I made it in the style of a mixtape you used to make for friends. This should be done far more often – it’s such a shame that making a mixtape is really out of date! Just imagine how much you’ll brighten up someone’s day! – Esther Silex

I read somewhere you moved around a lot growing up. Tell me a bit about that and how you got drawn to the club scene and the dj/production business.

That’s true, I’ve already moved houses 25 times during my life! My parents were highly creative and courageous people that loved children and traveling. Therefore I spent most of my childhood between France, Portugal, England and Germany or on the road with my 3 siblings in an old red VW bus. I am so grateful for their way of bringing us up. We never had a nanny or sorts, instead they would take us with them everywhere they went, which meant that we would come along, sleeping in the pram or on the sofas around when they went for a drink or to friend’s houses. It might sound outrageous to some, but children love being around people and being part of their parent’s life. Music and the club scene has therefore kind of always been part of our life. May it be Jimi Tenor, Sade, Sly & The Family Stone or Tchaikovsky, my parents eclectic record collection was always part of our lives at home.

At one point everything kind of broke up – to put it mildly – and my parents both moved away to different places. That’s when I really started digging all the old records they left me. I didn’t have a record player at home so I asked some friends who were running this Bar in Cologne if I could come and listen to the old gems I had found. They loved what I was playing which quickly got me my first gig! From there on I spent a lot of time looking for new music, going from Soul and Funk to Italo Disco and House and Techno. I started to play around with Ableton as well but quickly got very frustrated by just sitting in front of the computer screen. I learned that’s its easier to start making music with a limited vocabulary, the sorts that machines offer. Just 2 years ago I picked it up again, got myself a synthesizer and gave it another go. I felt more mature and ready to transmit my ideas of the sound I wanted to create into real music. My debut EP ‘c’ are the results of this!

Your DJ-mixes are really eclectic and with often unanticipated transitions. It feels like it’s a lot about playfulness and spontaneity. Could this be an accurate assumption and/or please elaborate a bit on how you work with them.

I love being surprised when I listen to other people playing, I love it when they take me on a ride, a ride I wouldn’t have even dreamt of. This what I am doing when I’m playing myself. Originally Techno was rebellion, it was a statement, a look into the future. It wasn’t supposed to please you or to be what you wanted to hear. I want to convey this feeling, this attitude, no matter what kind of genre who would could it. Help open up new strands of thoughts, new lights at the end of the tunnel by overthrowing any kind of musical-boundaries during my sets. This results in my gigs being very eclectic and playful!

You recently released your debut EP on Studio Barnhus. Tell me a bit about how you got picked up by the label.

The Studio Barnhus guys have been playing in Cologne for quite some years, so we’ve ran into each other a few times already. They’ve been on the list of my favorite labels for a quite a while now and as we liked each other instantly it made sense that they would be the first to be able to listen to my music. My friend Matt, who helped me with the release at his studio in Gothenburg and also has a tight bond to Studio Barnhus encouraged me to send it over, they loved it straight-away and we had a deal!

How would you describe the current club/music scene situation in Cologne, do you spot any trends or direction and which clubs and/or music venues can you recommend for visitors.

I would recommend Gewölbe and JackWho in Cologne. Fantastic bookings, location and sound and so many lovely people involved. For the good – there are loads of clubs in Cologne, and more coming, for the bad – there isn’t much interaction between the owners which is a shame as it would be far more profitable for everyone if at least musically wise they would work together. There aren’t enough people in Cologne for the wide offer of dance-nights, which means that big bookings often don’t get the attention they should. Too much going on in one night designed to address the same target group. If you want to hang out at a bar, I can warmly recommend Metronom, best drinks and jazz in town or King Georg which boasts by far the best booking of underground indie bands.

So what’s you future plans ahead?

Im going to be in the studio a lot during the next months. I used to be involved with tons of other projects and have now finally freed myself of all to just be able to concentrate on playing and making music. It’s a big step, and I’m so happy with the decision! Besides that I’m moving to Hamburg at the end of the month to go and live with the love of my life!

