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 Today
I want to write about a person who had a major impact on all of
us here at the 'Underground Files,' because he's with us since
our beginning approximately nine months ago. I am talking about
Christian Lappalainen also known as DJ
Chris Kase. During this time he didn't stop to amaze us with
his humor, his opinions and, last but not least, with his own
music productions under the pseudo Calico
- more than enough reasons to feature an interview with him.
Christian resides in Auburn, WA but is originally from Sweden,
something which made me curious from the beginning. For all of
you who don't know, Sweden has a special place in my heart, mainly
because of acid jazz projects like Blacknuss Allstars or the deep
house releases from the likes of Dahlbäck & Huhta and
others. Personally I was always wondering how so many warm and
soulful sounds can come from a country which is so far north and
away from the music centers of this world. But the more I think
about it, the more I realize that this is in fact an advantage!
Being kind of sheltered in their part of the globe the Swedish
producers developed their own identity and sound mainly since
the beginning of the 90s, when acid jazz started to make its way
out of London, England to spread its musical message into other
parts of the earth. Of course, it found a fertile ground in Sweden
with its strong community of funk and soul lovers, and soon several
great bands emerged out of this Northern state only to be embraced
with highest enthusiasm by the English audience.
For me, one thing is always on my mind when I see Swedish names
in production credits: quality. No wonder that the same is true
for Calico, who hit us earlier this year with a selection of dopest
funky grooves on his "Basic Funk EP" (Deep Touch), an EP which
found its way even into Tony Humphries Netmix show. We here at
the UF are glad that Calico is part of us, and we wish him all
the best for his upcoming career in the music biz. And don't forget
to have a Paulaner from time to time so you remember where everything
came from ;-)
More information incl. a collection of MP3-encoded audio files
can be found at:
http://www.mp3.com/MrCalico
DJ MG
November 1999
The following interview was conducted by DJ MG on 10/11/99:
Where are you born, and when did you come to the
US?
I am born in Göteborg, (Gothenburg) Sweden. It is on the
West Coast between Denmark and Norway. First time I was in the
US was during Eastern in 1992 together with a friend. We spent
two weeks walking up and down every avenue in NYC. To Seattle
I came for the first time in September last year, and I have been
there for a year now. But I spent the summer home in Sweden.
Where exactly are you living right now?
Right now I live in a small town called Auburn, around 40 minutes
south of Seattle. This is where my school is too, so it's very
convenient.
How's the house scene in Auburn?
What scene?!?! Really, Auburn is like the Mecca of punk and alternative
rock. There is no club here at all. I have to go to Seattle to
be able to enjoy some good music. Preferably I go to 'The Fenix
Underground,' 'AroSpace,' and 'The Showbox' when they have a live
performance. However, since I don't have a car I have to rely
on buses and it is a 'bit of a hassle if I want to go out at night,
and having to take the bus back home at 1am.
When did you start spinning, and what kind of
music did you spin in the beginning?
It all started in 1987 when a couple of friends of mine and me
joined forces to produce a radio show on the local radio station.
The town was small, and we had a weekly two-hour youth-oriented
show with music, interviews, and special "investigative reports."
It had nothing to do with dance music; we only played chart music.
Basically, it was the top ten selling singles from the local record
store. During that summer, between junior high and senior high,
I spent many nights in the studio making mix tapes. The reason
being the station was off air most of the time. That's how I started
spinning. At first it was just tapes for my own pleasure with
the singles we had, then me and another friend made remixes of
songs by playing a beat-less version of one song, and then adding
a dub version of another song and live mix it. I still have some
of them left at home. I remember I put the beats of Fresh 4 "Wishing
On A Star" underneath "A Question Of Lust" with Depeche Mode.
The hardest part was to make them stay in beat for the entire
4 minutes, but after about three hours of testing I managed to
do it. Another rather obscure mix we did was adding the beats
from "Numbers" with Kraftwerk to a Madonna ballad called "Promise
To Try" from her "Like A Prayer" album.
