“Wronger Than Everyone Else” is the title of IN FLAGRANTI’s first full ?length Album. After a productive 2005-06 season with six 12″ vinyl ep’s, In Flagranti releases the tracks from the vinyl, with additional unreleased tracks, on CD. “Wronger Than Everyone Else” is difficult to pin down as the name would suggest, though critics have compared IN FLAGRANTI with acts such as, !!! (chck chck chck), Daft Punk, The Rapture… and as a club promoter describes “New York’s funkiest exponent of the ever growing disco-punk revival”. But their sound is? distinctively unique.

In Flagranti is the duo of Sasha Crnobrnja and Alex Gloor. They both have been in and around various scenes on opposite sites of the globe between New York and Europe. What they share is the simultaneous discovery of the italian cosmic scene from the late 70’s early 80’s. Both were hooked after hearing some of the mixed tapes in the early 80’s, which had this hypnotic blend of electro-disco-afro-rock-funk-dub. In the search of like minded people and the music they loved, Sasha and Alex meet in Basel/Switzerland. It didn’t take long for Sasha to join Alex who moved to new york in the early 80’s, and also make the move to the big apple, in 1993. the musical bond had become so strong that they decide to start their own record label “Codek Records”, which will mark the 10th anniversary in 2006.

Since the beginning of Codek Records, Alex and Sasha aim to explore the cosmic background in every possible way by creating and putting together different elements of art/graphic design and styles of music in to a seamless flow, which ultimately leeds them to create “In Flagranti”, an act that would reflect all that, and continue to explore the endless possibilities of a ‘cut and paste’ esthetic. Their DIY attitude, which came in many forms like “Organic Grooves” Sasha’s long running weekly party and “SMYLONYLON” tapes, Alex’s by now legendary mix tapes, gained them a lot of street credibility in New York and abroad. In addition the CODEK sleeve design is a big part of the whole esthetics, especially some of the early hand silk screened sleeves, which the Wire magazine calls “the best in the business”. In Flagranti pushes the envelope further by adding video clips that accompanies each song which are displayed on their website www.codek.com and shows the visual influence. Woman-Glamour-Trash-Chic is the identity which brings out the new punk attitude.

From the electronic Disco sound of Gorgio Moroder, Patric Cowley to?punkfunk of Liquid Liquid, A Certain Ratio and more contemporary sounds of todays dance music, “Wronger Than Everyone Else” is a erotic funny collage of all the above. Whilst restricted distribution in the past and limited pressings has meant that previous releases have slipped somewhat under the radar, a buzz has been steadily building as many known djs (ivan smagghe, trevor jackson, cloe, steve kotey…) are playing the records and the name appears on many playlists and compilations world wide. Described by xlr8r magazine as “rare grooves from another planet”, the critics have been favorable. Time Out NY voted ‘In Flagranti’ as one of the best in 2005.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/inflagranti

To him, it doesn’t seem like such a long time to wait for his first full-length. “I haven’t really thought about doing a proper solo album before, as just finding the time for my solo 12”s in-between has been hard enough,” he confesses. “And I can probably count 50 remixes for each new 12” I do!” In fact, rather than think about how long it took him to get to his debut, he instead perceives just the opposite. ”The album came together quite quickly,” he informs. “The week after HP and I finished mixing down “II”, I had a couple of ideas floating around and –having just had a good run in the studio– I was feeling really inspired.”

Prins Thomas album launch party weekend:
12th March Full Pupp presents Ekstravaganza! @ Corsica Studios, London, UK
13th March Prins Thomas album launch party @ Bla, Oslo, Norway

All things worth reserving a space for under a disco ball we think.

Visit his artist page here on Sumi.

Visit his artist page here on Sumi.

Visit his artist page here on Sumi.

