Full Pupp and Internasjonal present...
Ekstravaganza
with
Bjørn Torske
Prins Thomas
Blackbelt Andersen
Mark E
The Revenge
Warm Residents
Friday September 25th
10pm till 6am
£8 early bird / £10 advance / £12 on the door
Corsica Studios
4/5 Elephant Road, London, SE17 1LB
www.corsicastudios.com
For a country with a population of less than 5 million, Norway has been punching well above its weight in musical terms for the past few years. Perhaps fuelled by their long winter nights, Norwegian DJs and producers have been at the forefront of the recent cosmic disco revival and 10 minute long blissed out remixes now probably vie with oil as the country’s chief export.
One of the driving forces behind all this has been the bearded figure of Prins Thomas, sometime Lindstrøm collaborator and the man behind the rather excellent Full Pupp and Internasjonal labels. Tonight, oh lucky us, Thomas lands in the UK to launch Ekstravaganza, his new London residency at Corsica Studios.
Bringing with him the best that his country has to offer, DJs and producers such as Bjørn Torske and Blackbelt Andersen, and joining forces with talent from around the world, in tonight’s case Britons Mark E, The Revenge, and the Warm Resident DJs, Thomas’ Ekstravaganza has found the perfect home in Corsica Studios warehouse like space, the ideal location to explore the psychedelic outer fringes of disco music.
Who's Who?
Bjørn Torske
Since breaking out of the underground in 2001 with a remix of Royksopp's Eple, the Norwegian DJ/Producer has released seven full-lengths on Smalltown Supersound, a label he shares with the likes of Jaga Jazzist, ARP and Lindstrom.
One of the leading lights of Norway's dance music scene, Bjørn's has been a club DJ for over twenty years now. Racking up the airmiles, Bjørn is in demand the world over now with his eclectic sets which can range from Bach to Neubaten, but with the emphasis very much on tripped out dubby disco.
Prins Thomas
Often associated with occasional collaborator and fellow Norwegian Hans Peter Lindstrøm (aka Lindstrøm), Prins Thomas is a Norwegian electronic dance music producer and DJ whose so-called space disco style is a mélange of disco, house, minimal techno, electro, Krautrock, jazz fusion, space rock, and more.
One of the most important figures of the recent disco/cosmic/balearic (take your pick) revival, Thomas and his labels Full Pupp and Internasjonal have been responsible for releasing some of the most heart stoppingly beautiful dance music in recent years, and his eclectic DJ mixes have ensured that on any given day you'll find Thomas in a different city, sending the crowd into disco raptures.
Blackbelt Anderson
Daniel “Blackbelt” Andersen has been active in the Norwegian dance music community for a number of years. He got into electronic dance music in the early 90’s, and first started emulating the sound of Detroit techno on his father’s home computer.
In the last few years he’s enjoyed success with his releases on Full Pupp, Trailerpark and Claremont56. He’s a co-resident on the monthly Full Pupp night in Oslo and has played everywhere from Berlin to Beijing. The Blackbelt sound can be described as Juan Atkins jamming with Airto Moreira, with a bit of Larry Levan thrown in for good measure, a highly infectious mix of motor city strings, slight Brazilian rhythms and arpeggiated disco basslines
Mark E
Good things come to those who wait, and that is certainly true of Mark E’s productions. Responsible for some of the slowest dance music around, Mark E has made a bit of a name for himself over the past year or two with his hypnotic slow burning dubbed out re-edits and original productions for labels such as Internasjonal, Jisco and Running Back.
The Revenge
If you've been keeping your ear to the ground for hot new house and disco records over the last couple of years, then you'll probably find that the work of Graeme Clark has been somewhat inescapable. His edits of Stevie Wonder, Unfinished Business and Hot Chocolate for celebrated edits imprint Jiscomusic made sure that The Revenge had pride of place in many a disco DJ's crate.
Warm Residents
Representing many of the biggest names on the nu-disco scene and responsible for some of the best parties in London, the resident DJs from the Warm Agency have a lot to live up to. Luckily as evidenced by their regular appearances at the likes of Fabric, Plastic People and clubs worldwide, Ali Tillett and cohorts more than know their way around a mixer.