Upcoming gigs:

11.03 Wuppertal, Klub

12.03 Cologne, Heinz Gaul

24.03 Kopenhagen, Culture Box

08.04 Berlin, Katerblau

Credits:

Words by Gustav Bagge

In 2008, the Sara Sachs started the now-defunct fashion label Moonspoon Saloon as a line for a family of fictional characters that evolved from season to season. Following a fruitful collaboration with the band We Are the World, she soon found herself setting up a studio in downtown Los Angeles without really having planned anything.

When we spoke with her, she was currently in production with a new Peaches video and had been trying to make a bed out of leather snakes all week. “It’s all about building a universe,” she says. We asked her to tell us a little bit about life in LA and how she finds her inspiration and spirituality…

“Spirituality is something among us, something I think we all feel and react to unconsciously or through intuition. I rarely talk about it, but I’m psychic. Actually, I try to ignore it because I don’t have time to deal with old ghosts, visions and all that heavy mess on the other side, but it’s right there and I can’t escape it. Personally I prefer to see spirit through the eyes of another artist. A personal, emotional view of spirit is more interesting to me than the real thing.

“I have always been fascinated by characters who have created their own culture, either from pure fantasy or by a unique way of interpreting their heritage. I guess this is what brought me to fashion in the first place and also what ultimately attracted me to Los Angeles. Performance art is a field of character exploration that I have an intense interest in. The costume is an expression of a deeper emotion, whether it is in dance, art or real life.

“Everything in LA is rather bizarre. It is hard to sum it up or say anything general, because there is no norm. On the surface the architecture is a big mess of castles, Mayan temples and fake facades. The diversity of cultures is extreme. On the same block there will be an Armenian market, a Cantonese restaurant and a taco shop. Many conflicting ideals are at play at the same time. At least you can say Los Angeles is a city with substance, even if it’s raw, ugly and fake. And then again it is very real.

“When it comes to fashion production here, it is very hands on. The downtown Fashion District is a bizarre place, but you can get almost anything done here. Things actually get done in Los Angeles and there is still production in the heart of the city. It makes the city feel more alive than many other western metropolises.

“If you drive out of LA, you find yourself in a vast desert that feels like another planet. This is the spirit land of the natives. The sky sucks you into space and leaves you searching for answers. The nearest city is Las Vegas. There is nothing really to hold on to. Cults form here because there is a steady supply of people lost in themselves and their dreams.”

Credits:

Photography by Eliot Lee Hazel

Words by Gustav Bagge

All clothes by Sara Sachs

The guys sent us a brilliant mixtape, crammed with breaking barriers music that has inspired them for the release and we took the opportunity to ask a little about their recent ventures.

Forumist Sessions: Femme En Fourrure by Theforumist.Com on Mixcloud

Where do you find your inspiration?

Juuso: It goes in phases where I’ll find inspiration. I think I’ve written my best ideas while in anger. Recently the pressure of my blood has been really high, because of the recent political changes in Finland, imbecile racists, homophobic Christian Democrats and the so-called “True Finns”, misogynistic human beings. Although our musical pieces have been about misogyny in general more or less from the start.

Sandra: Negative energy definitely drives me as well, yet the goal is never to glorify it but rather to personally deal with it. What comes to the imaginary characters that are personified in the songs, they are pretty animal-like maybe because right now, to me, all human-like ways to verbalize any feeling or mood feel artificial and alienating.

How important is the visual presentation for you?

Sandra: It can in many ways actualize things that wouldn’t necessarily come through otherwise and at it’s best it brings along something new and unexpected.

Juuso: Music and visual should always go hand in hand. We’ve been lucky to have all these people around us who have contributed to the visual world of FEF.

We love the mixtape, please tell me a little bit about it.

Thank you! The first segment is by Juuso and the latter is by Sandra. Tracks and grooves that inspire and have inspired the recent lullabies.

I read that you will be performing as Paperi T this summer. Tell me a little bit about the collaboration and if you have any plans of performing live as Femme En Fourrure.

