Reconnecting with the Master Magicians
My newest hand-drawn piece is done and can now be ordered as print.
Reconnecting with the Master Magicians. 68 x 92 cm.
80 hours of blissful work went into this piece. Drawing by hand is just the best pathway to some intense meditative focus. I simply can’t recommend it enough. It’s quality offline time for your brain!
See more of my artwork and prints on sale in the shop: chriszka.myshopify.com
Get in touch for collaborations or commissions at hello@chriszka.dk.
Reconnecting with the Master Magicians is pretty difficult to photograph in its entirety, but here are some shots of the piece:
Closeups of the cogwheels:
Close-up of the right hand:
The entire piece:
Order your print here: Reconnecting with the Master Magicians on Shopify.
When Something Comes Along Something Else Comes Along
Posted on May 26, 2017 Leave a Comment
I drew this as a cover for the track “When Something Comes Along Something Else Comes Along” by Al Lindrum: Here’s the track on soundcloud.
Hand-drawn. Colored pencil on paper. Sold as print. Limited edition. Signed. 30 cm x 30 cm. Completed on the day of the release, on May 26th 2017.
You can buy the print right here: https://chriszka.myshopify.com
For a framed (and signed) edition or other enquiries, contact me on christina@majcher.dk.
“CounterStrike is a bit like chess”
Posted on January 29, 2017 3 Comments
The Danish CounterStrike team Astralis just won the world championships (or an equivalent).
I spoke to Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz right after the final – on the phone directly from Atlanta. “CounterStrike is a bit like chess”, he said. Amongst other things.
You can google translate the article here: Danish team has won the world championships in CounterStrike
The art of dying in virtual reality
Posted on January 20, 2017 Leave a Comment
The most scary thing I have ever tried in virtual reality was a ski jump. Whauw, that felt so real.
Virtual reality is an amazing tool for exploring your phobias, but the technology can also be used for many other things. The hyper focus of the VR headsets can be very useful for exploring meditation and altered states of consciousness. So I was very curious when Makropol invited me to experience their virtual reality installation Doom Room: a trip through the moment of death and a tour of the afterlife hallucinations.
So, was it a cosmic experience or what? Well: I have written about the virtual reality ceremony in Weekendavisen today. The experience is open for the public this weekend and the next at the Chateau motel nightclub.
Jungle Confessions: The 24th Surprise
Posted on December 24, 2016 Leave a Comment
As you all know, the JUngLE Calendar likes the dark arts of number magic, and that’s why you could read the interview with dj Drop on day 4 (because of his birthday date on the 4th), and me on day 3, for instance.
And so, as I was searching for a possible main character for the interview on day 24, it turned out that a surprisingly large number of JUngLE Calendar Stars celebrate their birthdays on the 24th of the month.
IS THAT A COINCIDENCE?! You know it can’t be.
In case you need proof, here we go:
The 24th Surprise is the case for Garridge Bwoy:
And for Sofia:
And for Evil Economist:
And for the Discoshaman:
And for the one like CRS:
And for Mariii the Jungle Monster:
And for Alex:
And for Donna:
And for PZ:
And for Lucy Love:
And for Luis:
Luis babyfacin’ at Nadsat.
A beautiful moment caught by jonask.dk
You think it’s STRANGE AND ODD with all these “Day 24” people? You don’t say.
So a choice had to be made, and the magical dice decided on MUGGE. A raver recognized by his unmistakable enthusiasm and his Adidas hat, filled with jungle voices that he has to obey.
Little known to many, however, Mugge has a secret superhero identity where he spends his nights and days catching evil darkside monsters, rendering them harmless before they attack us.
Scary monsters live right next to our houses, just waiting for the right moment to attack and annihilate us.
I mean, seriously, jeeeeeeeeez. THE HORROR!
“I go fishing once or twice a week. I love it. The rush I get at the alarm from the bite indicator… It’s an awesome feeling. I go fishing at put’n’takes, like Ørsted and Poppelsøen, for instance.”
So put’n’takes, that means you put them back out, right? How long can you keep them out of the water?
