Podcast: Download (Duration: 55:37 — 95.2MB)
01. Robot Koch – True
02. Gonjasufi – Ancestors
03. Burial and Four Tet – Moth
04. Joy Orbison- hyphmngo
05. Shackleton- Death is not the end
06. Robot Koch feat. Grace – Brujeria
07. Jahcoozi – Zoom in fantasize
08. Loops Haunt- Rubber soul grenade
09. Joker -City Hopper
10. Jahcoozi – Barefoot Dub
11. Bassnectar feat. Nelly Furtado – Magical World
12. Breakage and Burial – Vial
13. Jahcoozi- Wasteland
http://www.jahcoozi.com/
http://www.myspace.com/jahcoozi
http://www.facebook.com/pages/jahcoozi/44714015372
what’s a press release like this one supposed to be about? it’s supposed to sum up an artist’s journey, point out their career landmarks. so in the case of this band, you’d have to talk about their formation in berlin in 2002. something that wasn’t just about forming a band, but also about balancing different cultural backgrounds – the beats being arranged by robot koch in berlin, the vocals coming from formerly london-based sasha perera and the basslines being laid down by oren gerlitz, who lived in tel aviv. you’d also have to talk about the early support from john peel, and their album releases “pure breed mongrel” (2005) and “blitz ‘n’ ass” (2007). plus their countless 12” releases on labels such as citizen recordings, crosstown rebels or playhouse. not to forget their buzzing and unpredictable live shows which brought them to four continents in 2008 and covered everything from renowned festivals like transmediale to raves in transylvania. then you’d have to talk about the numerous collaborations with folks like modeselektor, asian dub foundation, anti pop consortium, buraka som sistema and many more. and you’d definitely have to talk about them being at the forefront of producing eclectic sounds and merging genres like grime, punk rock, hip-hop and various blends of electronica to create a unique definition of pop music. a pioneering role they embraced with the same spirit that brought like-minded projects like diplo or switch productions, figures like m.i.a. or terry lynn or subgenres like baile funk, 2 step or booty bass into the public eye.
all of this had to be featured here, and well, it is now. but! a band that records an album like “barefoot wanderer” could hardly be interested in a text full of self references. it might even be quite useful to simply forget most things known about jahcoozi. “barefoot wanderer” most definitely marks a caesura. as the title already suggests, it’s the implementation of a new-found purism. it’s not a loud, bright, stage-ready record. recording something like that would’ve been far too easy. of course they continue to be restless, they still filter their distinct dynamic from their different tastes in music and they are still crossing borders. with the support of the goethe institute they went to kenya to record the track “msoto millions” along with mcs from ukoo flani, a kenyan dancehall/reggae crew in nairobi. staying true to their core musical approach, they gathered friends from all around the globe, but this time took it further than ever. for example, there’s a track with percussionist guillermo brown from new york, they feature belgian singer barbara panther on another, and (drum roll!) clay pot percussionist oori shalev from israel, who of course played his part in making this track a quite unconventional affair. in general, they bring home sound souvenirs from every one of their journeys, but they wonít tour the world with hypebeast-approved trainers on their feet – they wander barefoot. not only does “barefoot” happen to be the most fitting metaphor for this album, it is also a kind of branding for the mentality that jahcoozi and their brothers in spirit, stereotyp & alhaca from vienna, have come up with. a mentality that appeals to everyone who feels comfortable in the most varied worlds of bpm counts and bass variations. itís something like an attempt to find a genre name for the act of refusing genres.
it’s not that this new album revisits all of the band’s typical reference points. rather it examines all their unexplored niches in an incomparably subtle way. chances are the band has never stretched itself so far, and it has ended up forming a unique microcosm with its own rules and language. “barefoot wanderer” is without a doubt the most self-contained and cohesive work they have done so far. its sex appeal not only speaks through sasha’s booty-shake, it virtually shines through a mysteriously hazy twilight. unlike anything else, this album refines dubstep, it recalls the early dancehall spirit, it even reawakens the expressive force and agitation of digital hardcore, though without letting the formal execution become too explicit. in fact, it’s quite the opposite. it’s a documentation of subtlety. yet in every proclamation – some of which even reach into ambient aesthetics – pulsates the most lucid form of expression and the niftiest approach to pop the band has undertaken so far. and even the most explicit moments such as “power down blackout”, fuelled by long-time partner in crime m. sayyid of anti pop consortium, are laid down with a nonchalance that will get a crowd going in the blink of an eye.
on the whole, “barefoot wanderer” is the album nobody expected, but perhaps that is the only possible outcome for a band that holds unpredictability as its one constant principle.
