Old dogs and new cats

>> Germany's Rainer Trueby on the death (and rebirth) of acid jazz

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

It's flattering to be called anyone's favourite DJ, but when the legendary Gilles Peterson of England's Radio 1 (arguably patient zero for the world/jazz/funk/dance crossover bug) gives you the number-1 nod, well, shit. That means something.

What it means, in fact, is that the imminent visit of German DJ/producer Rainer Trueby is an important occasion for Montreal's club scene. What's more is, he's followed the night after by the duo of Roland Appel and Christian Prommer, known together as Fauna Flash (and when joined by Rainer as the Trueby Trio). The Flashmeisters, please note, are considered to have kicked off the German drum & bass scene, establishing a classy, open-ended counterpoint to the rather tough and concussive London style. In fact, their latest release Fusion keeps only tangential ties to D&B, casting glances at myriad other styles as well--styles Trueby himself plies with spectacular grace and skill.

It's all par for the course for these guys, for Compost (the excellent, Munich-based label they all call home) and for what Trueby sees as a worldwide movement of heads reviving the best aspects of what was called, once upon a time, acid jazz.

Mirror: Since your name and Compost are so closely associated, tell me about how you got in with them, and what Compost means to you.

RT: I used to be in a project called A Forest Mighty Black, which started in '94. I went to Munich to DJ at Michael Reinboth's club, which was called Into Something, and I had a demo tape of A Forest's stuff with me. He really liked it, and he wanted to do a label around the same time anyway, so it became the first release on Compost. We've been kind of growing together ever since. I did a couple more 12"s with A Forest Mighty Black before we split in '97. At that time, the Fauna Flash guys came up to me and said, Why don't we do another project that will carry your name, called the Trueby Trio? I couldn't say no, so since then I've been concentrating on that. I've done some compilations for Compost as well, the Gluecklich series, and I sometimes help out with the Future Sounds of Jazz series. Compost is kind of a family affair--we all help each other out.

Warning: swear words ahead!

M: What was Reinboth's approach, with his club?

RT: It was all about this thing called acid jazz. At the time, he was concentrating on old rare-groove stuff, jazz, soul and funk, combined with new stuff in the jazzier side of hip hop, early Mo Wax and Talkin' Loud stuff. That was his idea at the time, to form a label and put out music with a very open-minded approach. Then, of course, acid jazz became a swear word (laughs), around '96. It became a bit difficult, but now, in the media, we're reborn as the new hype, called nu-jazz. We all became trendy again. But nobody even wants to use the words "acid jazz." I mean, it's not the greatest term, but I can live with it. It's not just jazz, though, what we do. It's a bit jazz-inspired, but we owe as much Brazilian, Latin, hip hop and house music as we do to jazz.

M: Which leads to my next question. Your music has a firmer basis in jazz than many dance artists, who are better described as "jazzy"--

RT: "Jazzy," for that FM touch. Smooth jazz! Like, a little Kenny G saxophone--

M: Oh, Christ, cut it out. No, I'm curious--there's no questioning your reputation in dance-music circles, but I'm curious if, in any way, the traditional jazz heads are reacting to what you guys are doing.

RT: Yeah, we had a problem with our compilations being called Future Sounds of Jazz. Lots of less open-minded, older-generation people couldn't get the jazz behind it. What it is, is that jazz is one of the mothers of the sound (laughs). But some of the older generation can handle it, and really dig what we do. We've done collaborations with older jazz people. Les Gammas, for instance, have worked with a vibraphone player from the '60s called Karl Berger. Some of these guys find it interesting to experiment with the, uh, new cats (laughs).

All over the map

M: Now, taking things in a geographical direction, I've noticed that from the Jazzanova guys in Berlin, down through Compost in Munich to Vienna, where you have Kruder & Dorfmeister and maybe dZihan & Kamien, there seems to be a nu-jazz corridor running north to south. It's like a river of gold for music fans. Do you have any idea how this came to be or--

RT: I would even see the river being much wider. There's stuff happening in Canada, like Nick Holder in Toronto, which I really appreciate. In Japan, there's Kyoto Jazz Massive and United Future Organization. The whole thing's a worldwide affair. We get to know each other, influence and push each other, in a way. I find it a very healthy scene at the moment.

Rainer Trueby spins at Jello on Thursday, March 22, 9pm, $15, and Fauna Flash play Quartier Latin on Friday, March 23, 10pm, $10