Tune #92: Rocco - Saharien Child

France greets Morocco:

ROCCO - SAHARIEN CHILD (ORIGINAL MIX)


Sémakdji Mourad started DJing with the encouragement of his older brother at local clubs of Lyon, France in his teens. Serving initially as supporting cast for jocks like Laurent Garnier, Carl Cox, Louie Vega and DJ Deep, he developed his craftsmanship as a DJ.

In 2001, he collaborated with Alex Santos (Alex S) and Emmanuel Kossi (Manoo) to form Rodamaal, whose output caught quickly the attention of Ben Watt (of Everything But The Girl fame along with Tracey Thorn) and was published in his label Buzzin' Fly. The most popular tracks of the group were Musica Feliz’ and Insomnia (remixed by Âme), licensed in several compilations.

In the meanwhile, Sémakdji produced his own tracks under the Rocco moniker. His pseudonym resulted from a shortening of his initial name, Morocco, as suggested by a club manager in his early DJing years. Influenced by the veterans of the scene like Todd Terry, Masters At Work and Dimitri from Paris, he established a solid appreciation for deep house music.

After producing several tracks for various labels (Freerange, Defected, MN2S, Real Tone), he marked his name in the club scene. The success of tracks Someday and Memories gave him the opportunity to travel the world, sharing his music. A strong bond has been established with South Africa, a place he visits 3-4 times a year, where he enjoys mostly the appreciation of the crowd for deep house. Even his solo album The Bridge was released by SA label House Afrika Records in 2013, featuring artists and vocalists from South Africa and US.

Although Rocco's favorite place to DJ is found in the southern part of Africa, today's track is largely influenced by Moroccan tradition (I can only guess that Sémakdji has Arabian heritage judging from his name). Saharien Child was released in 2011 by Deeper Shades Recordings, a digital label set up by Lars Behrenroth. The vocal sample is taken from an old folk Moroccan poem, whose content is unknown to me, since I do not speak the Arabian lingo. However, this unfamiliarity does not prevent the listener to be moved by the emotion of the lyrics, combined with the ethno flavoured melody. For full listening experience, I would suggest the Lars' versions:

ROCCO - SAHARIEN CHILD (LARS BEHRENROTH REMIX)


ROCCO - SAHARIEN CHILD (LARS BEHRENROTH REPRISE)


It is a pity that the track is not available in physical format, a must have for appreciators of high quality music!

Tune #21: St. Germain - Sure Thing

Τι συμβαίνει όταν η jazz μπερδεύεται με την house; Μα φυσικά τραγούδια σαν τo Sure Thing από τον St. Germain...

ST GERMAIN - SURE THING (ST GERMAIN ORIGINAL VERSION)

O St Germain αποτελεί alias του Γάλλου παραγωγού Ludovic Navarre. Ο Ludo ξεκίνησε την μουσική του καριέρα με κομμάτια house/techno (χρησιμοποιώντας aliases όπως Modus Vivendi, Hexagon, Deepside) και στην πορεία ανέπτυξε την μουσική του με στοιχεία από acid jazz/deep house. Δύο σημαντικές δουλειές του αποτελούν τα albums του Boulevard (1995) και Tourist (2000), τα οποία γνώρισαν μεγάλη επιτυχία. Ο St Germain αποτελεί μία σπουδαία φυσιογνωμία για την γαλλική ηλεκτρονική μουσική, καθώς αποτέλεσε έναν από τους πρωτοπόρους της δημοφιλούς french house, οπότε μπορεί να φανταστεί κανείς το μέγεθος της επίδρασής του σε άλλους Γάλλους καλλιτέχνες, όπως ο Dimitri from Paris, οι Daft Punk και οι Air.

Το Sure Thing δείχνει πόσο ωραία μπορεί να δέσει η house με την jazz, δημιουργώντας deep ήχους, το οποίο αποτελεί βασικό χαρακτηριστικό της μουσικής του St Germain. Για τη δημιουργία του, ο Ludovic Navarre δανείστηκε κάποια samples από το τραγούδι Harry's Philoshophy των μεγαθηρίων της jazz John Lee Hooker και Μiles Davis, τα οποία συνδυάζονται άψογα με τα deep beats. To Sure Thing περιέχεται στο album Tourist, το οποίο δεν είναι τυχαίο ότι κυκλοφόρησε από το jazz label Blue Note. Άλλα γνωστά τραγούδια είναι το funky So Flute και το jazzy Rose Rouge.

Παρά τη μεγάλη επιτυχία του (ή μήπως ακριβώς για αυτό;) ο Ludovic Navarre τερμάτισε νωρίς (2004) την σημαντική μουσική του καριέρα. Χαρακτηριστική ήταν η δήλωσή του μετά την ολοκλήρωση του Boulevard: "I’m not a musician. I’m best with a computer mouse. After Boulevard in fact, I was thinking about giving up music. I felt I’d got it all wrong.". Προσωπικά, ο Ludo είναι ένας από τους αγαπημένους μου καλλιτέχνες, τον οποίο από ότι φαίνεται δεν θα έχω τη δυνατότητα να δω live.

Για το τέλος, το official video clip και μία εκπληκτική live εκτέλεση...

ST GERMAIN - SURE THING (ST GERMAIN RADIO EDIT)

ST GERMAIN - SURE THING (LIVE)