a few things from... Geoffroy Mugwump (part one)

There was no way this was gonna be all about me. Believe it or not, I do have friends. People I musically respect of course, but it goes a bit deeper than that. To keep it simple, I'd say we share common ethics and attitude towards this whole thing. To all these friends, I'll ask the same three questions. They will also kindly offer us a (freely) themed playlist and, by all means, have the final word.


First of these 'guests' (I don't like the word, the door is open to those who know the way to get here) is Geoffroy Mugwump. Tough, to me, he's simply Geoffroy, I think we've known each other long enough. We met when Brussels was the best night spot in Europe, and Food, where Geoffroy was resident, was my favorite club. Belgium always had its own electronic culture (see the playlist below) and Geoffroy, alongside a few others, still represent what I love about it: extensive musical culture doubled with complete originality. He is one of the DJs that always played, and still does, records that not only I don't know, but would and will rush to get for myself. When this seminal Belgian scene (born of the ashes of the Boccaccio, where Geoffroy got, I think, a lot of his education) fizzled, Geoffroy stuck to his guns, got deeper into production. The singular sound of Mugwump can now be heard from Kompakt to International Feel, From Gigolo to Coccoon.

Who is your forgotten hero?

'Dance music-wise, a bionic man obviously composed of Dimitri from the Roxy, Koenie from Antwerp and Poltergeist from Brussels. My roots.'

What motto is painted on your fighter plane?

'I'm sarcastic but i love you, i really do.'

What makes you really angry?

'you mentioned "underground conformism" once, i think what makes me really angry is the total lack of open-mindness in most of the dance music scene. you either have to be this or that. moi ce qui m'intéresse c'est les nuances.'

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GEOFFROY'S 'BELGIUM THROUGH THE AGES' LOST CLASSICS

01. GATE CRASH "Bassoon" (UPCULT)
Lost gem (produced by a dutch dj called Nathanel together with Babies from Gong aka Dylan Hermelijn of 2000 & One fame) that i cant recall anyone playin. It harks back to the days when Dimitri from the Roxy in A'dam was unbeatable. I was really pleased to hear In Sync's 'Storm' (a track Dimitri really broke BIG TIME before anyone else) getting played by the likes of Ricardo & Sascha Funke a couple of years back. Far from being such a classic, this simple yet weird techno track could really get plays from some of the most adventurous dj's now; i know its a dying breed these days

02. PIL "Death Disco" (VIRGIN)
The 12' version of this early and well-known PIL song from the end of the 70's was one of the biggest anthem in the pre-New-Beat Belgium (soundtracked with industrial, EBM and dark pop) and became an anthem of New-Beat later as well when it was covered by Arbeid Adelt as "Disco Death". They were usually played one after the other (often followed by James Brown's "Ain't it funky now" at - 8, fan facts). Reminds me of a title from an Eskimo comp too. ; )

03. ELECTROGROUND "Electrolove" (MASQUE)
Not a very exciting title indeed but a useful and very simple piece of e'd up deep house produced in Italy in 1992.. also a recurrent tool from Antwerp legend dj Koenie (Wally's Groove World/Wonka/Mayaku) for years.

04.SCOTT SELLARS "Let's dance shall we" (BIG SOUND MUSIC)
Scott Sellars and Kirk Smith at the controls. This label was sometimes swimming in the same seas than Transmat but never left the same footprints on the techno sands. This deep-house track was big with Poltergeist, a great unsung hero from underground Belgium and a dj who pioneered all sorts of interesting AND fucked up house music in Belgium (together with others early international dj's playing in our country, such as Ricky Montanari, Eddy Declercq or Jon Dasilva)

05. Stevie V "Jealousy" Red Zone dub (MERCURY)
Yes its David Morales in its Redzone period and the piano was just massive. Absolutely huge in the Roxy where we religiously traveled nearly every Thursday.

... the rest, and Geoffroy's final say, follows tomorrow...