Coming Home by BOOZOO BAJOU
Home Sweet Home. Following Tim "Love" Lee, Nouvelle Vague and Nightmares On Wax, another big name in contemporary feel-good electronica recently shared with us a sofa, headphones and a good stash of vinyl.
Florian Seyberth and Peter Heider aka BOOZOO BAJOU need an introduction only in the rarest of cases. With three instant classic studio albums under their belt – "Satta" (2001), "Dust My Broom" (2005) and "Grains" (2009) – the two Nurembergers have long since successfully established their unmistakable signature sound. and they ranked from the get-go among the absolute darlings of international trendsetters and crème de la crème DJs. Anyone who's familiar also with (and hence appreciates) the BOOZOOS' so lovingly compiled Juke Joint compilations can be in no doubt that their "Coming Home" sequel album similarly gets to the heart of the matter.
But please note: although BOOZOO BAJOU's engine tended until now to tick over at low revs, the octane rating this time is considerably higher than on previous albums. Put that down, not least, to numerous DJ gigs all over the planet plus a close friendship with DJ luminaries such as Francois K. (formerly of Studio 54, NYC), which left behind distinct audible traces – and led just recently to an extensive DJ tour of the USA and Asia. Logically enough, such experiences broadened their musical horizons. Yet only a fool could imagine BOOZOO BAJOU subsequently abandoned the state of mind that has consistently defined their work. Coming home this time around simply incorporates a new dimension of sound into the far-reaching BOOZOO spectrum: deep outernational eclecticism is in the House. Genre concepts such as House, Techno or Neo Disco have never been strangers for BOOZOO BAJOU, but now their influence can be felt more strongly.
"All that interests us at the end of the day is really good tunes. When we played with Francois as part of his Deep Space club night in New York, what always impressed us most was this tremendously diverse range of styles that one can go to town on there," comments Florian Seyberth. "And for us, in a sense, that's nothing new. It's normal that the musical focus shifts over time, and moves towards a more club-oriented sound. And therefore, it was time to document those shifts".
Framed by real BOOZOO BAJOU classics like "Fürsattel" (here in a wonderfully drifting Idjut Boys remix), the dancehall smash-hit "Killer" (with legendary Top Cat on the mike) and "Divers" (in a hot off the press Jay Haze rework), we thus find in the mix twelve exceptional first-class tunes from the duo's record collection. And as the sum, here too, is once again greater than its individual parts might initially suggest, the sound melts beautifully in a graceful and nothing less than euphoric homage to the grandiosity of good music and a neat swing of the hips. in which the divergence of genres, continents and bpm runs wild to the extent that it can – if at all necessary – be totally and justifiably read as purely incidental.
With rare, sometimes exclusive and thoroughly club-influenced refinements from the hands of maestros such as Henrik Schwarz, Soulphiction, the Motor City Drum Ensemble or Move D, this nonchalent duo from the south of the republic goes in the truest sense of the word for some deep insight – and adds a further highlight to its own discography, as if by sleight of hand.
Florian puts it in a nutshell: "It's actually simply a matter of bringing the right sound at the right moment. The music of Sarah Vaughn is perfect one moment then has to be followed the very next by a track from Move D!"
When, let's say, in a decade or so, the most sublime selections from all the sound archives and record collections in the universe are up for an award, it could well be that these here are also in the running. Because knowing hands and two wise pairs of ears dispatched them on the fast track of musical history. in a motor primed by good taste, and with deliberate disregard for any seasonal fashion trends or flash in the pan Pop hype that might be cluttering up the rear view mirror. Typical BOOZOO BAJOU, in a word.
That's just how good "Coming Home" can sound. One simply needs to know how to get there and, of course, just where "home" lies. And there's one thing we can be absolutely sure of: the boys from BOOZOO BAJOU know that "home is where the heart is". in their case, bang between the coffee table and a twirling glitter ball!
