Harmonious Thelonious: The ‘Ransom Note’ Mix

Düsseldorf-based live artist Harmonious Thelonious has built a reputation for crafting his own hypnotic take on African polyrhythms and American minimalism. 

Not one to rest on his laurels, under this moniker (as well as several other aliases that include A Rocket In Dub, Repeat Orchestra and his given name Stefan Schwander) he’s stacked up countless EPs and long players on a wealth of labels, including Emotional Response, Kontra-Musik and Versatile as well as regular homes like Italic and Trilogy Tapes.

His most recent efforts have come via Couldn’t Care More and Bureau B, a taster of which you can hear in his Ransom Note mix — a live set of original material that features a batch of new and unreleased tracks.

Please introduce yourself… Who are you, where are you and what are you?

I’m Harmonious Thelonious, an electronic live-act from Düsseldorf, Germany (based around Salon des Amateurs).

What does your music sound like? Can you draw what you think it sounds like for us (an image from the old internet is acceptable)?

It sounds like walking through a decent jungle with animals that are more beautiful than dangerous… Sorry, I can’t draw…

Where was the mix recorded?

It was recorded in my studio under live conditions.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Anywhere with a very good bassy soundsystem is o.k.

What should we be wearing?

Casual, but no joggers, please!

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

A small club with good monitors… As I’m a live-act and not a DJ, I use my own equipment: roland sequencer and monomachine!

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

These are all tracks of my latest releases called Plong (LP on Bureau B), Aventure (EP on Couldn’t Care More) and a track from a Trilogy Tape release and two new ones, maybe these are current favourites?

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

I don’t know as I’m not listening to DJ mixes so much, for me it’s more about an artist record…

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

Maybe Francois K. as he was in new york in the early eighties, a very interesting time.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

The starting point is always important for me!

What were the first and last records you bought?

Remain in Light by the Talking Heads and Conrad Schnitzler’s filmmusik.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

A strawberry.

If it was an animal what would it be?

A wolf in the coat of a sheep.

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything?

Everything is mixable… Good or bad…

Anything else we need to discuss?

No, stay safe!

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