Ogris Debris

Two Viennese guys conquer, with their somewhat synthy blend of techno and house, the dance floors of international clubs. They already toured in Japan and Europe, and the last hit Miezekatze is played up and down from BBC DJ Gilles Peterson and Austrians FM4. They also been nominated for the Amadeus-music-award in the Electronic / Dance category. Ogris Debris alias Gregor Ladenhauf and Daniel Kohlmaigner have first met seven years ago. As a band, they started in 2005 and since then they wear on stage.
The first release of the two was in December 2008, with the 12 inch G-Thong / Hide Open at the GermanCompost Records, followed a year later with the 12 inch Raid the Itch. Both songs were the first club hits of the duo.
The influences in their music knows no boundaries, ranging from funk to rock, jazz, hip hop and electronica. They get the inspiration from bands like Autechre, Aphex Twin, Nine Inch Nails and legends like Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Michael Jackson and Prince.
Ogris Debris also like to quote the electrical pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen, who claimed that a real electronic has to vibrate at least once a week to be dancing under the disco ball and so show us always a little bit of humor as well.

check it out: http://www.ogrisdebris.com/

 

Wasted Gay Youth

When a new party series starts it can easily be a very boring night. But not yesterday in the Labris bar, Bieberstrasse 12 - 1st district, at the start of Wasted Gay Youth. 
Excellent electro sound and a full house with a great open minded audience of gays, straights, transgenders and all in between,  dancing till the morning. There was even a free hairdresser for all who had not managed to get styled for the evening.  
This party will be held once a month and I can hardly expect the next one.

 

 

 

For more informations add Wasted Gay Youth on Facebook

Dirty Disco Youth

When a 19-year-old Austrian is getting into the label Dim Mak Records, it's a sensation! Phil Speiser aka Dirty Disco Youth pays this back on his new EP called OFF:

Allready in 2007, he was hyped as the new “Wunderkind” at the big electro events and a Mexican magazine even awarded him the “best new talent 2007″. So soon he became a heavily requested remixer for indie labels like Great Stuff, King Kong Rec., Dim Mak, Coco Machete as well as major labels. And now, with only 19 years, he did already more official remixes than most other remixer in their entire life. Dim Mak boss and superstar deejay Steve Aoki calls himself one of the first fans of Dirty Disco Youth´s production talent and now signed his Off EP to his hip label with famous acts like Bloody Beetroots, Bloc Party, The Gossip and many more. The EP features a massive set of mad mixes by Fukkk Offf and the much loved Stereo heroes from France plus a cool breaks version by label mate Mustrad Pimp. Currently Phil Speiser is in the studio producing the upcoming Chicks On Speed album. For sure, we will hear a lot more from Phils alter ego Dirty disco Youth!

 

For more informations, check out: http://dirtydiscoyouth.com/

Interview with Martin Meister

Your new album „High Fidelity“ has just been released. What can we expect this time?

You can expect a record of Electronica and Dark Pop.

Your music is strongly inspired by the 80s. What in particular do you like about the 80s sound?

Actually, the sound is not quite 80s, as I work with contemporary producers and the style comes from the UK and Los Angeles at the moment. My vocal timbre is 80s, it actually is rather an extinct timbre and pitch. This is why I am so often counted to the 80s.
Generally, it is extremely rare that there are male singers of electronic pop music. Unfortunately, the powerful heterosexual record label bosses prefer women – and then match them with a fitted sound. I’m no fan of Beyonce and the like. They are great performers and good singers, but they don’t have much to do with real art and real music. It all sounds the same, they no longer write the lyrics to the songs themselves. The singing of these ladies sounds like that of good backing vocalists.

Are there musicians and bands who inspire you? What sound apart from your own do you like to listen to?

At home I actually listen to any kind of music, apart from R’n’B and club/house music. As I have been in the music business for more than a decade, people always send me interesting tracks. I also like to listen to Goldfrapp or great timeless artists. I’m a huge fan of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker as well as Blondie or David Bowie.

It seems, a personal style does not only play a major role in your music videos? How would you define your personal style?

