Esbjörn Svensson Trio – Dogde the Dodo

About a year ago I stumbled across a magnificent jazz tune from the Swedish Esbjörn Svensson Trio. It’s called “Dodge the Dodo” and is from their 1999 album “From Gagarin’s Point of View”, an album that really kickstarted their career. I showed this track to my friend Paul SG and he was as stunned as I was. It’s so catchy and rocking and at the same time it’s so fragile through Esbjörn Svenssons piano solo. The track just blew my mind.

If you look at their discography, there’s always been a melodic and openminded approach in their music and jazz in general which in turn lead to a broader and also younger audience.

Within little time the trio’s popularity grew and by 2005 they were viewed as the leading European jazz ensemble and Esbjörn Svensson himself was seen as one of the world’s most talented jazz musicians.

In 2008 they reached a very interesting point in their career trying to integrate electronic sounds to their music. You can hear it on their album “Leucocyte” that they were up to something. The accessible sound of older records was only partially present and growth was undoubtedly about to happen.

A little side note…

Have you ever ask yourself what you would be remembered for when you die? Some of us are blessed with the gift of creativity and are remembered for their achievements. They leave something behind, that you might conquer long after they’re gone and it just touches you deeply. Some of us are born without the blessing of creativity. What are they going to be remembered for and for how long? Of course this question is leading to a much bigger question: what’s the meaning of life? You may not leave anything behind that means something to somebody but I always like to think that it’s the little things that matter. A kind gesture or something that you do that means the world to somebody else without you knowing about it.

Back to the initial thought…

In august 2008 “Leucocyte” was released and it’s a far from perfect album with its rough and unsure sound but it’s a pointer to the future and you just wonder: what would have come next? But the future of the Esbjörn Svennson Trio has been cruelly denied to us. “Leucocyte” should be their last ever record. I didn’t know until today that Esbjörn Svensson died on june 14^th 2008 in a diving accident near Stockholm.

For me he will be remembered for his music that touches my soul.

Esbjörn Svensson  April 16, 1964 – June 14, 2008

Caro et Mathilde – French Connection

This is the second set of portraits I took on a recent surftrip to France. On the campsite I was staying at were two girls, 16 and 17 years old. They were riding around on a bmx and I thought to myself that this might look pretty nice on proper photographs, so I ask them if I could do a couple of shots with them. For me they representet two things: close teenage friends and adorable French girls! Approaching them turned out to be a wise decision since the photos came out really well. But even if the photographs would have been bad it wouldn’t have been a waste of time The fun we had during the shooting made the effort all worthwhile. Although my french is, let’s put it frankly, not the best, we understood each other pretty well and everybody was having a good time.

The girls are probably as close as teenage friends can get, which for me was very interesting to experience since I’m a little older than they are and although the age gap is only a couple of years there’s a huge difference between the time they’re growing up and the time I was. I wouldn’t call it a generational gap though, but there’s definitely a noticeable difference.

Being back home looking at the photographs brings up the song “Kim and Jessie” from French artist M83 in my head. Give the song a listen and maybe you’ll see what I mean.

What more can I say… Caro, Mathilde: you rock!

A life-long Surfer

On a recent surftrip to the westcoast of France I caught up with a friend and fellow surfer from Germany. His name is Tristan and he’s a very talented young longboarder.

I appreciate people who got their own style no matter what they’re doing. Once Tristan is in the water you can easily identify him as the lad with this elegant looking style, walking back and forth on his board, getting wave after wave after wave and making surfing look way too easy for what it really is. But more than his unique style I appreciate that he’s one of the most honest and amazing blokes I’ve ever met.

Last year I checked out some locations and came up with some ideas for a photo shooting with Tristan. But high quality waves wouldn’t allow us not spending every awake second of the day in the water. This year it was quite different. The waves were lousy, but two exceptional days in particular made going there all worth while. But it also meant that we had time to take some pictures. In this entry I will only feature a few photos of the shooting though. Stay tuned for some more to come.

Till than enjoy life & hang loose!

A Note About Sexual Ethics

Surfing is a big passion of mine and since I lived in Australia for a while I regularly check for the swellforecasts on the spots I used to surf down under. I do this on an Australian site called Swellnet.com.au. The site features surf forecasts, pictures, news from the surfingworld, and so on. One column is particularly interesting since it gives you, more or less, in depth reports about, let’s call it, “surfpolitics” and social aspects of surfing. The reason for telling you all this is a stunning article that they posted last may: A Note About Sexual Ethics.

Living in Australia for almost a year I was able to catch a good glimpse or two on Australian society and being a surfer definitely proved to be a gateopener for some usually hidden doors.