“4 or 5 minutes. After a little while, they just calm down and relax. And after the photo we just put them back out. I go for carps and sturgeons. The giant ones are sturgeons. Sometimes it takes me 20 minutes to land one after the alarm, sometimes 3. I started fishing when I was in school, so it must have been in the 80s. It’s my favourite hobby. There’s fishing and raving. Raving took over for a while in the 90s. But then you get kids and a family and the fishing moved up a notch. But if I have to choose between a jungle party and a fishing trip, I will choose jungle. The jungle parties happen so rarely now.”
Mugge The Predator sometimes eats what he hunts.
“I started out with acid and then I moved onto jungle. So it goes back to around ’91. My first jungle party was one Nis did somewhere by Loppen I think. The second on was the one at Rugbyklubben. And I just thought this is the best! It just totally hit me in the right spot.”
Looking fresh at Club Labyrinth in London.
“The drums, the bass, the vibe, the people. Raving, dancing. Just being able to go mental without giving a toss about what anyone is thinking.”
Did you see that you’re in the video of ”Blæst Igen” by 2000F?
“Yes, that’s legendary, being in a music video”.
How are you spreading the jungle gospel?
“I have been playing jungle tapes for lots of people and bringing them to parties. Everyone I know are getting kind of old now, but I’m bringing a colleague to the next All Jungle. He has never been to a jungle party before. He’s gonna have the best time.”
Mugge showing his enthusiasm at All Jungle.
What’s your favourit tune?
“I never really remember the name of tracks. But everything from 1993 to 1995. Those are legendary years. But that 31 seconds one would be one of them.”
What’s the best thing that happened this year?
“The All Jungle party where all the junglists could meet up once again. Best thing this year for sure! Epic night. Just epic. I thought ”well, there’s probably gonna be like 100 people or something” and then it was just PACKED! From the beginning! And people were really going for it. I can’t describe the feeling it gave me.”
What’s your best party moment ever?
There are so many. But I really remember that party in The Grey Hall where the stage was built like a massive castle and you and me and Rudkjøbing were dancing on top of one of the towers, going mental. I will never ever forget that. It’s edged into my brain forever.
Mugge obeying the voices inside his Adidas Raver Hat at Pandemonium, Huset, april 1997.
I would jump straight into a phone booth and fly directly to World Dance in 1993/1994. Have you seen the videos?! It looks too mad. The tracks they play… It’s crazy. I saw the video at Nis’ flat and I watch it often on youtube, still.
What have you learnt this year?
To enjoy life. Appreciating every day where you wake up alive and healthy.
On that note, I think this would be a good tune to wrap this up with. It’s very Christmassy, too:
Thanks, Mugge, and Merry Christmas!
And that’s it, everyone! Merry Christmas and enjoy your JUngLE festivities!
If you feel inspired by Mugge’s heroic endeavors, refresh your knowledge of the darkside by diving into my collection of The 13 best darkside jungle tunes ever.
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Scroll through all three seasons here: JUngLEkalenderen
Blasts from the Past: Roskilde 2008 part II
Posted on December 23, 2016 Leave a Comment
Did you enjoy the 31 pictures from Roskilde Festival 2008 that was posted two days ago?
If so, get ready for some more pleasurable scrolling: Here’s the second round of digital memories from the same festival, and be warned: Things are becoming messier.
Oh, but first: warm up with the warmup-scroll –> the 31 Blasts from the Past: Roskilde 2008 part I.
Okay, you’re ready:
Things start out reasonably enough.
But they quickly deteriorate.
People try to find the meaning of life at the bottom of their plastic cups.
Kristian gets a glimpse of the brutal vastness of the universe through the Total Perspective Vortex device and feels horrible. Then the Playground beer kicks back in and he forgets all about it. (The Total Perspective Vortex can be found on the planet Frogstar B if anyone feels like giving it a go).
Chriszka the Time Traveller escapes from Media City and meets Julian at random morning party amongst the tents.
The next day, my brother explains something important to a skeptical accountant.