Paperi T is an artist from Helsinki, who we’ve produced two very well received singles. We wanted to contribute to Finnish music, because it felt lacking a lot in content and in production wise. We’re also performing live here and there as Paperi T’s band, which is fun, because it’s so different than people have used to. As in if we’re talking about an ordinary rap music live setting. Probably we’ll be performing as Femme En Fourrure again after the release of the new EP!

What’s the music scene like in Helsinki 2015?

Juuso: Small, but precise and inspirational. Lately I’ve noticed to get inspired more by my fellow musicians, than I was previously by artists from abroad. It’s unique. We have great festivals and clubs like Flow Festival and Club Kaiku, in which I play solo all-nighter dj sets every now and then.

Besides your upcoming performances, what’s your plans for the future?

Sandra: We have quite a few demos in the making that I’m personally really thrilled about. At the same time we’re both inspired by many different kinds of music that we’d love to include in our production, so I’m looking forward to see what the outcome will be.

Credits:

Words by: Gustav Bagge

Photography: Sakke Soini, Maria Kulina, Helen Korpak, Paavo Lehtonen.

Music video director: Miikka Lommi.

The once partly derelict and dusky area has recently blossomed though. Thriving industry deserted this place a long time ago but instead of bulldozers mangling the place to the ground or nature taking over, art moved in.

Recently a couple of graffiti artists from WSB crew got a commission to paint a wall by one of the property owners. Soon after, more and more artists started hanging out here and it was not long before all the walls were painted by some of the best graffiti painters and street artists in the country. The place has since also been visited by painters from Mexico, Chile, Colombia, South Africa, France and England.

The Spring Remake functioned as a launch of the new season. Over 100 painters repainted almost every wall during the weekend, including names like Puppet, Zappo, Merley, Erse, Gouge, Huge, Disk, Super, Neoism, Rolfcarlwerner, Ollio, Yash, Hop Louie, Mogul and Vegan Flava, among many others. Plus a very special one-time only reunion of two legends; Ziggy and Disey.

During the weekend, several thousands of visitors found their way down here and it was super exciting to see the cultural mix – bohemian chic, uptown posh, rockabilly sleaze and ghetto fashionistas. The media crowd mixing with the fuck media crowd.

Vibes from something not so Stockholm/Sweden happening out here, a maelstrom of clashing cultures perhaps sharing an interest and a vision of future art.

Credits:

Words & Photography by Gustav Bagge

Just tag photos of your work with #sthlmsap on Instagram and you’re in the competition.

Special thanks to BucketFeet

He has edited DJ magazine, worked for BBC Radio 1 on the after hours show The Blue Room. He has made artist albums for Warp and Distinctive Records. He has made compilations for Playboy, Ministry of Sound, EMI Classical and Trojan Records. His music has appeared on many compilations including the big ones, Cafe Del Mar and Hotel Costes. His music has been featured Sex And The City, Nip Tuck, House and many other TV shows.

Gustav Bagge from R.fm caught up with Chris Coco to find out what he’s working on and score an exclusive mix with some of his favorite tracks from all times.

Chris Coco Mixtape R.fm X The Forumist by Theforumist.Com on Mixcloud

Tell us about more about the mix

I tried to make a potted history, but the ingredients wouldn’t fit in the pot. So it’s gone freeform. It’s about saying things with music that can’t be put into words. It’s about ambience and atmosphere. It’s about music that makes a film in your head and music made for films that makes you cry. It’s about laughing and dancing and loving and that best of all feelings after the party is over when the atmosphere lingers. About a sense of history while searching for something new. It’s about endings and beginnings but more beginnings than endings.

You are one of the most influential figures in online electronic music radio. Could you elaborate on why you think your Melodica series has been such as success?

I think it’s about direct communication with the audience. There are a lot of DJ mixes out there but not so many shows where the music explored is explained in simple terms. I hope it is also to do with the brilliant and consistent music selection!

The future of club music & online radio shows?

I would like to develop a collective on Mixcloud and other platforms so that people making interesting shows can promote each others work and maybe even start touring the shows / doing live shows in interesting locations. I haven’t seen this happening as a trend but maybe if a few of us work together we can make it into one?

