hasing Ame
www.list.co.uk/clubs
‘WE MAKE HOUSE MUSIC WITH A TECHNO INFLUENCE'
x ‘2‘" z ' . .. . I flax-1k» ‘
David Pollock chats to German duo Ame about pronunciations, house music and
the beauty of 12in vinyl
half of Karlsruhe electronicists Ame. ‘All the time people pronounce it “ami” or "Amy". but ' it‘s “am” — the French word for soul.’ In which case .
‘ It’s pronounced “am“.‘ says Kristian Beyer. one
the duo are well-named. because Ame produce a
é beautiful kind of soulful. continental house. which
completed by
blends the Chicago style with dashes of ambient and progressive sounds. ‘We make house music with a bit of a techno
influence.’ says Beyer. ‘l‘m not a friend of sub-genres ‘ beyond that at all. there‘s good house music and there’s bad house music.‘
Beyer should know. because he‘s even the expert in
such matters within his own group. which is 7
fellow Karlsruhe
f Wiedemann. ‘I never made music on my own.‘ says Beyer. ‘l was a civil engineering student and I would ' , work in record shops outside my studies. That‘s ;
where I met Frank. who is a classically-trained
boy Frank 1
musician. His father is also a musician. his mother
runs a jazz club in our town and he always had a
studio since he was young. So he asked me to make ' ' music with him. because Frank’s background is in 2 jazz and he thought I had a good car and a good taste in Chicago house and Detroit techno.’
This was seven years ago and they have released
one artist album so far. 2004‘s Ame on Sonar
Innervisions label alongside Berlin-based kindred spirit Dixon. an old friend of Beyer’s since he signed
L Ame to Sonar Kollektiv in his past life as an A&R
man. Their 12in output has been consistent and high- ,
: quality. The label has been going for three years. and
Beyer describes the working relationship as ‘super- happy . ‘
‘When we started the label. Beyer says. ‘ the focus was to be entirely on 12in releases. but we brought
out our first CD this year called Mating the Noise. .
which was a selection of ambient tracks by friends of ; ours and people who inspire us. From now on. I think '
anything we do that isn‘t aimed at the dancefloor will be on CD. and everything that is will still be on l2in.’
For those of a particular vintage. Beyer and ,
lnnervisions’ commitment to vinyl-based releases for i the DJ market is heartening to hear. ‘Everyone is }
complaining that sales of records are going down.’ he says. ‘but we still sell good amounts of records and people keep buying them. Of course we now take in a lot of money from online platforms like Beatport. but there are many collectors out there. and I would say there’s still a base for reasonable record sales.‘
It seems a shame to labour some kind of point about German efficiency. but Ame have built on success after success and are now spreading their sound around Europe and the world. Beyer and Wiedemann even DJ separately. because they can cover more ground and would both rather have a full set to themselves than show up somewhere for an hour each on the decks. Only Beyer will be appearing here.
} although he’ll be dropping many of the duo‘s co- Kollektiv. The duo have also convened their own
productions.
‘We are good friends. though.’ says Beyer. ‘We still ,
talk a lot. we learn a lot from each other. I think we both ended up working on the right thing together.”
Subculture at the Sub Club, Glasgow, Sat 9 Aug.
LIST >l<
THE BEST DANCEFLOO’R ACllON
* Seller’s Soclal Club More leftfield techno excitement from the Sellers, this time with Mofomatronix (TurboCrunk), Eclair FiFi (LuckyMe) and Glasgow’s own Rustie. The Ivy, Glasgow, Fri 8 Aug.
>l< Club Elements Mainstream house sets from Smokin' Jo (pictured), Jay Barker and M8’s Fox MacLeod should entice everyone who’s missing lbiza. Byblos, Glasgow, Fri 8 Aug.
>i< Diversion Guest DJ Micky Slim helps the Grand’s house and techno night celebrate its first birthday. Classic Grand, Glasgow, Fri 8 Aug.
* Pretty Ugly Run by girls and playing music by girls, the Admiral's ladyfest returns for a Hydro Connect special. An excuse to make sure your Iiver’s still working before heading to lnveraray at the end of the month. The Admiral, Glasgow, Sat 9 Aug.
>i¢ Salsa In the Bull We suspect the name is the least cheeky thing about this brand new night. Salsa dancing is the theme here, with mojitos on sale at a dedicated bar to try and lubricate some dancing feet towards the floor. The Buff Club, Glasgow, Sat 9 Aug.
>l¢ Subculture An August of superb guests at the Subbie’s Saturday flagship continues with Kristian Beyer, one half of crack German house duo Ame (Innervisions). The Sub Club, Glasgow, Sat 9 Aug.
>i< Utter Gutter Glasgow’s dirtiest, most glamorous queer club returns for August's instalment, a belated ‘Midsummer Night’s Scream’. School of Art, Glasgow, Sat 9 Aug.
>14 Wrong Island Small means under the radar rather than off it, and Wrong Island doesn’t scale down the old school electro-disco foolishness just because the venue is petite. Nice 'n ’Sleazy, Glasgow, Sat 9 Aug.
7—14 Aug 2008 ms LIST 17