Boom
kat product review for:
Impressive album from Berlin’s Jahcoozi outfit, forging a blend of fluoro-ragga, electro and mongrel pop. While not as well known as many of their Berlin counterparts, Jahcoozi are one of those underground acts whose respect from others critically outweighs any commercial success. That may be set to change with ‘Barefoot Wanderer’ their most coherent and slickly developed album to date. From the packaging, glossy black jewel box and monochrome slipcasing, to the techy polished of their tracks, it’s like they’ve just been given a makeover by Massive Attack’s management. ‘Barefoot Dub’ mixes moody dancehall styled vox from Sascha Perrera (sounding so much like Soom-T) to techno-stepping dub scapes and APC’s M. Sayyid adds his cunning vox to a dynamically diffused dancehall riddim on ‘Powerdown Blackout’. Thirsty Ear’s Guillermo Brown adds reverbed vox to the dread-tech blues of ‘Speckles Shine’ and special mention must go to Deadbeat’s mix of ‘Watching You’ which could almost be a remix of Instra:mental/DBridge’s track of the same name, inna darkside Berlin dub style. Fans of Massive Attack, Portishead, Modeselektor or Team Shadetek should get on this.
Pitchfork article
One of the fun things about dance music in 2010 is that genre barriers seem increasingly obsolete– the idea of limiting oneself to a particular style or country is almost laughable at this point. Jahcoozi, a collaboration between German producers Robot Koch and Oren Gerlitz and Sri Lankan vocalist Sasha Perera, take this global approach. In their tracks, dancehall riddims, glitch-hop, and experimental techno rub up against each other like long-lost pals.
Jahcoozi’s first two records, Pure Breed Mongrel and the awesomely titled Blitz ‘n’ Ass, took an aggressive line to the dancefloor. Rapid-fire beats and grime mixed with Perera’s in-your-face political emceeing for a visceral, gritty sound. It was danceable, but ultimately disruptive music. But with Barefoot Wanderer, their first release for Berlin’s BPitch Control, Jahcoozi appear a good deal more subdued with a style that leans heavily on dub– both the classic Jamaican variety and its modern-day digital equivalent, dubstep.
Mostly the shift works. There’s a variety of song types and distinctive collaborators who bring tempo swings, but the prevailing mood is sort of a downtempo saunter, made even more spacious by Perera’s milky vocals. (Massive Attack’s Mezzanine is a good reference point in this sense.) Tracks like “Barefoot Dub” and “Lost in the Bass” set echo-chamber reverb alongside glitch-y techno, creating an interesting tension between traditional King Tubby-style dub and more progressive current electronic sounds. Most of these songs are good, but occasionally there’s a dip in the dynamism of the production– “Zoom in Fantasize” and “Barricaded” just sort of drift by without making much of an impact.
Dub and techno are the album’s core elements, but there are plenty of other styles stirred in. Some of Barefoot Wanderer’s best material comes when the group invites guest vocalists to mix it up with Perera. On “Powerdown Blackout”, she trades raps with Anti-Pop Consortium’s M. Sayyid over a futuristic, Neptunes-ian hip-hop track. Kenyan dancehall toasters Ukoo Flani guest on “Msoto Millions”, and percussionist and singer Guillermo E. Brown duets with Perera on the skittering “Speckles Shine”. The album’s much better off for these collaborations. Without them, it could get lost in its own fog and become just an interesting weed soundtrack, but instead they add more international intrigue to Jahcoozi’s already inclusive formula.
— Joe Colly, April 30, 2010
After a couple of years of silence, Bong-Ra returns to the foreground with a conceptual EP which shows an surprising new side of this project. Marrying his pummelling beats and high speed breaks with lush instrumentations and acoustic strings, Bong-Ra’s “Monster” sounds hard and human at the same time. The carefully design of an experienced and imaginative producer, this many-headed sonic Cerberus is an extravagant monster of outstanding force and depth. (Get this on 12″ / on CD / as mp3)
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