How did everything evolve into house then?
I had discovered house already in 1988 when my best friend Nicklas
went to the US, and he brought back a couple of records with the
early works of Todd Terry. I fell in love immediately. At the
same time it was "the 2nd summer of love" in Europe and the collage
house was massive with Bomb the Bass, S'Express, M/A/R/R/S, The
Beatmasters, Cookie Crew etc. When I started DJing more a bit
serious - buying records frequently etc. - I was playing trance.
Not the cheesy stuff that is overexposed today, but the "real"
trancy stuff. I still listen to some of the records I have and
get memories from that time. There is no point in denying that
that's how I started. House, however, has always been there and
when I realized that house made me feel so much better I just
switched. At first it was the groove, and now it's a way of life.
Please describe the style you spin and your favorite
artists.
When I play house I play house. Everything from deep house to
hard banging tribal frenzy. I want my audience to have a good
time - which, at the end of the day, is every DJ's responsibility.
It is totally meaningless just playing the music you like if the
audience doesn't appreciate it. Therefore, my sets vary a lot.
I can go from the smoothest jazzy deep house like Kevin Yost,
Glenn Underground, via nice solid classic garage traxx, and end
up playing a 14-minute drum track. If it's a techno club I play
techno, but I try to avoid the stereotype kind of techno which
everyone seems to be playing anyway. I mean the kind of techno
with a kick drum, sub bass lines, and occasional changes in the
drum programming, if even that. It has its place in a set, but
not for 4 hours straight. I want to hear some changes.
Favorite artists? Many artists nowadays release excellent records,
and I have a hard time to keep up with it to be honest, but Glenn
Underground, Kevin Yost, St. Germain, Larry Heard, Dave Angel,
Kenny Larkin, Stacy Pullen are some of my favorites. Though, today
it feels like it is more what a certain label is releasing. Because
we are, literally speaking, being flooded with records all over
the world it is so much easier to first go by label, and then
by artist. It's sad to say, but that's how I feel. Maybe that's
why I never buy a lot of records with the same artist, but instead
I try to find new small labels with that songs that no one will
play or even pick up.
True! By the way, you are the only person I ever
saw mentioning 'Luxury Service' in a playlist. How did you discover
them?
It was through Manuel Perez I first heard about them. One night
he played a track from their label - can't remember which one
now - and ever since I been a big fan of them. Their records are
a 'bit hard to find, but seek and you shall find. I just love
what they do. It's unpretentious house with a funk that is out
of this world! It's pure joy every time I find something new,
or even play the old stuff. The name states Luxury Service, and
it is, in the sense that the music is very classy, but at the
same time it's raw and very underground.
You had a radio show with your partner DJ Watieri
in Auburn, WA. What happened to the show, and is there a new one
on the air?
The show was officially canceled September 17th, because Kevin
(Watieri) moved to Bellingham (about 30 minutes south of the Canadian
border) and to another school, and I just didn't want to do the
show alone or with someone else. We were a team and it is difficult
to let someone else take his place. It was a mutual decision.
There is a new show on the air (I am not part of it), but it has
no house, or drum & bass to speak of. I am currently working
on a proposal for another show. It is still under construction,
but hopefully (crossing your fingers) it will be approved. It's
a show that will lean more towards house, acid jazz, and soulful
funky vibes. Our name will remain a secret until it is on the
air.
How important is radio for you?
Since I am involved in a College Station it is very important.
Just because we are noncommercial we have more freedom of playing
the music that we love. Even though KGRG is run like a commercial
station, with a management, and daily program logs/playlists etc.,
everyone is here because we love the music. I don't think there
is one DJ who started in radio because there was a lot of money
involved. There isn't, at least for a regular jock. Now, if you
work in the sales department or promotions it is something else.
