Foals

Kwassa Kwassa Congolese dance music?

are these supposed to be reference points?

or are you just showing off your incredibly diverse music taste?

wasn't THAT bad. the prices for stuff were shocking, but the people were ok and the toilets were immense. so there.

the music was AWFUL. They did give me apples at the bar though. all comes back to the music in the end..

I forgot about the apples too!

Fun? Woarrgh.

i thought the venue was lovely. lots of space, lots of good drinks. and i quite liked the music too--at least what they were playing before we came on. i can appreciate that dirty electro isn't to everyone's taste, but i'd argue that it's a lot more sophisticated than "endlessly-plodding" house music. on that note, sleeparchive is an artist, not a label, and trapez hardly put out records of "glacial precision". i'd say they have more to do with the music playing at computer blue on friday: bangers, that is.

so, anyway, the german techno reference came about more as an aspiration than a description of what it is that we're making: it's what we listen to more than anything else at the moment, and it's what we want to move towards--in terms of making music that is clinically precise and yet preeminently dancable--musically and aesthetically. we don't ever expect to make a record that sounds like superpitcher or whatever, but we'd like aspects of their sound to influence ours.

how would i go about listening to kwassa kwassa? any recommendations?

'Tis true: often I'm inspired by stuff, but the music I write doesn't come out sounding like it as far as anyone else is concerned!

Sleeparchive is actually an artist and a label: not all of the 12"s on the imprint are by Stefan Metzger. He's very reticent about telling anyone who the others are by though, except that he says it's "not Mika Vainio or Richie Hawtin"! It's always him playing live though.

Trapez puts out club music, and there are some filthy bangers on the label, definitely. However, most things by, say, Gabriel Ananda or Jeff Samuel are pretty much glacial as fook. They do usually have a great big donging kick drum too though ;) Maybe I'm biased as that's my favourite side of the label: it's how I got into it really. I do like the filthier bits too, eg Oliver Hacke etc.

To my mind that music at BMH had fuck all to do with Trapez etc. Generic breakdowns; cheesy filter manipulations; bad referencing of detroit techno, electro and acid punctuated by crappy crash cymbals so the hammered people know where to start dancing. I'd say it was cheesy druggy tech-house with electro leanings. Maybe I'm just a grumbling old bastard though.

Have y'all checked out any Mika Vainio? Some of his back catalogue on Sahko has just been re-pressed. It's fucking astoundingly good! If you like Sleeparchive it's for you.

http://www.discogs.com/label/S%C3%A4hk%C3%B6+Recordings

For further merciless minimalism check Mike Parker, Max Duley, Baby Ford, Monolake, Matthew Dear, Steve Bicknell, Rob Alcock, Phase, Rob Hood, Stewart Walker, Oliver Ho, anything on Lost/Cosmic, Meta, Geophone, Continual, Inceptive, Force Inc, Arc. You probably already know most of 'em!

Kanda Bongo Man is the chief exponent of the Kwassa Kwassa genre. Just google his name and you should find mp3s. You're probably going to say it sounds fuckall like you! I just think the way the guitars interlock and repeat in your stuff reminds me of a lot of African music. Stuff from Mali as well: Mbira or Kora music is great for the interlocking tones.

Anyways, fine set. I shall come again when you're in London.
xx
d

Comment je t'ai casssssssssssé!!!

why shouldn't the writer use african people as a reference points? i think he's wrong about fela kuti, though- fela's horn section was the key, but no horns in foals, if memory serves me right. also tony allen's drumming was way slower than foals. kompakt records are a better reference point.

Maybe I'm a miserable bastard then. Fairdoos.

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