this month’s colectivo futurecast installment is a very special one, as it features a recording by one of our most avid collaborators and supporters. originally from colombia, but currently based in valencia, alexis has been following our footsteps from the early colectivo days. to call him a DJ would be inaccurate, in our mind he’s more of a sound researcher and connoisseur. for this occasion, he’s prepared a 70-minute selection of proper electro (the detroit kind) that features both old and new cuts with a clear inclination for what they call bass musics. check out the tracklist and the set after the jump…
for our next episode of the colectivo futurecast we have a very special, and different (to say the least), offering from our man in berlin: Paulo Olarte. born in Cali, Colombia, but a long-time resident of Hamburg, and currently living in Berlin; paulo has cut his teeth making deep and tech house tracks for well regarded labels, such as liebe*detail, diynamic, or galaktika. for this occasion though, we have been graced with over an hour of music that pays homage to his colombian roots, and which according to the man himself “manages to keep my spirit warm!”. so be prepared to broaden your musical horizons and take a trip to the real dirty south…
Well this mix was recorded with two turntables and a mixer, and it was recorded at home.
* tell us about your background as an artist. how and when did you first begin to play records?
I’ve been my whole life surrounded by music, since I can remember! My father is a great musician with an incredible ear, he is a guitar player, but he also has incredible skills to play almost any instrument you put in his hands. He used to have an amazing record collection so I guess this is where I start to play my first records. I started DJing in 1998 when I came to Germany to spend a few months. This was the first time I had the possibility to buy electronic music. Back then and still today it´s really difficult to buy house and techno vinyls in South America.
My very first time I played in front of a crowd was on this trip to Germany (1998) in Hamburg at the Golden Pudel Club, where I’m still playing these days. It’s my absolute favorite club. In 2005 I started with the production of electronic music, but I’ve been involved with making music since I was 13, playing bass guitar and singing in different bands in my hometown, Cali, Colombia.
* you were born in Colombia, but you’ve spent quite some time in Europe, how has that influenced your career as an artist?
Well right, I was born in Colombia and when I was 8 we moved to Germany and we lived there, here, till I was 13. That period of time was already a big influence for me, because I was in touch with all that synthesizer music from the 80´s and I was having access to a lot of music that wasn’t making it to the other side of the Atlantic. During that time there was no internet, so it was not like today, that you have access to almost everything from anywhere. And now I’ve been living for almost 11 years in Germany, so I guess living here has been a big influence for me and my work. I think the weather has the biggest influence in my life here…
But, to date, the most important music in my life is the afro-colombian and afro-latin music:
Salsa, Cumbia, Porro, Cha cha cha, Bolero and so on… and this is how I manage to keep my spirit warm!
* what do you normally listen to at home? which are your top three favorite albums ever?
I listen to all kinds of music…
For me there are no 3 favorite albums ever.
There is so much great music out there. It´s impossible for me to choose 3, no way …
But maybe the music I listen to most, is like I said before is salsa, cumbia … and all this afro-colombian and afro-latin stuff. It makes me feel like no other music does…
* what is your favorite thing about living in Berlin?
The people are great; culture here is at the top of the top. The whole city is amazing, I´m just in love with this city! But don’t think I´m here because of the electronic nightlife, ´cause I never go out at night.
It´s that multicultural thing, when you’re outside on the streets you can hear thousands of different languages, you have all kinds of restaurants and you have the possibility to live a completely anonymous life.
* what can we expect from yourself in the future? are there any plans to revive your label, Freshfish?
Well there is a lot you can expect from me in the future. More and more music, all kinds of music.
Remixes, collaborations, my own productions of course, and one or maybe two new labels, vinyl of course, as I’m still fighting against the ephemeral existence of electronic music. The first label is already on air and the first release is coming out on May 30th. The label is called GALA and I´m running it together with Maurice Aymard: the label head of Apersonal Music and Galaktika. So keep your eyes wide open or better your ears…
On the A side there is an original track written by me called “Mil años” which is dedicated to my daughter Emilina and on the B side there is a remix by Goldwill, both hot hot hot…
Freshfish is still frozen for the time being, but who knows, maybe I can convince my old labelmate Hausmann C., that we could put something out on there and take the fish out of the freeze and make some more releases, I would love to…
green revolution is the alias of jorge giraldo molinares from medellin, colombia. a lover of all things funky, bassy, beaty, and weird; he provided us with a dark selection of spaced out beats from another dimension for our next installment of the colectivo futurecast – mixtape sessions. jorge is a founding member of a cultural/urban movement, called “the weed brothers”, which aims to provide a community like space for like minded, culturally inclined people. check out their blog for further infos: here (spanish only).
INFO & LINER NOTES by Jorge Giraldo Molinares aka Green Revolution
“A while ago i was thinking about mixing something different to what I’m always used to doing. I have been trying to explore new and fresh sounds for my head, so I decided to start collecting the tracks I liked the most and then recorded something. This mix is a real journey through sound, crossing the borders of genres, labels, and definitions. Open your ears and listen, listen deeply…”
01 “Medellín Must Blunted” Intro
02 Architeq – Birds Of Dub (Architeq Version) 03 FLYamSAM – The Offbeat (i love the bassy tones fighting against laid-back beats, and that retro electronica going sword to sword with all-out dubs) 04 J Dilla – Geek Down (another frenetic space funk track by the master jay dee)
05 Bullion – Sloop Jay D 06 The Gaslamp Killer – Anything Worse (this is an evil cut, an outer space funk track with killer drums and FX’s!) 07 Heralds Of Change – Work That (i really love that wobbly subbass, it’s like a drop for some mad effects in the dancehall. HYPE!) 08 Ooah – Tubstomper (the expressive bass wobbles rumble throughout the body of this song and it’s sprinkled with thoughtful high synths, subtle tribal sounding drums and chopped up vocals, providing an amazing acid-dubstep texture) 09 Comfort Fit – Rock da Dam (some experimental G funk that transcends some of the stereotypes and misconceptions of hip hop, delivering a new take on this expanding musical genre) 10 Roots Manuva – Witness Dub (an amazing trippy techno influenced hip-hop and dub reggae track, a classic from 2002!)
11 Dr. Who Dat? – Follow 12 The Notorious B.I.G. – One More Chance (this version is on the Ready to Die album and features N.Y. hip hop and some nasty funky R&B. “I love it when they call me Big Poppa, I only smoke blunts if they roll propa”)
13 Robot Koch Vs. Cerebral Vortex – Vortex Cookies (fLako Omegaman Remix) 14 Flying Lotus – GNG BNG (GNG BNG morphs from tribal stomp to Indian-tinged extravagance to grime, with no subtle shifts. i really like lotus’s ability to employ a variety of devasting percussion and drum breaks in this track) 15 AFX – Fenix Funk (with this piece i decided to give more energy to the mix, with some hard IDM and acid techno)
16 Coxy – Untitled
17 Benny B. Blonco – Wizard Swing Warriors 18 Mr. Oizo – Analog Wormz Sequel (after some energy and 8 bit hip-hop, I decided to dive in a sea of acid dubstep) 19 Aphex Twin – Alberto Balsam (experimental, chill and beautiful. perfect to say “see you next time”)
take us with you!