Mateship is a big issue amongst Australian men and you can feel this energy almost everywhere you go, especially when you’re out partying. I was lucky to never experience a scenery described in the article, but I definitely saw some ugly things during my time in Oz. Drinking, fighting and nasty/disrespectful attitudes towards women. Australians would say, that there’s nothing wrong with that; it’s what being a man is like. The testosterone level in some bars and clubs was as high as it could possibly get and sometimes I felt like in the middle of a meat market.

Now, these words may sound like I’m full of contempt for Australia. In fact, I am not. Don’t get me wrong, these things happen in Europe as well. But the level of intensity is a different one.

One of the most inspiring things about Australia is, that as soon as they realize that there’s a problem with something, the government starts a campaign and you’ll see commercials and posters popping up all around the country. They’re making an issue about things like sexual ethics or drink driving. If a simple commercial can be the solution to a problem that has been established for ages is another question. But you can sense a certain will to change things.

Although some of the advices in the article might sound stupid and come across  like a manual on “How to tread a woman” you (unfortunately) can’t take “respect” as granted. When I was very little I remember my mother telling me to treat woman with respect and although I couldn’t imagine by that time why somebody wouldn’t, I always tried to follow her advice.

Give the article a quick read. I’m sure you gonna be left as stunned as I was when I first read it.

Here’s the link for the article again in writing:

http://www.swellnet.com.au/surfpolitik.php?surfpolitik=A_Note_About_Sexual_Ethics_180509.php

The Last Party

It was on a rainy friday night in the middle of june that Paul SG and Recline were, amongst others, spinning the decks at the Zoo in Viennas 15^th destrict. As usual they were delivering a solid set of good Drum ‘n’ Bass. Telling from the people’s faces both, dj’s and audience, were having a good time.

Although, for a certain reason, I call this entry “The Last Party” I’m confident it won’t be the last party I’ll ever attend and I’m sure that it’s not gonna be the last time you’ll see some pics of Paul SG and Recline on this blog.

The Drones live at the Chelsea, Vienna

I remember my first contact with the jaw-dropping music of Melbourne quartet The Drones four years ago. A friend who had recently been to Australia came back with the track “Shark Fin Blues” from their second longplayer “Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies will float by” and in an instant I fell in love with the raw power of their music. A year later I should experience first hand that their music is the perfect guide for urban and rural Australia. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to see them in concert in their homeland. But as their popularity steadily grew they played a few shows in Europe and, lucky me, paid Vienna a visit too.

In june they came to Vienna again and played a show at the Chelsea to promote their new album “Havilah”. Of course nothing could have stopped me from going and so I was there front-row middle and this time I had my camera with me.

Concert photography has always been a difficult and most of the time boooooring subject because you just can’t reinvent the wheel every time you take pictures of a musical live performance (same goes with DJing pics). Nevertheless you try (besides of simply giving an impression of the evening for all those who stayed home that day) to capture the moment that perfectly expresses the emotions created by the music. But more often than not photographers fail to do so. Surfers are always on the search for the perfect wave and speaking in terms of concert photography I just can keep on looking for those “perfect” moments. Until I find ‘em you gotta be content with the existing… *g*

The Music Matters – LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad in Session

Last night the godfather of drum and bass LTJ Bukem and MC Conrad played a show at the Sass Club in Vienna. I recalled some memories about the last time I saw them about 10 years ago in Germany and how much I enjoyed listening and dancing to their tunes.

My friend Paul, a drum and bass DJ and producer was being approached by Bukem a few months ago to produce an album which is due to be released in fall this year via a newly found record label of Bukem. His album is gonna be the first official release on the new label – something for the ages. Paul spent the last two weeks in the UK and last friday he and Bukem played a show at the famous Fabric in London.

I always thought about DJs’ as too cool for school and arrogant human beings. Paul definitely proved me wrong. He’s a really nice and down to earth guy and it was just amazing to see how much he or Bukem and Conrad love the music they are playing and producing. Bukem played a couple of songs of Paul’s new album and you should have seen the look on Paul’s face when he did. There was no pride but just sincere and pure love for music.

After their show at the Fabric in London Bukem and Conrad travelled to Russia for one show and late Sunday afternoon they arrived in Vienna. Quite a distance to cover within 48 hours. Paul told me that they’re pretty knackered and still – according to Paul -  they managed to perform one of their best sets in recent times. The guys’ level of excitement for music just blew me away. One lady tried to kiss up to them but they’re both totally not into the kissing ass thing. It was good to see that it’s still the music that really matters…

A big thank you goes out to Paul SG who made these pictures happen in the first place, LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad and the Sass Club! Don’t forget to visit Paul’s website for some real good drum and bass tunes and for information about upcoming gigs and the new album.