It has to be the very laid-back nature of his residence Oslo that makes him overmodest. Except for his peers Hans-Peter Lindstrom (Feedelity Records) and Todd Terje who he works and records with and some of the city’s legendary characters like the idiosyncratic Rune Lindbæk or the mysterious DJ Strangefruit, that place is nowhere as busy, hectic and all-important as some of Europe’s club capitals like to portray themselves. When it comes to the musical output, Prins and his royal household leads di way though, as dub poets might say.
Together with Hans-Peter Lindstrom, Thomas created the climax of the on-going fascination with retro futurism and their self-titled debut album for the Belgian Eskimo Label.
His own label Full Pupp has some of the best house-not-house, neo-disco or call-it-what-you-want dance music records to offer that you heard in a long time. All done by exclusive Norwegian talent, a new outfit called Internasjonal will join the global dots with producers from all corners of the known-world, where he currently turns up every weekend with a crate of vinyl, his record grips and an immaculate way to play with it . In other words, there is no stopping him now.

But it was not always like that. The Prins had to go through the school of hard knocks like so many before him. Back, way back in time, he started playing around as a DJ at a puerile age. Viewed as an extension of his break-dancing efforts, belt-driven turntables where enough to support his mix of hip hop, electro and an array of Arthur Baker’s and Shep Pettibone’s jewels. But as soon as he picked up the bass and played in more bands than Norway has trees, the joy of the turntable took a back seat. Until the early nineties arrived that is. Prins still didn’t have his reliable gang of co-conspirators, but he picked up a weekly residence, where he championed sounds as far fetched as Miles Davis or The Doors together with the craze that was started by Phuture’s “Acid Tracks”. Dance music was happening again and DJs like the aforementioned Strangefruit did their thing to inspire our hero who is currently more excited about new music than ever before. “I like to mix up the styles. The old with the new, the minimal cuts with the Balearic beauties and my own classics on top of it in order not to get bored”, says the master himself and if he would not be too shy for it, we would call him an edutainer (courtesy of KRS-One).

As you can see Prins Thomas has all the right ingredients one could look for in a DJ: great skills, humbleness, productions and remixes other people would kill for and most of all, the ability to play records in a way that makes them not only sound good and expedient, but also makes punters dance. And have we mentioned his beard, yet? There you go: the best DJ in the world!

Q&A with Prins Thomas

You never made it this far as a DJ or producer. Your alternative in life?
Maybe a cook? Or even a professional baby maker.

What is your favourite word in the Norwegian language?
“Lusekofte”, which is a very warm traditional sweater. “Svolk” is also a cool word, meaning to give somebody a good beating.

The worst meal you ever cooked?
In fact, I am quite good in the kitchen, but I get picky over stuff like overcooked ingredients or not preparing the food with real love.
I think the worst meal I’ve ever had was when I was broke and had moved to my own place. I only had two carrots, some pepper and salt which I tried making soup of….

Is there a DJ whose record collection you envy?
Not really, it’s hard enough to keep track of my own and I still find new gems there.

You are being reincarnated. Which DJ would you want to be?
Any dj who’d be happy to only play for 2 hours, then I would get more time to sleep and less stuff to carry with me each time I play.

Can you recommend a way to smuggle overweight luggage onto a plane - without paying for it?
Except for trying to make your hand luggage look light there’s always the possibility of flirting with the check-in staff. The best tip is actually to collect the miles so you can get more kilos in your checked in baggage, and of course not bring your whole record collection with you every time you play.

What is the best club you never been to?
Precious Hall in Sapporo and I also heard Robert Johnson is supposed to be very good.

The three basslines you wish you wrote yourself?
Any Bohannon, Sly and Robbie or James Brown (Bootsy) thing - simple, but effective.

A song you want to wake up or go to bed with?
Sigur Ros “Takk” is the only album that works for me when going to bed.
Dionne Warwick singing the songs of Burt Bacharach is perfect for waking up to on a Sunday morning.

The ugliest airport you have ever been to?
Rome. They tend to always break or loose my luggage.