Then you have to think about the money. To go back to your question,
it is important because we have the freedom to play the music
that doesn't get the exposure it deserves. I think college stations
in general have an impact on the commercial stations. Why else
would acts like Basement Jaxx, Armand van Helden, Deep Dish, Fatboy
Slim, and Chemical Brothers become so successful, and (shame on
me for saying this) almost mainstream? Not that I wish they weren't,
because they worked hard to get where they are today, but if it
wasn't for radio they would still be an underground phenomenon.
Let's move more towards your own music productions.
As you are from Sweden, do you still have musical contacts to
your home country, and what do you think of Sweden's music (or
house) scene?
As a matter of fact, I do buy some Swedish music. When I first
came here last year, the three first records I bought were Swedish,
or with Swedish artists. My musical brothers Mourad Sliti and
Manuel Perez and I still have contact, and of course my close
friends in Stilleben. Personally, I think that Sweden has a lot
to offer, but at the same time very little is known outside Scandinavia
about it. Of course labels like Svek, Hybrid, and Drumcode are
rather big in England, Germany, France, and where not in Europe.
I think the scene (if there is such a thing as a "scene") has
died a 'bit though. A few years ago there were more clubs both
in Gothenburg and Stockholm with underground house, techno, D&B
and so on, but today they have all disappeared. Maybe because
people got tired of it or some other reason, but today it is hard
to find a club that offers underground music on permanent basis.
I see though that it's changing a 'bit again. New people who wasn't
involved in the boom a few years ago are trying to make their
own thing, and my friends in Stilleben who run Kool Aid twice
a month is a living example of how things can work out if you
have the right motivation. They do it for the right reason: The
Music.
There are many new up and coming labels from Sweden. Especially
when it comes to techno, and tech house for that matter, and I
see it is time for Sweden to hit the world next. Germany, England,
France, they all had their time in the spotlight. Maybe I am completely
wrong, but I think there will be a big hype around Swedish music
in the near future. Who knows, maybe Y2K is our year.
Talking about this. You recently released a couple
of great 12"s on Deep Touch and Filtered featuring your own productions.
When did you decide to make your own music, and how was the feedback
so far?
Thank you! I don't remember when I decided I wanted to make music
myself, but I think it must have sometime around 94-95. I didn't
have any equipment until late 95, but then I knew it was what
I wanted to do. I must say that it has been up and down with the
feedback. Like most of us I sent tapes around to various labels,
but I never got any replies. None whatsoever. But actually, about
6 months after I started I released my first EP, and the very
first on Svek Records, which was a four-tracker made with only
one machine, my beloved Kurzweil K2000. Manuel (Perez) and Stephan
Grieder (label owner/manager of Svek) wanted to start their own
label and since it was a fresh label they wanted a new fresh artist.
I guess that's how I came in the picture. However, that was the
end of it. It was - how do you say in America - a relationship
that ended with a big bang. I played live at the biggest music
festival in Sweden, Hultsfred, in July of 96, and it was the most
memorable moment I have had so far. 3000 people dancing to the
music that I had written. It was awesome. Since then I been taking
it slow, sent a couple of demo tapes around, but never heard anything
from any label. Had a couple of small releases on two Swedish
labels, Solid Beat (which doesn't exist anymore) and G-Force.
This was in 1997. My friends have always supported me though,
and I never gave up. I thought to myself: Why rush things, it
is better if I work on my sound and then, when the world is ready,
I will be ready too. Maybe I will get my music released, maybe
I never will. That wasn't the important thing, but for me to be
able to sit and just create music was far more important.
Well, feedback can't be that bad. Even Tony Humphries
had two tracks from you featured in one of his Internet mix shows
("Feeling You Inside" and "Glide Path" from "The Basic Funk EP"
on Deep Touch Records)! How do you feel about this?
