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 #91: Electrotete - I Love You

I was always curious for the vocal snippets sampled in tracks, a classic gimmick used in electronic music. Trying to identify the source of the samples was an endless quest, which was extremely more difficult in the years before the world wide web.

This post is no exception:

ELECTROTETE - I LOVE YOU (ORIGINAL VERSION)


Before sharing the information of this track, let me have a flashback in the 80's. In 1982, a band called Brilliant was formed in London, following the craze of British synth pop. It was commercially unsuccessful, but it was notorious for its involved members, who followed later a famous career in the music business:
- Martin Glover aka Youth (founding member of the Killing Joke) would be a prominent producer and remixer!
- Jimmy Cauty would become the one half of the KLF!
- Ben Watkins and Stephane Holweck would be innovators in the goa trance scene!

Even the management group of the band were famous figures:
- David Balfe (manager of the band) founded the independent record labels Zoo Records and Food.
- Bill Drummond (record company A&R manager) would become the other half of the KLF!
- Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, mostly known as Stock Aitken Waterman, were one of the most successful production partnerships from mid-1980s through the early 1990s.

Today's track belongs to Ben Watkins & Stephane Holweck. Propelled by the explosion of the acid house movement, they collaborated in 1989 for the creation of a pure electronic music project called Electrotete. Their first EP was released in 1991 by Rave Age Records, an influential French label founded by Manu Casana, who was responsible for hosting the first rave events in France. The track appears in this EP as a B-side in its original form.

One year later, the track was re-released with new versions by Apollo, the offshoot label of R&S records for the ambient division. Additional remix duties were performed by Anthony Thorpe (of The Moody Boys fame) and Danny Van Wauwe & Peter Ramson. The second remix sticks more to the original idea, containing additional elements (like an emotional piano loop and woman moaning):

ELECTROTETE - I LOVE YOU (REMIX VERSION)


Unfortunately, the lifespan of Electrotete lasted until 1994, when Shark / Alcatraz EP was released (by Apollo again). The latter track was included in The Goa Mix of Paul Oakenfold in the same year. I believe that the main reason for this was the popularity of their other project, which is no other but the legendary Juno Reactor, one of the core originators in goa trance!

Gradually, Stephane had less involvement in the JR moniker, making Ben the mastermind and undisputed leader of the project till this very day. The former focused on his side project called Total Eclipse, collaborating with the fellow French men Loïc Van Poucke and Serge Souque.

P.S. The "I Love You" sample is taken from Twin Peaks series, as the first video indicated. A interesting fact about this sample is that it is was also used a few year later by Jam & Spoon in Neurotrance Adventure:

Tune #90: Chris Raven - I Know You Love Me Too!

A few days ago I accidentally came across the original version of track I Know You Love Me Too! by German producer Chris Raven (Chris Raabe).

CHRIS RAVEN - I KNOW YOU LOVE ME TOO! (ORIGINAL MIX)


BIO (an "improvised" German to English translation, taken from this Facebook page)

Chris Raven was born in 1972. His first contact with electronic music can be traced back to the start of the 90's in Solingen, a German city. There, he established his first residency at the Orange Club. During his tenure at the club, he organised electronic music events with other known DJs, like Westbam, DJ Dick and Steve Mason. Soon, he attracted the attention of Adam & Eve records, for which he would be become the label DJ, with appearances at Berlin's Love Parade and Zürich's Street Parade. He continued to spin records not only in other places of Germany, but also in Holland and Belgium.

In 1996, he collaborated in the studio with Bart Van Der Zwaan and Dr Logatec (editor's note: For some reason, I am not sure if Dr Logatec is a different person or an alias of Chris Raabe) for the production of his first track named I Know You Love Me Too!, which was released one year later by Electronic, an EMI sublabel. The track gained so much popularity, that it was licensed by important EDM labels, like Bonzai Records in Belgium and Additive in England, while it was canned by superstar DJs of this era (Paul Oakenfold, Sasha & John Digweed), reaching as classic status among clubbers.

Between the period 1999-2003, 3 additional EPs followed:
- I Lost You (2000)
- Smegma / Nevermore (2001)
- Loss Of Memory (2003)

Along to his original productions, he was involved in remix duties for other artists. Major League - Wonder/Wonder Where You Are? (a collab between Tiesto and Armin Van Buuren) and Gaia - 4 Elements (project of AVB) are the most known to be mentioned.

Until 2014, he was a regular DJ for Familiär Statt Populär parties held at Orange Club in Düsseldorf (editor's note: Likewise, I am not aware if it is the same club moved from Solingen to Düsseldorf or a new, different place). Mixing techno, prog and house music, he continues to mark his presence at the clubbing scene.

[End of "improvisation"]


Three remixes have accompanied the original version of today's track, all released in 1997. The version by Van Bellen is a multi-layered production: a 4x4 beat, a 303-esque acid bassline and the seductive vocals lead to the main hook, composing a banging dark progressive trance stomper.

CHRIS RAVEN - I KNOW YOU LOVE ME TOO! (VAN BELLEN REMIX)


The second remix is created by Bruce Norris. It is less sophisticated, but the emotional trance pads, which the version is based on, generate an uplifting feeling with greater emphasis on the vocal sample:

CHRIS RAVEN - I KNOW YOU LOVE ME TOO! (BRUCE NORRIS REMIX)


The last (and the lesser known) remix is provided by Dr. Logatec with the epic-like pads:

CHRIS RAVEN - I KNOW YOU LOVE ME TOO! (DR. LOGATEC REMIX)



I have in my possession the Additive vinyl, which features the Bruce Norris/Van Bellen remixes. Based on my current mood, I select the appropriate side of the vinyl!