Emerald & Doreen’s Mystery Tour 8 Tracks

Emerald & Doreen’s releases give you faith in songs again, and in a kind of DIY artistry that tends to disappear. This German label without blinkers supplies a platform to artists from all over the place doing their own thing organically, and lets others play with it. Because E&D is in love with the idea of providing remixes to a good song, breathing new life into it, taking it to radically new horizons. As a result this daring imprint won’t decide whether it’s balearic, indie-dance, electronica, housey, italo disco, ambient, technopop or whatever combination of the above it fancies this week.
Justin Schultz AKA Spirit Animal is a 20 year old Californian artist into his chillwave, however in the hands of Berlin cosmic dj SpAceLex, ‘Stay High’ gets magically graced by fairy vocals (his girlfriend) and turns into a fragile, unassuming balearic beauty reminiscent of St Etienne’s early days or the likes… nostalgia on the dancefloor.

A swinger locked in 4/4 David Garcet moves the dancefloor with Belgian class, the original of ‘The Days’ comes later in Mystery Tour in all its goth-disco glory complete with a wall of massive shoegazed guitars. But yet again one of the remixes competes for the top spot thanks to Go Satta’s reinterpretation backed by the funkiest rhythm guitar this side of Nile Rodgers courtesy of possessed multi-instrumentalist/producer Lee Boyd. No wonder guitars creep up in many Emerald & Doreen releases, Eric Schemer – one of the label’s four enthusiastic pillars (longtime mates spread all over Germany) – is an accomplished guitarist with a long band history who needed an outlet to release the records of his current project go nogo. The others are Markus Schneider and Stefan Maurer AKA The Robot Scientists, singular djs/producers with fascinating expertise, far out tastes and a personal universe to boot, longtime won over by synths’ magic over disco beats. Last of the quartet is proven musician/producer ‘Fred’ Scholl the other half of go nogo with Eric, who has since decided to concentrate mainly on music.
Listen to the original of David Garcet ‘The Days’.

The duo Go Satta again, but behind the original this time and remixed here by Swedish disco don Copycat (Ivan Matanovic) on poptastic form. Detroit-born vocalist Moriah Nixon and Londoner, talented muso-sorcerer Lee Boyd combine real instruments with cutting edge electronics, creating a futuristic fusion of disco, electronica, dub, and funk. Always at the heart of their music, however, beats a catchy, concise pop song with lyrics that matter. Very much what Emerald & Doreen is about as its abundant output testifies (500 tracks in 3 years), a unique, emotional, mind-expanding and cosmopolitan cocktail of music with no dominating, definable genre. Distilling EPs at shocking pace, the imprint is shaping an adventurous, hippiesque, in-depth continuation of electro(nic) music, independent from dogmas and financial concessions, that is about enjoying freedom and defining a way of life for a passionate, authentic and tolerant global family.

Love this Fab Mayday remix’s ingenuity (insanity?) for mixing italo house with raw Moriconnesque six string licks, it offers one of the best piano progressions I’ve heard in a long time. This really makes me think of my ideal dj and club where energy and melody collide with no boundaries other than the limit of imagination. The brainchild of E&D co-founders Markus Schneider and Stefan Maurer, The Robot Scientists are psychedelic cosmic disco lovers at heart, combining the influences of balearic, indie-dance, krautrock, post-punk, new wave, new beat, soulful techno, kosmische musik… and italo-disco’s melancholy with an all around DIY punky attitude.
Markus says: “We call our sound ‘cosmic’ as in the traditional ‘cosmic’ sense created by Italian dj Daniele Baldelli, we mix different styles, and in every track we play several genres often cohabit. You could also call it ‘fusion’. Our specific sound, unlike many other house djs, has strong synthetic influences, it is pretty unique, stylistically varied and very song-oriented. A clone made out of Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder, Depeche Mode and Andrew Weatherall.”
Listen to The Robots Scientists’ original mix of ‘Catch Fire’.

Possibly my favourite song of the Mystery Tour mix, this dancey romantic number, plaintive but hopeful, sucks you in listen after listen and won’t let go. There are so many elements and sounds cohabiting in this generous, epic but far from complacent, Acid Washed rework: an orchestra, a Manchester band, a disco beat, a very cinematic atmosphere altogether, another recurrence in Emerald & Doreen’s releases, and an hypersensitive vocal performance from E&D’s fourth co-founder (and once downbeat/nu-jazz producer for the Vienna Scientists imprint) ‘Fred’ Scholl who lays here his sensitive soul bare without pathos. Eric Schemer’s lamenting guitar throughout this grand hymn crossing the territories of off the wall indie and groovy electronica, is yet another sign that rock musicians have finally fully embraced technology to deliver the goods and have no complex using it to define 21st century’s exciting musical crossbreeding. This fan of the great British indie guitar styles, from Madchester to shoegazin’ via Johnny Marr, The Edge and New Order has a huge record collection and knows how to use it. go nogo have six EPs under their belt and will release their debut album in 2015.

Another remix and yet another balearic pop choon with at times slightly off key female singer bringing extra weight and depth to this feminine, piano-led uplifter that’s like a DIY dubbed out nod at synthy european house. It’s as if Ibiza at its peak had never faded away, naive yet genuine emotions channeled by the trustworthy, give/take connection between the audience and the DJ.
Striking a natural balance between experimenting and delivering, the best songs and remixes of Emerald & Doreen’s catalogue present you musicians having fun, often digging the unknown and yet with enough science and charisma to win the hearts of all.

The remix from UK-based Rubberlips provides more synthy euro using all the great analogic sounds of yore but make no mistake this is contemporary, spellbound incantatory emo, to witness the sun rise after a night of sweaty dancing. A bit like Arcade Fire being remixed in Antwerpen.
And what’s behind that funny Emerald & Doreen label name I hear you mutter. Perfection is a fundamental, but heart, depth and passion don’t come as easily in today’s world. Shocked by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy that kickstarted world recession, when it became clear many banks act irresponsibly and try to disguise the fact by suggesting confidence and trust with surnames in their corporate companies’ titles, the four friends agreed the label name should contain at least a first or last name to uncover this unlawful habit of our perverted world. Despite its electronic approach the label also thought it should have a feminine angle as female djs and producers are still far too few.
Markus explains: “I wanted to create a reference to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in the label name, therefore I needed some real names. We had the girl logo pretty soon as I thought, it would be cool to make a label with electronic music for girls, more songs, more emotions, more ideas, less repetitive. When researching street slang words for cool girls, I ran into Emerald & Doreen, both are names for highly cool but sometimes dangerous, mysterious girls. It was perfect.”

Is pop music dead in 2015? You do wonder some days between electronic music’s ever growing self-importance, perpetually shying away from the emotions of melody under the influence of techno and lack of musicianship, and the charts filled with desperate for fame candidates who couldn’t care less about music. Until you come across a label like E&D where the spirit of yesteryear’s best electronic indie music – when songwriting and sound exploration went hand in hand – is enriched without over-commercialisation blurring artists’ character and differences. There are punk ethics at work here, trusting the talent of genuine individuals and iconoclasts, giving them the chance to be whatever they fancy just as long as they mean it and aren’t willing to compromise their personal stance where, again, songs, vocals and real feelings reign supreme.
The German musicians & djs who plotted E&D have no agenda but music, great fuckin’ music, and songs… Sure it might not work each time (who can pretend to?) but the structure is here to accommodate unconventional craftsmen. The notion of cool is probably as far as it could be from all these unorthodox acts and their dreamer projects, but the fact that they couldn’t care less and keep on doing their thing makes them without a doubt one of coolest stables around in 2015. And this even without trying.