While we’re talking about the fall of the Berlin Wall, Berlin, new freedoms, and all the impacts that moment had on Germany and the world, can we talk about Jazzanova.
The six-piece DJ/producer collective out of Berlin were responsible for exposing a lot of Western audiences to downtempo, acid lounge, and jazzed up drum and bass back in the mid ’90s, far before it was popular on a global scale.
After forming in 1995, Jazzanova’s original productions and remixes quickly became cherished by fans of chilled-out house—and some of their earlier tunes practically defined the subgenres of lounge and nu jazz.
What’s always made Jazzanova stand out is that they’ve got an ear for blending European styles of electronica—such as broken beat and drum and bass—with American jazz, hip-hop, and the more mellow side of Chicago house.
It will be interesting to see how that translates live: Alex Barck, one of the group’s core members, is touring under the Jazzanova moniker and DJing at Chop Suey tonight.
Although the collective is often praised most for the remix work for artists like 4hero, Ursula Rucker, and Masters At Work, most of which are best enjoyed at swank cafes and bars, the Jazzanova crew can pick up the pace, like Portishead and St. Germain, regularly rocking sold out clubs around the world.
Joining Barck are local experimental music gurus DJ Riz, SunTzu Sound, DJ Struggle and D’Jeronimo. Doors are at 9 p.m., and tickets are $12.
