Live At Robert Johnson Vol. 2 //

Prins Thomas // Live At Robert Johnson //

Our man in Oslo or a prince who became king. In the bland dance music age since the end of the glorious 90s, only few such original characters as Prins Thomas have remained. Full Pupp is the name of his label and together with Hans-Peter Lindstrom he puts the renaissance around a disco that knows about kraut rock and prog rock scientists, as well as around Motor City and the convincing arguments of a Roland 909, in a nutshell. In the studios, he sprinkles anything from the Junior Boys or Studio through to Justus Köhncke and Techno classics on R&S Records with his lively drum-bass-organ magic. Furthermore: a real DJ from head to toe, with snus under his upper lip, lollipop headphones, stabilizing record weights, music from every decade and dive, and the unrelenting wish to save your life and last night. In Ramona's sacred halls, Offenbach's Robert Johnson, he already did that in such an impressive way the first time he performed that the lady gave him a season ticket. Every time he drops by, he will now have the feeling as if he were visiting old friends. And they're more important than the money anyway, as we found out through Michael Brody and his Paradise Garage. Another much-coined phrase is saying a DJ set is a journey: through highs and lows, sticks and stones, from loud to quiet, one genre to the next and through all the various shades of grey that determine the fragile process of the night being a success or a failure. If you ask Prins Thomas whether that is the definition of his work, you get "the record case from front to back" as an answer, while he opens a bottle of Rothaus Tannenzäpfle beer with his teeth and recommends you visit a travel agent. Nevertheless, the versatile disco Viking (yet another cliché) leaves people standing there with their mouths gaping. The second episode of "Live at Robert Johnson" clearly proves this. Probably the only CD in the whole world on which Ricardo Villalobos dances the "Afro Punk Reggae Dub" by Steel An' Skin with his house band Cos/Mes, where a Playhouse classic from Roman Flügel performs an acid test in the "Gallery Oslo" by Kåre & The Cavemen, synthie rock by Trans Am glows like a fixed star, Bjørn Torske makes it clear twice who was the first to polish the Norwegian disco ball, the Idjut Boys claim this title for England, Closer Musik ease wistfulness and Sebastien Tellier argues about beard lengths with DJ Harvey. 27 breathtaking gems, some of them affectionately edited by Prins, but always with two hands, a Urei mixing desk, two CD players and turntables, the mischievous Korg Kaospad as well as an in/out insulator, and mixed with that unwavering DJ killer instinct of his. And of course everything is done live in one go so as to evoke the feeling of a Viking longboat on a stormy sea. Because, never forget: A club is not an intensive care unit. Or is it?

Artists: Frankie Valentine // Low Motion Disco // Argy // The Mole // Ricardo Villalobos // Acid Test // Prins Thomas // Cage // Aviary // Map Of Africa // Dogs Of War // Cos/Mes // Martin Circus // Mathew Jonson // Closer Musik // Steel An´skin // Samos // Anarchic System // Sébastien Tellier // James Yuill // Arpadys // Kare // The Cavemen // Björn Torske // Lindstrom // Opolopo // Capracara // Babytalk // Trans Am