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Minus 8.
Aus: Zurich / CH
Move's on: Compost Records.
Biographie: Zurich's leading downbeat and nu jazz DJ/Producer releases his third album on Munich`s highly respected Compost label: "Elysian Fields". Almost two years after his second album "Beyond Beyond" which came out in Summer 98 on Higher Ground/Sony. The mellow tunes from that album ("A Midsummernight's Dream" , "Zero G", "In Cold Blood") continue their way into the sound of "Elysian Fields" which has left the strong drum`n`bass influence of most of the tracks of "Beyond Beyond".
Whereas in the drum`n`bass field still the guys from Londoner and Bristol are the masters, GAS (Germany Austria Switzerland) has found it`s own specific downbeat / post-trip hop / post-acid jazz sound with labels like Compost/JCR, Sonar Kollektiv, Stereo De Luxe and Mole in Germany, G-Stone in Austria and Straight Ahead in Switzerland. A Central-European family which counts London DJs like Gilles Peterson among their supporters.
"Elysian Fields" is a great downbeat album with decent breakbeats, live instruments by jazz musicians like Chris Wiesendanger and etheric vocals by singers like Billie and Tanja Birri. The compiler of the compilation CDs "Science Fiction Jazz 1-5" and "Batucada" (both on Jaboo/Mole) still continues to work in Switzerland as a DJ in all genres: drum`n`bass, downbeat, chill out and also 70s disco – as resident at places like "Rohstofflager" ("Lost In Drum`n`Space" once every month), "Kanzlei" ("Science Fiction Jazz Night" on Mondays, "Heaven" every last Friday in the month since 93) and "Abart" ("Defrosted" every Thursday) in Zurich.
Since his first 12" "The Sweetest Sounds"in 96 he has remixed various artists like DJ Cam, BNX, Züri West, Zabriskie Point a. o. and he has appeared on compilations like "The Spirit of Vampiros Lesbos" (Crippled Dick Hot Wax, 97), "DJ Kicks" (DJ Cam, K7!, 97). His remix of "Dieu reconnaitre les siens (Minus 8 remix 1)" appeared on DJ Cam`s "Underground Vibes" (Columbia, 1997).
It was DJ Cam who released "The Sweetest Sounds" on his Inflamable label. He had received from Minus 8 a demo-tape of this track while spinning at Zurich's "Palais Xtra". Some days later Minus 8 received an unexpected fax from Paris, announcing that Cam would like to release the tune on his new label Inflamable. "The Sweetest Sounds" became the first release on Inflamable.
Beginning of 97 the critically acclaimed debut CD "Beyond" followed on Inflamable. DJ Cam gave a copy of the CD to a representant of Sony's Higher Ground label, best-known for acts like Leftfield, Grooverider, Pressure Drop and DJ Rap. The staff at Higher Ground liked the CD. The result: the release of the album "Beyond Beyond" in Summer 98 with many new tracks and some tracks from the first album.
Daniel Cherbuin (video director of Lovebugs) directed a great video clip to dramatic tune "The Tempest" which was shown at MTV and Viva 2 and is still shown at Switzerlands`s Swizz channel. John B and Hidden Agenda remixed the track.
Most of 99 he worked on the follow up album. Sony restructured the artist roster of Higher Ground and didn`t take the option for the second Minus 8 album. Several companies though were interested to pick up the album. Minus 8 decided for Michael Reinboth`s Compost label which he had been following as a DJ for the past years.
Minus 8 who has a degree in architecture has been a music aficionado since the early-80s. Since then he has gone through all musical styles, even heavy metal. The brother of a big Swiss rave promoter - his sister is a professional singer of Klezmer music in Italy – started in the late 80s to make music on his own, as bass player in a local funk and rock group. They gave some concerts at alternative centers.
In the early 90s he bought his first midi equipment and started to experiment with keyboards. In 95 he started to work with the Akai sampler which opened a new dimension for him. The very first track that he produced with a sampler was actually "The Sweetest Sounds".
As a DJ he started to play acid jazz and funk in 1993, soon turning into trip hop and jungle. Minus 8 has played as a DJ with nearly every important D&B-DJ, such as Goldie, Grooverider, Hype, Krust, Storm, Bad Company, Adam F etc.
He deejayed at open air festivals like Roskilde 99 (65'000 people, Danmark), Paleo Festival 98 (Nyon) and Out In The Green 97, festival s like Nuits Européennes (Strassbourg,F) and Val Sinestra 98-00 (GR), raves like Futurescope, Cubik 95-99, Energy 96-99, Evolution 3-7, Goliath vs. Evolution, Metropolis etc.
In Zurich clubs like Rohstofflager, Abart, Kanzlei, Kaufleuten, Gothic, Matrix, Palais X-tra, Oxa, UG, Rote Fabrik etc., national clubs like Bikini-Test (La Chaux-de-Fonds), Metropolis (Montreux), Metro (Olten), Sedel (Luzern), Reithalle, Bierhübeli (Bern), Basel, Kammgarn (SH), Remise Wil (SG) , Kulturwerk 118 (LU), Schüür (LU), etc. and international clubs like Monkey Club (Paris, F), Gloria (PopKomm 2000, Köln, D), Solaris (Amsterdam, NL), Supperclub (A'dam, NL), L'Anfer (Dijon,F), La Marquise (Lyon, F), Route Du Rhum (Nantes, F), Blue Note (London, UK), Metro Club Friedrichshafen (D) etc.
2002 - minus 8.
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