AP throws a well-known handsign (see this post for details –> https://chriszka.com/2016/12/13/how-to-be-a-junglist-the-hand-horn-special/) and adds the t-shirt communication on top. No need for talking at all. Very junglist!
The all-important deciding-where-to-go-next-situation.
More hand signs. Don’t miss the hand Horn Special, it’s pretty essential.
Okay, so Keanu Reeves totally entered my life in 2008, and I only realize now, eight and a half years later. GOD DAMN IT! Come back and ask for directions, Keanu!
Ah, this is what happened. Sneaky people with friendly faces made some evil magical brew, handed it out to innocent passers-by and erased everyone’s brains. That is so mean.
And the sun started to set on people and their mainstream t-shirts.
BAM! -darkness again. We’re back in the lounge.
Kalle B does some babyfacin’ here. Nicka, on the contrary, looks exactly the same in this moment as he did 8 years before this and 8 years after. How is this possible? I shall reveal nothing; any time traveller’s secret is safe with me.
Hello, random hot festival service guy.
DJ Buda decides to teach the Stella Polaris crew a thing or two.
And people go semi-bananas.
The sun rises and some people give up.
But when the going gets tough THE TOUGH GET GOING.
It isn’t easy, but someone has to do it: The festival vibe must continue.
For a moment, a slight glimpse of the horrors of the Total Perspective Vortex enters Kristian’s brain once again.
Fortunately, he forgets all about it once again a second later.
Jkamata arrives from another dimension.
Everyone’s still putting on their brave faces.
If we sit at this magical table long enough, everyone will turn up eventually.
See what I mean? Here’s Sofus the Amazing Shape-Shifter.
After some rest, everyone’s relaxed and ready for round 12.
A group of junglists show up for Slayer.
Nico Defrost takes a small nap while stocking up on the beers.
And here we go again.
Goodbye, Roskilde, that was sunny!
More hand-signs? Go to How to be a Junglist: The Hand Signs Special
More personal stuff? Try the Jungle Diaries: A Junglist on a Mission
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Scroll through all three seasons of JUngLEkalenderen here: JUngLEkalenderen
Jungle Confessions: “I love the crazy mix of reggae bass and sound effects”
Posted on December 22, 2016 1 Comment
Whohooo, it’s time for an energetic Q&A with the one and only Dj 2000F aka Frederik Birket-Smith aka dj Zoooooooof aka Jungle Professor Birkvit-Smith aka Frederick, original junglist, sound effect enthusiast and head of the Strøm festival.
2000F is a bit of a story teller, so let’s dive right in. You have 20000 words and some scrolling ahead of you.
2000F doing some truly expert level group hugging at RAW 2009.
When did you become a junglist?
“In front of the telly at my parents’ in the beginning of the 90s. It was on MTV Party Zone… Shut Up and Dance… The track was called The Green Man – (Rum & Black remix). That was a defining moment for me. It had such a weird mix of breakbeats and bleep sounds and reggae bassline and I didn’t really get it. Prodigy and what came after that was much easier to understand, but this track… it was just so trippy and weird and sounded like something I had to look into. I’ve loved that sound ever since, whatever it is, that weird mix where it’s neither breakbeat or jungle or raggahouse or whatever.”
And you were attending the legendary Jungle Fever II party at Operaen, like everyone else.
“Yes, I was dj’ing. I’m sure my mixing was terrible. I actually brought my own mixer. It was this Monacor thing, a present from Anne Linnet to Jan Martin (her son) and me. She wanted us to learn how to dj, so she bought us two 1210s and a mixer and a lesson with a dj from Cut’n’Move. The mixer had all these crazy soundeffects, like the sounds of lasers and telephones ringing, very jungle style. I have had the sound effect part of the machine cut out, and we still use them all the time at Fyraftensboogie.”
Frederik and the all-important whistle at Jungle Fever IV at Operaen.
Why do you love jungle?
“The drums and the bass. I just love drums and bass. And I love the ”everything goes” part of it. I love the crazy mix of reggae bass and sound effects. That you can just put anything into a track. UK has always been this melting pot. It has influenced me a lot as a dj, the sound effects and the way that things are layered on top of eachother. It still inspires me.”