Three tips to survive a hangover?
Before going to bed:
1.Postafen (Norwegian travel sickness tablets)
2.Water
3.Not crashing in bed drunk

When waking up:
1.Headache tablets
2.A dark beer and a Virgin Mary (bloody without the booze)
3.Eggs and bacon

The remix you are the most proud of?
The remix of Lindstrom’s “Music” is one of the first I did and also pretty complex.
I can still listen to it and hear things I had no idea how I managed to squeeze out of the machine. The Juan MacLean, “Answering Machine” and Roxy Music (unreleased) were quite enjoyable, too, as they somehow very naturally ended up sounding very different to the originals.

The remix you wish, you never did?
I don’t regret a thing, ha, ha…but there’s a few I think people didn’t catch as it might have been not what they expected. In general, I guess I’ve done too many remixes to really say I “love” them all but then I remind myself of how many Tom Moulton did…

Your philosophy in life?
Enjoy it for the short time it lasts!

Justin initially pricked the ears of the electronic music community in 2003 with his first record ‘The Sad Piano’ on Ben Watt’s Buzzin’ Fly label. Everyone in the electronic music food chain got involved, from the A list DJs like Derrick Carter and Pete Tong that were playing the track, to the international music press that were raving about it. It even translated to the German underground, with Poker Flat licensing it for Steve Bug’s ‘Bugnology’ compilation. Like someone that goes bowling for the first time and gets five strikes and a turkey, Justin couldn’t really have hoped for a better entrance.

Feeding off the energy of the San Francisco underground and mentored by fellow super producer Claude Vonstroke, Justin was intrinsically involved with the development of dirtybird records, appearing on its first four releases. Justin was soon ready to take flight, releasing a string of solo EPs that flaunted a very unique sound and garnered still more respect among fellow DJS and heavyweight’s of the scene.

As well as his formidable arsenal of original productions, Justin is now equally known for his collaborations with his brother Christian as The Martin Brothers, producing such hip-hop influenced hits as ‘Stoopit’ and ‘Dum’. Justin has also made his mark remixing such bona fide classics as Radiohead’s ‘Nude’, Marshall Jefferson’s ‘Mushrooms’, and TG’s ‘Revox’, firmly establishing himself as the man to make big tracks even bigger.

Demand for Justin’s skills behind the decks has skyrocketed with his bookings schedule basically crammed to capacity for the next 4 months. With bookings confirmed everywhere from Exit Festival (Belgrade), to Sonar (Barcelona) to Panorama Bar (Berlin), Justin’s diary is reading like the dreams of a professional raver. Stateside he continues to be a regular fixture at the dirtybird events in San Francisco and beyond.

Further nods to his skills as a DJ and tastemaker are apparent in his growing discography of mix compilations, most notably his own ‘Chaos Restored’ mix series on the prestigious Buzzin’ Fly label.

Music journalists typically describe Justin’s sound as ‘melodic and tough’ with his music encapsulating both melody and emotional depth, yet always with enough undeniable ass shaking properties to translate to the floor.

“I’m always trying to find music for my DJ sets that rattles sound systems, but still has enough melody and interesting texture to expand your mind even if you’re sitting at home on a snowy or rainy day.”

In 2009, production wise Justin has a few EPs scheduled to drop on dirtybird, a remix for Freerange, and a DJ mix for Ministry of Sound Australia’s ‘Underground series’ compilation. He remains as enthusiastic as ever to be involved in the scene. When recently questioned by Resident Advisor on what he’d be doing if he wasn’t a DJ or dance music producer he just replied: “Wishing I was a DJ or music producer.”

By all accounts it’s hard to tell him to wipe that smile off his face.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/justinmartinsmusica

Visit his artist page here on Sumi.

Visit their artist page here on Sumi.

Château Flight

Claude VonStroke

Justin Martin

Prins Thomas

Samim

Dirtybird

Dubsided

Mothership

EMPP Graphics

Malone Design

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