As dandy goth or goth dandy. I look at the whole thing with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. It also is based on my characteristic face and is inspired by the time of the silent films and their male roles which were extremely exaggerated with that certain chic. The video for „Dangerous Cat“ also plays in the 1940s, the model for the two girls was Ava Gardner. The outfits were provided by Louis Vuitton, the collection reminded oft hat era. For „Follow Me“, I adopted the classic silent film goth dandy with black-edged eyes. The look is an interplay between the designer Dexter Wong (Michael Jackson) and the Belgian Xavier Delcour as well as Tom Rebl for the „Follow Me“ single cover. The video for „Play My Drum“ is based on black circus, a reference to burlesque nightclubbing and revue bars in the 1950s. It is, in a way, the continuation of the „Follow Me“ goth dandy who heroically sings alone on stage and now dives into the „Play My Drum“ nightclub world.

You are openly gay. In your music videos and your performance, you like to play with sexuality and gender roles. Is there a message beind this or do you think Vienna has reached a point where sexuality does no longer matter?

Unfortunately, there are still many people who cannot be open about their sexuality due to religious, professional or family reasons – or just due to the fear of sexuality. Furthermore, I would not like to see gays being categorised. I think it is terrible to stick a label to someone and to say: because you’re gay, you need to behave a certain way – or because you behave a certain way, you must be gay. Gay people have created a ghetto for themselves. Often, gay men exclude other gay men if they do not fit into their scheme of attractivity or simply do not match their stereotype. In a fringe group, it is totally ridiculous to point the finge rat somebody else in the same fringe group. In our modern world, everybody has the right to behave the way they want. I mean: also a heterosexual man can dress in a feminine way if he likes this kind of dressing style. Or you can be a soldier and be gay – I also included this in my video of „Play My Drum“, which shows two androgynous soldiers to my lyrics line 'there is something going on down below'.
Not everyone has to express their sexuality to the outside. You can also be a gay butcher or a gay mechanic who doesn’t like to dance on the table at the gay club. You can be bisexual and live it – as long as you practice safe sex and don’t secretly cheat on your wife at home.
I would like to tell people: f*ck stereotypes, be the way you are. Just because you’re gay, nobody forces you to live a certain predefined lifestyle. After all, we are not in some kind of sect! And if you’re a masculine guy and you feel like wearing make-up and going to the cinema with your girlfriend, then do that. It is what distinguises us from monkeys: we can walk upright and choose how we want to dress and express ourselves individually.


After quite a while in London, you are living in Vienna now. What are the advantages and disadvantages of an artist in Vienna?

The advantage: it is significantly more compact here in Vienna and quality of life is higher. Easier ways of getting around the city on the streets and on the tube. Here, I can reach the studio or the shooting faster than I would in London. Also, transport expenses, rents, etc. are much less here than in London; healthcare and the doctors are better here. I love the inner city as the small pearl it is.
The disadvantage: unfortunately, there is often a village-like thinking and small-town mentality in Vienna. Sometimes, people are in the media or in leading positions who would never have made it in London or Paris. And the only reason for this is the fact that they have the necessary money or contacts. Also, innovation is only accepted slowly in this city – or copied one-to-one. And, as in any small town, often spat on in the beginning. Many things here work according to the motto 'it has alsways been this way and will always stay this way'. I have never counted myself to this society and will continue to do my thing.

Where do you like to spend your free evenings in Vienna?
 
At a nice restaurant or cosy at home.

What are your next plans after the album „High Fidelity“ and the new video for „Play My Drum“?

The Eurovision Song Contest.

Your message to the world?

Be yourself, be open for new things – and if you once should not feel like it, that’s okay!

check it out: http://www.martinmeister.com/

bunny lake

It's difficult to find a good indie and electro band from Austria - but they do exist!

The most successful probably is the band Bunny Lake, founded in 2004 and named after the film noir "Bunny Lake Is Missing". They are touring through all of Europe with their new album The Beautiful Fall. Their latest hit song 1994  is really worth listening to but the Falco cover Ganz Wien impressed me the most. I'm very critical when it comes to cover versions but Ganz Wien simply is a modern and danceable version of Falcos 80s evergreen. Maybe because the lyriks are still "transferable" to many clubs in Vienna! 

For tour dates and the new album check out: www.bunnylake.net