There’s this Remarc tune called Sound Murderer where he samples this old funk group called Starvue. It’s called Body Fusion, a classic raregroove boogie track. And we play it all the time at Jolene at our disco club night Fyraftensboogie which we have been running for 8 years now. And whenever we play it, we just go crazy with the sound effects so that it sounds like Remarc.
How are you spreading the jungle gospel?
“Oh man. I played a strictly jungle set back to back with Raske Penge at our JuleBass party this last Saturday. I do that quite often.
And I released the jungle track “Blæst Igen” last year with Raske Penge and Høyer Øye. Danish jungle. The video is made solely out of old movie clips from Danish raves from the early and mid-90s.”
“And then I’ve been a part of the Ohoi! crew since 2002.”
2000F killing the rum at the Ohoi! 6 year anniversary.
“And going further back, I made the Rolandoposen parties from ’93 and onwards. The biggest ones were at Ungdomshuset with jungle on the ground floor and gabba on the second floor and techno on the third. We did some Rolando Posen parties at Vega, too. DR2, which was a really new tv channel back then, was sending live from the jungle raves at Vega. That was at The Invasion of the Bass Snatchers party. But then someone at Vega realized that everyone attending was under 18 and that was the end of the jungle era at Vega.”
Small diary intermezzo in case you missed the “How to be a Junglistst: Flyers, flyers, flyers everywhere” post from JUngLEkalenderen 2014. This is the Bass Snatchers flyer, glued into my diary from 1997. 🙂
This flyer is just a masterpiece.
Yes, we need a closeup.
What’s your favourit tune?
“Dream Team – Stamina.”
“It’s not my favourite track of all time, but it’s close. I played it last Saturday, too. I play it every time. Wait, I’m just gonna check if it’s the Dread Bass Remix; I think it is. But I can’t really tell by the label. All my jungle albums are all white and greyish , they’re so worn out.”
2000F wearing out his vinyls at the Ohoi! 2 year anniversary. We’re on a boat.
What’s the best thing that happened this year?
“I was in London with Raske Penge a month ago at Finyl Tweek. They do everything for Hospital Records, everything for Dillinja. We were getting two records cut that I am releasing on Raske Plader next year. The test press just arrived this evening. So I’m going down the studio to listen to it now. It’s in steppas style. It reminds me of jungle, being at the steppas parties in England. It feels like being back at the old jungle raves in the 90s. You just have a microphone, a soundsystem and some vinyls. And that’s it. Sometimes they don’t even turn off the lights. I love that.”
2000F feeling bubbly at RAW.
What’s the most exciting thing about the future?
“Strøm Festival just made this four year deal with Frederiksberg Kommune, Københavns Kommune and Statens Kunstfond where we work to support and promote electronic music in the entire country. That means that we will be doing the festival, still, but also teaching all year and something called ”genre work”, where we just help the genre to blossom and grow. This means that electronic music has finally been recognized as a genre on a completely different level than has been the case so far.
I’m super proud of this new development, and I think it’s going to be really exciting. We’re going to be able to help the genre but on it’s own terms, finding out what’s really needed. It will give us some much needed political awareness, too, and access to funding, which is important. Just like it has been for jazz and world music. The electronic music scene has so much talent, and we could do even bigger things if we were better organized. This is a big step in the right direction and it’s super super super important and very exciting.”
2000F celebrating some more.
What’s your best party moment ever?
The best rave was when I met Anna at Operaen in 2001 where I was dj’ing at some oldskool jungle reunion.
Awwwwww. Well: Here’s 2000F and Anna some fun-packed years after that, celebrating the neon frisbee present at Ohoi!’s 6 year anniversary.
“The maddest festival I ever attended was United Nations of Dub. It was in Northwales by the sea in this deserted and half forgotten holiday centre like Lalandia or something. The festival was dedicated to dub and ONLY dub music, all weekend. So it was basically Lalandia but with dub music playing 24/7. It was this tiny little Miss Marple village with little baskets with flowers in them and a church and a tea house. And then this Pontins Holiday Park is just invaded by 1500 rastas from all over Europe. And there’s dub everywhere. There’s dub in the supermarket. There’s dub at the pub. And again, it was just like the old jungle raves where all you need is a sound system. No lights or anything, just a wall of speakers and a rug and 1000 rastas listening to dub at 17 o’clock in the afternoon.”