It is always nice with recognition and a positive feedback. I
admire Mr. Humphries, and have always respected his work, but
I was a 'bit surprised though to see (and hear) my songs in his
set. I guess they have that something that appeals to him. To
be honest though, to me it is no important who likes what I do,
as long as someone does. Even if it is a special feeling (and
I am just being honest) to see my music being treated by a man
who has contributed so much, and for such a long time, to house
music. Plus, if that can help others to discover my music, I can't
be other than grateful. A compliment is a compliment is a compliment
no matter where it comes from.
All you releases now run under the pseudo 'Calico.'
Any special reasons for this name?
That's a very easy answer. It is a song that St. Etienne made.
I liked the song and I was looking for a DJ name at the time,
so I thought it sounded cool and I took it. In the beginning I
pronounced it in a Latin way (Italian/Spanish), but here in the
US it is different.
As I understand you are currently signed with
Khaimar, Marcel's music management. How did you meet Marcel, and
what is your experience so far?
I met Marcel... well, we haven't actually met; we've just been
in contact through the Internet and over the phone. In January
I found a record that totally blew me away. I mean, I was jumping
in the store when I was listening to it. That record (a classic
already!) was "True House" with C&M Productions featuring
Marcel. After I played it on the radio show I e-mailed Marc [note
from the editor: Marc Zehnder, one part of C&M], telling
him what an excellent track it was. The day after I got a reply
both from him and Marcel, and it was very nice to see someone
who cared so much for their audience. Marcel and I kept the contact
via e-mail, and it turned out to be the stepping stone that I had
been waiting for. I sent him a tape, and I can still today remember
his reaction on the phone when he called me the first time. All
I heard was "Oh my!!! Oh my!!! Oh my!!!" I guess he liked what
he heard. We were on the same page, and he told he had contacts
and wanted to ship my demo around. At that time I had no expectations
on what could come up. A few weeks later he called me up and said
that Deep Touch wanted five out of the seven tracks that he sent
them.
That made my day. Ever since, he has become not only my manager,
but also a very close and dear friend, and a brother to me. I
can only say that Marcel has the ability to bring out the best
in people, without him I wouldn't be where I am today. I think
that goes for everyone involved in Khaimar. We are all a bunch
of happy campers, and I would like for it to be that way in the
future too. For us the music is the most important thing, not
the fame or the money. That is how we will conquer the world.
The music, the music!
Can only agree with that! So what can we expect
from you in the nearer future?
I have just finished a track that will hopefully hit the stores
in the near future. It is a song in true Khaimar spirit entitled
"The Accomplishment." Unfortunately I can't say anything more,
'cuz I would have to kill you then - hahahaha. I am also trying
to get the new show on KGRG on the air, at the same time as I
am trying to combine my studies and my music. It's not the easiest
task in the world, but I think I will manage.
Do you plan on turning professional with your
music, or is it still only a fun thing for you?
If I could get paid for doing what I enjoy the most it would
be the perfect situation. I want to continue making music, and
even if I have to get a "regular" day job I will keep on doing
what I am doing. I want to work in the studio though, whether
it be producing music myself, or others, or for multimedia. My
plan is to start my own company in Sweden with a friend and produce
radio commercials etc. That's what I want to do, but if for some
reason it doesn't happen I guess I have to keep on visiting coffee
shops in Gothenburg and write poetry instead...
OK, almost last question: do you have an all-time
favorite list, and what are the tracks you're banging right now.
My all-time fav list is waaaayyy too long to mention on this
page - hahahaha - seriously, I can't define my all-time list,
but I will make an attempt. It's constantly changing depending
on what mood I am in. Right now it is: "Loving You" (Minnie Ripperton),
"Menina Moca" (Stan Getz), "Tour de France" (Kraftwerk), "Fools
Gold" (Stone Roses) and "Moments In Love" (Art of Noise).
This is the last question. What is your favorite
Hefeweizen brand?
German I can't decide, they are all good, but the American I
have to say Henry Weinhardt. Although, if it's made with honey
it is made with love, that's how I see it... hahahaha...
Christian, thanks a lot for the interview.
It was my pleasure.
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