ARTIST....: Bangkok Impact
TITLE.....: Electronation-SAT-04-07
GENRE.....: Electronic
SOURCE....: Radio
RELDATE...: Apr-08-2007
AiRDATE...: Apr-07-2007
TRACKS....: 01
LENGTH....: 49:25 min
SIZE......: 57,9 MB
QUALITY...: VBRkbps
NR. NAME. TiME:
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01. Electronation-SAT-04-07-2007 49:25
TOTAL: 49:25 min
RELNOTES..:
Bangkok Impact is the nom de disco of talented newcomer Sami Liuski. Sami is a
23-year-old electronics genius from the small town of Rovaniemi in northern
Finland. His father is a dairy worker. His motherÆs employed by the local police
station. Sami lives on his own, but he has a girlfriend. He studies digital
media at the University of Lapland.
Music is his consuming passion, however, and over the past two years Sami has
released a handful of incredible singles. Chances are youÆll have heard his
latest one, æMasters Of The UniverseÆ, while out and about in the countryÆs
hipper nightspots. A deluxe nine-minute nouveau-disco epic in two parts,
æMasters Of The UniverseÆ is SamiÆs hymn to that great macho stoic, He Man, and
it rocks hard in the campest fashion possible. VICE magazine describes it as
ôthe best dancefloor record pressed onto plastic this yearö and you know what?
TheyÆre spot on.
Though Finnish, Sami has forged close ties with the formidable Dutch electro
scene, which is finally receiving deserved exposure in the UK. There, respected
labels such as Clone (based in Rotterdam), CrΦme Organization and Bunker (from
The Hague), and major player I-FÆs Viewlexx, Panama and Holosynthesis imprints
champion a dirty, debonair approach to dance music thatÆs led to their style
being dubbed æöThe West Coast Sound of Hollandö.
In 2001, working under the pseudonym 8-Bit Rockers, Sami sent Bunker a demo
which they swiftly released as a 12-inch. That same year, Sami gave Bunker
another demo featuring tracks by his other aliases, Lolita Strap and Bangkok
Impact. The Bunker crew were so impressed with SamiÆs playful and inventive
neo-disco sound that they instantly released it on their new label, CrΦme
Organization.
Of his Bangkok Impact pseudonym, Sami says: ôI was smoking a cigarette one
morning and I was playing with words in my mind. These two popped in out of
nowhere and I thought they sounded pretty good. Afterwards I searched Google by
using these as keywords and found out that there's an arena in Bangkok called
Impact where things like Robbie Williams gigs take place. I didn't know this
before, or maybe it was in my subconsciousness.ö
8-Bit Rockers, on the other hand, ôsounded nice because at the time I was making
this computer-pop that sounded like it was coming from a computer game. Lolita
Strap was another of these ætwo words that come out of nowhereÆ things.ö
Today, CrΦme attracts a growing number of like-minded, peculiarly-named European
artists û Monkey Chop, Mr Clavio, Polarius, It & My Computer û and has yet to
put out a record that doesnÆt bring the house down. YouÆre strongly advised to
find the first Bangkok Impact single. Both tracks, æAspirinÆ and æJunge Dame Mit
Freundliche TelÆ, ably demonstrate SamiÆs natural flair for marrying killer
synth melodies to an unorthodox style of house music. Some call it his ôFinnish
tango soundö.
Bangkok ImpactÆs debut album æTravellerÆ is CrΦmeÆs most significant release to
date. It is aptly named too, as it finds Sami exploring dance musicÆs past,
investigating its future possibilities, and questioning his affection for disco.
For a debut, æTravellerÆ is some accomplishment. SamiÆs assured, clean
production technique allows him to blend funk, soul, supple computer pop and
trippy, organic electro into a flexible and seductive style all of his own.
æTravellerÆ is: an immediately gratifying listen; an accessible soul odyssey; an
11-track masterclass in modern disco finesse; an honest album straight from
SamiÆs heart.
ôWhen I made the LP I was listening to a lot of music produced by Quincy Jones
from the late-Æ70s/early-Æ80s,ö he admits. ôI love those Moog basslines in his
productions as well as in old Bootsy Collins records! Metro Area influences me a
lot, I really like their style of electronic funk and, again, those basslines
rock. Older stuff like Giorgio Moroder and Patrick Cowley are obvious
influences, as well as Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra û I love those
melodies and chord progressions. Also, I was influenced by Dutch producers like
Legowelt, I-F and The Parallax Corporation.ö
Like fellow Scandinavians R÷yksopp and reclusive Scots duo Boards Of Canada,
Sami has the enviable ability to remix his own environment, to lucidly
transcribe his emotions into a lush, harmonious sound.
ôI guess my music does have a melancholy tone,ö he says. ôI believe that music
is influenced a lot by where one is living. I live here up north where it's
very, very cold in winter. The sun doesn't stay up very long now so most of the
day it's dark. It's a very strange feeling and sometimes depressing too. Of
course it's all over my music, even if it's always not very evident. There is
still this feeling I experience every day.ö
As a child, Sami discovered the joys of music through friends and the radio. The
first record he bought was MetallicaÆs æRide The LightningÆ. Although Sami has
dedicated most of the last four years to music production, he began making tunes
at the age of 12, composing songs on his Amiga 500 computer using tracker
programs and sampled instruments. ôI was mainly toying around but I learnt the
basics of how different instruments interact with each other,ö he says. ôI also
played guitar when I was younger and learnt some basic music theory through
that. Later on I got some more equipment and started learning things more
seriously.ö
CrΦme aside, Sami has additionally released excellent tracks on I-FÆs Viewlexx
label (æThe FloorÆ) and contributes æBright Light, Dim LightÆ to CloneÆs superb
æWe Still Kill The Old WayÆ compilation. For the curious, that album is a
comprehensive introduction to the sounds of the Dutch scene. Then thereÆs Putsch
Æ79Æs æ1300Æ EP, SamiÆs New York disco-style collaboration with pal Pauli
JylhΣnkangas, out now on Clone. And if you come across tracks by Olavi and Omni
Incentive, yup, thatÆs Sami as well.
ôIt's fun to play with names and mix people's minds,ö adds this multi-monikered
musician. ôI think it also represents the thing that I've always liked about
electronic music: the music itself is important, not who is behind it.ö
www.globaldarkness.com/bangkokimpact
GREETiNGS.:
To all the people who respect us and like what we produce,
no names needed here, you know who you are :)
CONTACT...:
You got something to say? E-mail us at: eyeforaneye@hush.com