Name Jahtari
Occupation Online German netlabel, and growing concern on the touring circuit.
Sounds like All the dancehall dub sounds we know and love. Which isn't bad going, considering it’s all —
for want of a better word — ‘artificial'.
What does this mean? For such an organic-sounding genre as reggae, Jahtari have actually managed to do a pretty decent job of reproducing the unique, bass- heavy flavour of dub with laptops alone. As their rather impressively detailed website (jahtariorg) explains. they call this Digital Laptop Reggae (DLR). The name is an amalgam of ‘Jah’ and ‘Atari’, and a similar lo-fi 8-bit aesthetic informs their branding and design.
How did it all start? Jahtari was founded in Leipzig by its shadowy originator, Jan, who used to make gabba and digital hardcore on his laptop. His first love. however, was dub, and when he decided to try marrying the style with an electronic means of production, the results were surprisingly successful. Jahtari is still a proverbial one-man-band, although the online label offers releases by a variety of artists.
So is this a dance show or a dub show? ‘Jahtari is first and above all about dub’, runs part of their mission statement. ‘We're not doing electronica. techno or drum & bass with dub influences. but exactly the other way around.‘ (David Pollock)
I Jahtari play Mungo’s Hi-Fi at the Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Thu 29 Mar; School of Art, Glasgow, Fri 30 Mar
ROCK'N'ROLL/ROCKABILLY ALL TORE UP Blackfriars, Glasgow, Sat 7 Apr
Rock'n‘roll is alive and well, and, thanks to All Tore Up. the Glasgow side of things is finally holding its own. All Tore Up is the only night dedicated solely to all things rock'n'roll and rockabilly on the West coast and, thankfully, after a couple of years being a bit of a nomad venue wise. the night has found a new home in Blackfriars.
All Tore Up has filled a much needed gap in the social calendar according to promoter Neil Maclnnes. ‘All Tore Up started out of necessity. There was nowhere in Glasgow to go and listen to the music we were passionate about, | just couldn't understand it. The nearest club was The Web in Edinburgh.“ Along with partner Aaron they began the night for all the rock’n'roll fans out there that come in many guises. ‘We get a very mixed crowd at All Tore Up which we think is great. There are people that have been into the music for years and peOple that are just discovering it for the first time plus there are a lot of young people coming, which the rock'n'roll scene needs to keep it alive,‘ he says. The music policy, unlike other clubs, is all about the vintage sounds. ‘We try and stay away from new rock. There‘s just so much great stuff still to be uncovered,‘ says Maclnnes. The rule is simple: ‘All Tore Up is all killer, no filler.’
(Sandra Marron)
28 THE LIST 29 Mar—12 Apr 2007
TECHNO/ELECTRO GREEN VELVET Pressure, The Arches, Glasgow, Fri 30 Mar; UFreak, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 31 Mar He is the experimental post-Chicago house producer and relentless dance floor mugger behind such inventive, infectious and downright dirty sermonic bombs as ‘Flash’, ‘Answer Machine’ and ‘La La Land.’ The original electro-punk Curtis Jones aka Cajmere aka Green Velvet (aka Geo Vogt, Half Pint, Curan Stone, Gino Vittori) makes a triumphant return to Scotland this fortnight. With a leaning towards angular yet fun-filled, funky techno, Jones can come across like Kraftwerk and Gary Numan taking a dressing-down from Prince and has remixed everyone from Madonna to Orgy and Basement Jaxx. What’s more, he’s an utter bampot. Having turned his back on esteemed US college
Berkley to make a name as Cajmere it was his mid-90$ label Relief that unleashed the twisted, felt-mohawked Green Velvet persona, stirring a global phenomenon in clubland and launching the likes of DJ Sneak. His releases funky but hard as hell have been matched with an energy and raw gospel of performance as he careered down that road from real deal to superstar to saved evangelist. Yes, the flamboyant green one’s personal life has taken a peculiarly religious and philosophical turn since his last visit having declared himself a born-again Christian and set to stridently panning the Iraq war as racist and unjust. Nevertheless, the man whose first release under the GV moniker was the almighty ‘Preacher Man’ has shown no signs of renouncing his predilection for a mercilessly debauched beat or a sinful, squonking bass.
(Mark Edmundson)