With releases being played all over the board by the likes of Theo Parrish, Moodymann, Gerd Janson, Ricardo Villalobos, Detroit Swindle and everybody else, Lumberjacks in Hell has become a close knit family during the last 5 years and has a lot to celebrate. Moodymann, Rahaan and Marcel Vogel Lumberjacks are the chosen selectors for the party in Antwerp.
MOODYMANN (KDJ, Mahogani Music), US
Moodymann worked at several Detroit record stores in the mid-nineties including a store owned by producer Blake Baxter. During the mid-nineties Kenny was also the resident DJ at the Detroit based Outcast Motorcycle Club. At that time he was known as “House”. After his first several releases on Planet E Records Kenny became quite popular in France and from there his popularity grew. Moodymann sound is a hybrid form of techno/house dance music arrived at via innovative use of reworked riffs, samples and grooves. While he may frustrate people with his refusal to be interviewed and insistence on reminding people of the genre’s origins, the soulfulness of his output is unquestioned. Utilizing classic soul and jazz samples, low-slung bass lines and an approach to drum programming that is diametrically opposed to the tendency to push the tempo faster and faster, he has achieved classic status thanks to gems like “Sunday Morning”, “Shades of Jae”, and his remix of Innerzone Orchestra’s “People Make the World Go Round”. Following years of 12″ only releases, he compiled his best work on “Silentintroduction”, one of the most celebrated albums of the late 90s.
RAHAAN (Street Edits, Lumberjacks in Hell), US
In underground disco circles, US crate digger Rahaan Young is considered something of an unsung hero. A formidable DJ and talented producer, the Windy City veteran has forged a reputation as one of Chicago’s finest underground exports – a hero to house heads who like their beats deep, their parties eclectic and their disco authentically crackly and upbeat.
Yet for all his DJ skills, it’s for his re-edits that Rahaan is most celebrated. Thanks to releases on KAT Records, Past Due, Jiscomusic and Stilove4music – the most recent of which dropped earlier this month – the Chicago resident is widely regarded as a fearless re-editor with a penchant for the weird, wonderful and little known. Crucially, he’s also sympathetic to his (usually obscure) source material – something that can’t be said for many 21st century scalpel fiends.
MARCEL VOGEL (Intimate Friends, Lumberjacks in Hell), DE
German born and raised Marcel Vogel is one of the most passionate DJ’s you will encounter, with 20 years of experience behind the turntables.
Marcel started DJing Chicago and Disco House, but being heavily influenced by eclectic DJ’s like Theo Parrish, Alex Barck (Jazzanova) and Rahaan, that gave him the organic and relaxed style of DJ-ing, for which he is known today.
Marcel is currently an Amsterdam resident, from where he operates his labels Lumberjacks in Hell and Intimate Friends.