2000F throwing a complicated handsign signalling something cool to Frederiksperkers everywhere.
Do you want more 2000F?
Join the party at Jolene on Christmas eve where 2000F will be playing boogie, disco and xmas classics. And the Starvue track. And junglistic sound effects: Jolene’s Big Christmas Eve Party
Lots more pics of 2000F at this Blasts from the past: Ohoi! turns 6
If you want to read my impression of the Jungle Fever II party where Frederik brought his own mixer, there’s a LOT of details in this post: Jungle Diaries: Longing for the Tribe
And if you want more flyers, go here: How to be a Junglist: Flyers, Flyers, Flyers Everywhere
Keep updated on the evergrowing Strøm Festival at http://www.stromcph.dk
Blasts from the Past: Roskilde 2008
Posted on December 21, 2016 1 Comment
It’s the shortest and darkest day of the year, and there’s only one sensible thing to do: Escape immediately to somewhere warmer and brighter. Off we go, then, back to the sunny days of Roskilde 2008, which turns out to be a very junglistic place to be.
The table is packed with white russians in the camp.
Tim Driver is done with looking at the hologram.
JSL has taken a sip of the wrong bottle.
Lewis tries to look innocent at the Playground tent.
This is the ‘please save me’ handsign.
Back at the lounge, unfolding our inner hippies.
Dalge looking blitzed.
Outside, normal people do normal things in the sun.
Like Heidizzle here, pointing at an invisible hologram.
“I see weird things that doesn’t exist, too”, the Jungle Monster says to Heidizzle in a comforting voice.
The Jungle Monster and Chriszka The Time Traveller decides to cool down with a junglistic drink.
Meanwhile, Illutron blows up some stuff or something.
Escaping from the dangers of the sunshine, we discover a trancer having a blissful moment at the dark lounge.
Mariiii tries out some junglistic moves surrounded by 11-year-olds.
…while Banel plays in front of some visuals designed specifically to bore you to sleep.
Noone is bored, though.
Oh my gosh, once again I randomly run into the Danish crew I met at Berghain. Hello, fellow Berghainers!
And hello, twins!
Oh my gosh, Citadel people everywhere! 😀
EVERYONE is part of this photo series! Happy Space Boy’ing at Playground.
And it’s time to put on the happy glasses, yes.
Jonask in the house.
Tim Driver is looking at Jonask.
That well-known handsign, once again!
Everyone, absolutely everyone, is somehow in this collection of pictures.
Back at the camp, Næb has made a sign with a complicated request that noone understands. He feels sad about this.
Næb feels happy again.
If babyfacing is possible with a beard, this is it.
Classic hand signs are thrown as night crawls in on us.
And the mood gets even better.
Oh my gosh, people that was 31 pictures! I can’t go on with this endless collection of familiar faces and Roskilde 2008 moments without breaking the junglistic spell. 31 it is. I have to save the rest for Round II. Maybe!
Do you need more photos from sunny locations? Check out the most colorful JUngLE post ever: Trance Tales: The Ozora Adventures
Or jump to some more festival photos in this post: 7 best things about being a raver
Too optimistic for you? Read the 5 problems one ravers know about
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Scroll through three seasons here: JUngLEkalenderen
Jungle Confessions: “I fell completely in love with the entire thing”
Posted on December 20, 2016 Leave a Comment
What happens when you’re introduced to jungle at the tender age of 15? For today’s main character, it has meant a lifelong commitment with no digressions. It’s all jungle, and jungle all the way.
So what does it feel like, being made entirely out of jungle? It’s time for a Q&A with the one and only Mariii, aka The Jungle Monster!
What a teenage room in Vestamager looked like in the 90s.
When did you become a junglist?
