cool to be a part of a larger community and easily find like-minded people all over the world who share a similar passion. A lot of times, being into music that’s not exactly top 40 can feel quite isolating. Because I feel so strongly about the music I love, to feel like I have an outlet to share that. Also, radio is a lot different than performing. I love feeling like I can play whatever I want. Mixes feel more personal. There is no pressure to cater to or pay attention to a live audience, which is a completely different form of DJing and also something I enjoy. 

MFM: Was it through the radio shows that you started playing dance floors too? You had a residency in a bar quite fast after you started, correct?

BL: Yes, I learned to DJ at my college radio station, then my friend Daniel T had enough confidence in me to let me play records with him in bars. Quickly after that, I secured a residency at the rather notorious bar, Tenants of the Trees, where I played records every Saturday night for a year. During this year, my collection grew, and I started playing proper dance floors at after hours parties. When I was let go from my day job at a greeting card design studio, I decided to try DJing full time. 

MFM: How's living in LA as a full time DJ? It is a rather big and spread out city, does that influence its scene(s) somehow? 

BL: I grew up here and never travelled until recently, so I wasn’t able to fully contextualize the city and its place in the global music community. Now that I’ve travelled a bit, I can appreciate how culturally fertile it is. There are so many different scenes, lively subcultures, countless parties. Liquor license restrictions make it so that bars and clubs have to close at 2am, so most of the scene gets pushed to risky illegal warehouse spaces. We don’t have clubs or reliable spaces to settle and nest in, which I think makes the scene feel a bit precarious. Also in order to cultivate a stronger local dance music community, booking local talent is extremely important. There are a lot of talented people here, but LA promoters tend to lean on bringing in bigger acts from other cities. Regardless, I truly love it here. 

MFM: You were supposed to be touring Europe a second time this year. Do you feel the world's lockdown has put your goals and dreams at risk?  

BL: Yeah definitely. I was really looking forward to that. This year has not been easy, especially for music/event workers. It’s comforting to talk to others in the same boat and to know I’m not alone though.

MFM: What are you hoping for once this situation is behind us and things pick up again? 

BL: When clubs start to reopen, it will be gradual and awkward. I think the pandemic will leave behind lingering psychological impressions - I feel uneasy just thinking about stepping in a crowded club right now. But all I can hope for is that a strong community emerges on the other side, with more fervor and hunger than ever to get back. I don’t think it will change my perspective to DJing much. Admittedly, I’m not listening to as much dance music as I was before, but I miss the club so much and I can’t wait to play and hear bangers at the club once again.

MFM Mix 022: Bianca Lexis

NTS is a global radio platform broadcasting music from over 50 cities around the globe, live 24/7.

Efficient Space w/ Ivan Liechti 201022

NTS Thursday

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