This weekend Athens is gonna be a really interesting place to hangout.Unfortunately i won't be here,but most of you will have the chance to be part of an event that features one of the most respected dj duos around,the legendary Glimmers.For those who need introduction,the Glimmers otherwise Mo and Benoelie or the the Glimmer Twins are mainly responsible for the resurrection of leftfield disco nu disco or whatever you want to call it.Around 2000 i was browsing through a second hand store and stumbled upon a compilation under the alluring name Eskimo.At the time i was manly into house and early 80's new york disco so i was familiar with some of the tunes on the compilation but most of them were unknown to me and seemed quite intriguing.I bought the compilation and it proved to be on the records that changed my approach to music.Classics like Harry Thuman's Underwater were completely new stuff for me so you can imagine my excitement about this record.What links this story with the Glimmers is that the people who comiled the tracks for this compilation were in fact The Glimmers.So if i have to blame someone for being a music geek then these guys are the ones to blame.Coming from Belgium the Glimmers were two of the first people who tried to infuse obscure synth pop music from Europe(some call it Ital0),balearic and space disco into their dj sets.The result was a cult following from many music affacionados and their remixes getting a cult status in the music world.Now after many years of championing the scene the Glimmers are restless and have come up with many new remixes and EPs with latest collaborations with acts like Prins Thomas and Lindstrom and Ray Mang.Their new Lp ''The Glimmers Are Gee Gee Fazi 2'' is an essential release and you can have a free copy of it only by attending their upcoming Dj set.ALongside the Glimmers you will have the chance to listen to one of the hottest names around at the moment,the French Dandy Cosmo Vitelli.Cosmo runs one of my favourite labels ''Im A Cliche Records'' responsible for some of the best releases this year like Runaways's epic "She did it for the money'' or The Quiet Village mix of ''Delayer''.Cosmo contributes to the French superhyped blog Alainfinkielkrautrock which set the standards for quality music blogs about two years ago.Apart from all to he is djing around the world,re edits(his edit of Fleetwood Mac's Keep On going On is great) and tries his best to do all this in the best possible way.So this Saturday The Flying Lilis Brothers aka Disco Pogo with "Yes It Does Sure It does!!'' bring you the cream of the crop of Europes dance scene with an affordable ticket of 10 euro and the chance to get a free copy of the Glimmers new Cd.The Flying Lilis Bros were kind enough to give us interviews of the Glimmers and Cosmo to use on our blog.SO this is the first courtesy of The Glimmers
The Glimmers Interview
1.
You've been djing for more than 20 years, what's the style of music that you can afford to play for more than fifteen minutes?I would say, classics. Only tunes that have proved themselves to be timeless on the dance floor are the ones you can play for hours and hours.. No matter what genre or in which period they were made.
2.
Everybody nowdays seems to be obsessed with nu disco, but you always had a preference to that kind of records. What do you think is going to be the next trend?We don't care that much about trends, as a trend is only a tool to make money. Our aim is to bring a good party. And playing good disco is something that helps to create a good party.
3.
The last two years you decide to release your own records ignoring the record industry. Did that thing work for you?We certainly are very happy that we could do this, as it is a very challenging time. We make music we like, and we try to distribute this on our own way, and by ignoring the whole record industry we just make it very cheap and available for everyone. We distribute our CD's on events where we perform, and we make a deal with the promoter that he/she pays a little bit extra, and like this we can give away our CD's for free to the party people. They take it home, listen to it, copy it, give it away, sell it on ebay, whatever they want... A whole new way of distributing! In 2008 we did more then 50.000 CD's in the clubs and on top of that, DJ Magazine had us on their cover in April 2008 with one of our CD's so that makes a total of approx. 75.000 ! We never would have done that much with a record company.
4.
What's the process behind the last 2 records. How did you make those GEE GEE Fazi albums?Both CD's are a collection of tracks made over the last 3 years with several friends/producers we met on the road. We tried to create some sort of an album in two parts, but it is more a chronological selection of music made at first for 12" use only. Our real debut album will hit the clubs, not the shops, on January the 1st, 2009. It's called 'The Glimmers Presents Disko Drunkards' and it is a band project. Music written by us together with some musicians here in Belgium, all in the same sort of flow. We will try to get the guys on stage as well, somewhere in 2009.
5.