“In the beginning of the 90s. My first party was the one at Rugbyklubben, which seems to be the case for many of us. It was my cousin Tino who brought me along; I was 15. I had never seen anything like it, of course. Up until then I had only been to kids’ parties. Everyone there were a bit older than me, and it was all very exciting! I think I have been to just about every single jungle party since then. And I have never really been going out in any other way. I’ve never been to an ordinary disco, really. It’s just been jungle parties for me, all the way. I fell completely in love with the entire thing.”
The young teens warming up to a jungle rave at Det Blå Pakhus in Amager, 1996 (probably).
Why do you love jungle?
“I think it all made such a huge impression on me because I was so young. Big up to my cousin Tino for introducing me to jungle! He has done me a big favour with that one. He borrowed all the records from Nis and Chris and copied all the tunes onto cassette tapes and wrote down all the names of the tracks. That has been a big help for me later on when I’ve had to search for old tracks on youtube. Just brilliant. For me, it’s just been like one long crush that never stopped. It’s mad just how much jungle moves me. I’m forever in love.”
Yup, you can say that again. The Jungle Monster just had to express her Jungle Love SO MUCH that she got a reminder burnt into her skin.
THAT MOMENT where Mariiii reveals herself as the Jungle Monster for the first time. Find the entire shocking story at the end of today’s post.
How are you spreading the jungle gospel?
“I have handed out tons of flyers and made tons of copies of cassette tapes for people back in the day. At school, one of my classmates had one of those double tape recorders which was such a massively cool thing to own back then, and I borrowed it and copied every single tape that Nis and Tino gave me and handed them out to people. We spent hours and hours copying those tapes. And whenever I met someone new I made them listen to jungle and invited them to the parties. A lot of people said yes.”
What’s your favourite tune?
“It’s impossible to say. But since it’s you asking, I’m gonna say Warpdrive with dj Crystl. It’s truly one of my all time favourites. It’s a very unique track. But there are simply too many to mention. Check out my youtube channel for more; I have a huuuge list. And I’m uploading all my old tapes, too.”
Some true babyfacin’ at the Notting Hill Carnival in London, 2000.
What’s your best party moment ever?
The One Nation flyer.
“One of the parties that made the biggest impression on me ever was my first trip to London with Caspar. We went to a One Nation party. It was 1998. Stevie Hyper D was mc’ing. And all the big dj’s were playing.”
“More recently, the All Jungle party here in Copenhagen was fantastic. Especially the first one in February. That was too mad. It was a massive surprise entering the room and seeing it so packed. That was big.”
“And I have to mention the Ribena party we went to in London in 2014 with just 100 people in a basement in Shoreditch.”
Oh yes.
“That was just unbelievably awesome. They played some tunes that I seriously thought I would never get to hear again on a dancefloor. They were really digging up some truly rare things from the bottom of those record bags.”
The tale of that adventure is right here: How to be a Junglist: Going to London
What’s the best thing that happened this year?
“The All Jungle party in February. And something Welsh.”
Mariiii, Mugge and Aske hanging out at Christiania Radio, 2005.
If you could timetravel to any point in time right now, where would you go?
“I would go back to the parties at Operaen on Christiania. That was just the best time, being a teenager and taking it all in. I met so many people at Operaen that I still know today. I would like to be at one of those parties again.”
Early teen pic of Mariiiiiii dancing to Cypress Hill in her Vestamager teen room.
What’s the dark secret noone knows about you?
“Well. Tim Driver inspired me with his revelation about Phil Collins, so I’m going to say Rick Astley. I love Rick Astley. I still think he has made the best pop music ever. I have this endless fascination with British culture. I’m definitely an anglophile. If a guy opens his mouth and English words come out he immediately becomes 10 percent more hot in my eyes. No, more like 35 percent.”
Do you want more of Mariiiiii aka The Jungle Monster? Check out the horrific story of her sneaky skin switching techniques in this horror story: Blasts from the Past: Jungle Bells 2005
Lots more Mariiiiii here: Blasts from the Past: Garden Party People
If you wanna revisit the Ribena party in London with us, it’s right here: How to be a Junglist: Going to London
And TONS of hand-picked tunes and uploaded cassette tape mixes from back in the day on her youtube channel right here: Maruskimus
“Whiiiii, I’m a Disney princess with a super-unrealistic waistline. EAT IT, SUCKERS!”
