by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Carefully balancing the couture approach to disco-tronix of their homebase Berlin with a goofy sense of humour suggesting they’re perhaps too close to their inner children, the Märtini Brös (DJ Clé and Mike Vamp) are out to make club music silly, sweaty and fun again—in a classy fashion, mind you. Poker Flat boys back home, their North American nest is our own Turbo Recordings, who are launching the new MB CD pläy. (always with the umlauts, these ones) this weekend. The Mirror shook and stirred DJ Clé for a cocktail of quotes.

Mirror: You and Mike Vamp began working together on an electronic version of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, at the E-Werk club in Berlin. Sounds cool—did you approach the project in a lighthearted or serious manner?

DJ Clé: Well, as we had—and still have—big respect for Mr. Mozart, we actually treated this job seriously. At the beginning. Sadly enough, the conductor/musical director, after he heard the first results of our work, seemed to be afraid that our interpretations would take attention away from him. So he decided to work a bit against us, with the result being that we worked more lightheartedly towards the end. Still, I’m pretty sure that Wolfgang A. would have liked our job on his stuff. We were disappointed when, at the premiere, only a third of what we did made it into the opera. It made it a bit easier for us that even the snooty critics seemed to expect more of that electronic stuff. Fair enough, we found out that conductor got beaten up by a junkie in Berlin two months ago.

M: When you started Märtini Brös, how did you want it to be different from other club music?

DJC: We just didn’t want to produce tracks only for the dancefloor. We both liked the idea of putting that certain underground, electronic dance music into a more pop kind of context. Also very important for us was the fact that we missed a little bit of humour in what was going on musically back then. Also, we wanted to integrate the music that inspired us during the last 30 years into our productions. That’s why there are all the guitars and other analog instruments featured in our stuff. We were really flattered when we realized it would work, believe me.

M: How did you see the live aspect being realized?

DJC: Our shows differ a lot from the album, for we are playing really live. No DATs. No CDs. No laptops. Which means we can improvise a lot, depending on the audience. Actually, we rock a bit more, playing live. It’s us, a Moog Prodigy, two guitars, the mics, a sequencer and a sampling unit—and we’re busy working that shit the hard way. Oh! And we have these flashy suits on, which are designed by Betty Bund from Berlin. They are gorgeous!

Bruise brothers

M: Even though Berlin Mitte Boys project didn’t last long, I’m curious about that. What was BMB all about?

DJC: It all happened in the summer of 2000, when the hype around Berlin-Mitte [central Berlin area with many clubs, cafés and galleries] was at its climax. We took the song “New York City Boy” by the Pet Shop Boys and replaced the original words with ironic German lyrics, sung by some talented waiters from the most flashy restaurants in Mitte. We actually played the track for PSB after their show in Berlin, and they really liked it! This is the truth—they honestly took a catering menu backstage and wrote on it that we were allowed to use their song! It literally said, “bmb ok. no publishing! n. tennant.” A great moment in pop history, that was! The single flopped, though, for it was a bit too special for the bigger German public. Well, at least we had a lot of fun. And the advance.

M: With your hilarious, fake-infomercial video for “Dance Like It Is O.K.,” you got in trouble with a pharmacist for accidentally using his toll-free phone number. What happened? Are the injuries you have on your CD jacket a result of this?

DJC: Up to now, we didn’t get a bill from that guy. But we are working hard to get some fläshy märtini brös souvenirs that we can sell through the new number that’s in the video. Concerning the injuries—we pläy hard, man. We’re goin’ berzerk the whole time we’re in the studio. It’s that special thing going on between Mike and me. Bloody fuckin’ job!

M: A few songs on pläy., like “Ultrastar” and “Happiness,” have a little rock flavour to them. Do you think there’s a place for rock ’n’ roll in the world of club music?

DJC: Actually, we never thought too hard about that. We just did it the way we liked it. I personally think everything has a place in today’s club music. Come on people! Dare something! I hate any restrictions whatsoever. :

CD launch with Olivier Bergeron at
Mile End Club on Saturday, Oct. 26, 9pm, $10

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