Do you prefer making music or playing music that other people make? Do you want the people to know you as a dj or as taste maker and a good digger that finds strange but beautiful records?We want it all I guess. It is all connected as well. You make music, you want the audience to like your own stuff. And it is great to hear great music made by great musicians, and it is amazing to mix records on a loud system and see people going crazy.
6.
How did you decide to do your own label and what is your main philosophy. Are you planning any other releases?We're planning a lot of releases this year, we still have a lot of music in the closet. We're going to try to get as much of our stuff out there. On vinyl, very limited, and on CD's, in the clubs.
7.
What's the best party you've played lately and what's the strangest place you've ever dj?One of the best ones really lately was Mexico City, a place called Covadonga. And Dubai was also great! There we played Alpha Night Club.
One of the strangest spots was probably in Brussels, the amazing Atomium. A strange but beautiful building made in 1958 for the world expo in that same year in Brussels. There has been only one party there with DJ's, and we were part of it. Very strange, as it felt like the building could collapse anytime..
8.
What's your best memory from the prolific ESKIMO parties in Ghent?A lot of crazy people, and a lot of styles coming together in one venue, like an indoor alternative festival. I think the one where we had Harvey DJing, that was an amazing one, and the one with Kruder And Dorfmeister as well..
9.
What kind of music you play these days in the parties around the world and give us a top 5 tracks from the dark side of disco?We still play all sorts of music, popular and underground, mixed.. as long as you can dance to it, and as long as it has a funky beat!
A top five would include Padded Cell's Word Of Mouth (in our remix), Grace Jones' Corporate Cannibal, Liquid Liquid's Cavern, ESG's UFO, Rub 'n Tug's remix for !!!'s track a year or two ago on Warp Records, what's it called again.. 'Hello ? Is This Thing On ?' and a lot more !
10.
You have inspired many new djs but who are these who inspired you?Only the ones we've heard are mentionable, as other legends must have been amazing to hear, but we did not had the chance (yet). The ones we've heard so far, and are a big inspiration:
Grandmaster Flash, DJ Harvey, Alex Patterson, Francois K., TLP, Martin Maurice, Juan Atkins, Eric Lobos, Alfredo..
Cosmo Vitelli Interview
What kind of music did you grow up with?I was raised in Africa till 7 years old, my parents were listening to Jazz and soul music.
Back in France, I started playing in bands around 15, playing indie pop and trying to sound like the Stone Roses.
How did you first got into DJing and production?I was part of an indie band called Perio, wich made 2 albums and some 7". Then the singer left to America, and I couldn't find any interesting band to be part of. I started quickly to do my stuff, and electronic music gave me the tools to be independend, and not to have to rely on a band. By chance, I found a label without really having to search and quickly signed to Etienne de Crecy's label Solid.
I played as a Dj in friends parties since a long time but started playing in clubs then.
How would you describe your sound?It's the music of someone who couldn't choose between being a good professional or a very bad one. I guess I'm between the two.
Tell us a bit about the recent french scene. Who are your collaborators and partners in crime?I'm not so much into that at the moment as I travel a lot. I know most of the people involved in it, as I've been doing music around since many years now, but there's not as many connections as you may think. We don't spend our time in other's parties for example. Honestly, last time I saw most of them, it was in a foreign country
What can someone expect from your recent DJ sets?
Fun, disco basslines, bad taste...
What's next for I'm A Cliche? Future plans?A compilation should come very soon, with lots of unreleased materials. New 12" too, On the other side, with my band Bot'Ox, we just finished an LP wich will come out early next year.
What's the story behind the label name?The name comes from a song of one of my preferite bands called X Ray Spex, an english "punk" band with a brillant lyricist, a singer called Poly Styrene.
Favourite artists at the moment?I have a serious problem, I don't really have any. I'm really disapointed by most of the music I can hear at the moment.
I guess most of the exciting music can be heard live than on records now.
Favourite artists of all time?Kraftwerk, Robert Wyatt, Keith Richards, Sly&Robbie...But it changes every minute
What is your advice to up and coming producers/DJ's?To find a real job
Favourite place to play worldwide?I have a residency in Paris, obviously called I'm a Cliché. It's a privileged moment and I really feel at home there.
But in any case, a good party is a combination of so many things, a nice crowd, the right place at the right moment, a good soundsystem, etc...Sometimes you hear a lot about some place and when you go there nothing special happens. Or the opposite.
Cosmos Vitelli's interview by Fantastikoi Hxoi
http://fantastikoihxoi.blogspot.com/