Jungle Feelings: The Blade Runner special
Posted on December 19, 2016 Leave a Comment
“A merry little surge of electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick Deckard”.
This is the opening line of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” by Philip K. Dick, the book on which the movie Blade Runner is based, and it would go on my list of “Best first sentences in books ever”; but I’m not making that list today. I’m making the 7 best jungle/drum’n’bass tunes with Blade Runner samples.
Why?
Reason number 1)
Because today is the 19th, and Blade Runner is supposedly taking place in 2019, so there. JUngLEkalenderen likes number magic.
Reason number 2)
Because the official teaser trailer of Blade Runner 2049 was JUST released today. As in like an hour ago. IS THAT A COINCIDENCE? Most likely not, as nothing seems to be a coincidence in JUngLEkalenderen.
Reason number 3)
And last but not least, because this is how much space Blade Runner – The Director’s Cut took up in my teenage diary when I watched it on Monday 7th of December 1992 at the MGM Cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue in London.
“I’m looking out the window at all the city lights. I just watched Blade Runner – Director’s Cut so now all that neon and all those lights from the distant windows seem even more interesting and frightening and beautiful. Why is it so fascinating, all that neon and rain? I will never be done with this city. I feel like I haven’t even started yet”, I wrote.
This is the next page with Harrison Ford climbing those rooftops in L.A. anno 2019. That’s three years from now. As you can see, I wasn’t just into intelligent, cyberpunk’ish sci-fi, but also into Keanu Reeves.
But we shall stick to the Blade Runner samples in this post. Even though there might be some good tracks with samples from Point Break out there – and definitely som Matrix ones. But today is Blade Runner time!
Dj Fav: Lost in Time
A zoom of my diary will show that I have written All those moments will be lost in time like tears in the rain in the blue globe above Harrison Ford.
That pre-death rooftop monologue by Rutger Hauer/Roy Batty has been sampled extensively through the years.
Back then I thought the Roy Batty character was super scary, but I could relate to his sadness: That all the stuff he had seen and experienced would be lost. What a shame.
My own human solution to the android problem was trying very hard to write down EVERYTHING I experienced so that I could hold on to it, somehow. It took me years to give up on that impossible mission.
Jonny L – More Life
On that note: This is my absolute favourite Blade Runner track. The I Want More Life! sample. Rutger Hauer’s modified voice. Drums EXPLODING in desperation. What a tune. The masterpiece of the list, for sure.
Dom & Roland – Deckard’s Theme
Quality drum’n’bass from Dom & Roland. A very very very dark mood from a very cold future.
Trace and Nico – Replicant
Finally some Harrison Ford voice on top of a cold techstep tune. I really like the fact that Blade Runner 2049 is starring both him AND Ryan Gosling. Bam.
Dom & Roland – Through the Looking Glass
“A new life awaits you in the off world colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure”. Dom & Roland does it again. This track sounds like evil machines breathing.
Shroombab & Polarity – Bad Motions
Favourite thing: The very discreet “Time to die”, almost a whisper. Lots of very oldskool sounds in this one – and let’s just rejoice in the fact that someone uses the artist name Shroombab.
Breakage – Questions VIP
Favorite soundclip: “It’s not an easy thing to meet your maker.” I wish more artists would sample movies ALL THE TIME!
Extra bonus for the gamers:
In the MOST EXCELLENT point’n’click adventure The Dream Machine (highly recommended!) the main character (Victor) wears an exact copy of the shirt that Harrison Ford is wearing in Blade Runner. Everything is handmade in the game, so there’s room for that kind of ultra fandom stuff. I interviewed the creators of the game back at the release, and they explained their choice: “It’s just the nicest shirt ever”.
More games? Read Gamers and Ravers: The Amazing Similarities between the Two Worlds
Do you want more tunes? Try out The 7 most romantic jungle tunes ever
Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Find all three seasons here: JUngLEkalenderen
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