Which online shows do you listen to?

I follow Mixmaster Morris for his diverse mixes; NTS Radio do a lot of good stuff; Groove Salad from San Francisco is pretty cool; Dub Lab in LA too. To be honest I don’t listen to loads of other shows, there’s too much new music to listen to and mixing to do, not sure if that’s a bad thing, I guess I should try harder.

What’s your view on Soundcloud’s recent move towards deleting mixes with copyright infringing content?

I think this is a simple one. Soundcloud’s agreement only covers uploading material you own to their platform. So if you upload mixes without permission that’s not covered. If you are also allowing other people to download the mixes you are effectively giving away other people’s music, which, in my opinion, is wrong.

I think Mixcloud works better for mixes because you can’t download stuff and they pay royalties.

What’s coming up, any new releases/gigs or new adventures?

Well, there’s the remixed version of Coco, Steel & Lovebomb – The Chillout Album, my experimental soundscape project with mixes from Seahawks, Mark Archer from Altern 8 and some other luminaries; and a new Nightbus album that I have curated with Ojan from Haraket featuring late night electronica from new London based artists.

Credits:

In collaboration with R.fm and Gustav Bagge.

Chris Coco, Melodica Recordings, Nightbus, Melodica Radio Show, Coco Soundcloud

Kissey-djmix:rfm by Theforumist.Com on Mixcloud

SWEDISH ARTIST WHO IS MAKING A MARK IN NYC

The Forum met the artist Kissey for a chat about music, the industry and why NYC.

Kissey is a Swedish artist making a unique mark in America. To be more specific, in the metropolis of New York City. As an artist who refuses to toe the line, she decided to go all in and found the music label KISSKISS together with her friends and colleagues DJ Bella Boo and Danna Takako.

– We have been working together for a couple of years and we tried to promote the new EP to different labels. We had a strong belief in what we were doing. Eventually we decided to put it out on our own label KISSKISS. And we haven’t regretted it once, Kissey says.

Kissey moved to NYC in a way to challenge herself. She describes it being more competitive but also more challenging and demanding, in a good way. She always needs to stay alert and also work hard on her weaknesses so she can become better. But the music and its message were what she put her focus on.
– My vision is to create honest music. I know what feeling I want to achieve and what it should feel like. Everything I do has to be authentic and real for me. For me, it is the most essential.

Kissey – ‘Hold Me’. Release: ‘Initiation – EP’

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/149336306″ params=”color=ffffff&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false&show_playcount=false&show_comments=false” width=”100%” height=”81″ iframe=”false” /]

The new ‘Initiation’ EP was released in May 2014. And she describes the working process has been more organic.

– My goal is to make good music for my five closest friends and make them want to dance. If my music makes them happy I have reached my goal.
The brand new dark artsy video for the track ‘Fuse’ is very intimate and sensual. Vice and other magazines have picked up on it, have you had only good responses from the tune and video?

Kissey – ‘Fuse’. Release: ‘Initiation – EP’

Kissey – ‘Dance the pain away’. Release: ‘Initiation – EP’

– I like to be honest with people. With this song I am very spot on and honest with my sexuality and honest with who I am. If a male rapper sang the same lyric nobody would even notice it.

It is well known that the music industry is dominated of male producers and artists, men head up the top positions and decide what we tune into on the radio.

– It’s not intentional, but it just so happens that I’m only working with women right at the moment. I have never had a problem with men, however! I produce some new and fresh female artists’ music and I also work together with my all-ladies label crew.

What is the key for success?
– I trust my knowledge in music and I trust myself in what I want to achieve musically. I don’t focus on any other things.

Initiation EP tracklist

1. Come Nightfall

2. Hold Me

3. Dance The Pain Away

4. Fuse

5. Love & Ecstasy

Credits:

The Forum will collaborate with the music curators and friends at R.fm who will be providing exclusive music mixes from interesting people.

In collaboration with R.fm, Bang On PR, Kissey, KISS KISS Records.

Interview by Rebekka Aldén.