Influences – Sebo K

I was 8 years old when this track came out and I remember that my parents were listening to this record. Even at this age I loved the track. When you were a child in the eighties there was no escape from synthies and electronic sounds in the music anyway as they dominated most music genres at that time. When I look back I realise that I definitely developed my passion for electronic music already when I was a child. Even at that age I was fascinated by the futuristic sounds of synthesisers and the first popular tracks with sampling. This timeless track has always been an all time favourite for me, especially the long 12″ version which is such a masterpiece.

When I was becoming a teenager I was mainly listening to hip hop. It was really hard here to chose one track as there are so many good hip hop tracks from the late eighties and early nineties. I was really into A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Gangstarr & DJ Premier, Beastie Boys, Biz Markie, Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy, N.W.A., Dr. Dre productions, later Timbaland … The list is endless! I also had a period when I was collecting pre-hip hop electro records from the early eighties like Arthur Baker productions or early Dr.Dre stuff like World Class Wreckin Cru.
For any reason it was just the first one that came into my mind so to make it a bit easier for me I just chose this. It was a favourite of mine at that time and I still love the energy of this track and the rough vibe which is created by the Weird Bob James sample.

Again it was very hard to chose one track. It’s obviously disco but it should actually stand exemplarily for the sound of disco, soul, funk and jazz of the 70s and early 80s. I bought a lot of records from that time. My heroes have been Isaac Hayes, Motown records, Donna Summer/Moroder, Salsoul records, James Brown, Quincy Jones, Bob James and CTI records to just name a few.
This record came out on West End records which is definitely one of my favourite disco labels and Larry Levan gave this track his magic touch.

I’m a huge fan of Boards Of Canada. This track is from their EP “In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country” which is my favourite release of theirs from 2000 on Warp Records. In general I love ambient music and also trip-hop, mo wax and the sound of Bristol from the mid nineties. The music of Boards Of Canada is the perfect combination of both for me. I also liked the new album of theirs last year a lot!

When I started to DJ in the early nineties I was playing UK hardcore/breakbeat, jungle and early drum & bass. Labels like Moving Shadow, XL Records and Suburban Base were my favourite labels at that time. The label good looking of LTI Bukem has been specialised in a warmer atmospheric and less ravey sound. That’s propably why this kind of breakbeat stuff is more timeless for me and I can still enjoy it. The piano tune was a favourite of mine when it was released in 1994 and I still love the combination of the warm pads, the moody piano and the heavy amen beats.

I started to buy house records in the mid nineties. At that time I was really into stuff from Chicago and New York. Labels like Cajual and Relief Records and producers like Cajmere, DJ Sneak, Boo Williams, Paul Johnson or Johnny Fiasco were my heroes from Chicago. Mood II Swing, Masters At Work and Kerri Chandler were some of my favourite representatives for the sound of New York.
Mood II Swing have had so many amazing and unique releases but especially this track is definitely one of my all time favourites in house music. I love the dark atmosphere and the dubby vibe of the track! This track is also featured on my Watergate mix cd from 2009.

Soundtrack music is another important influence for me. Soundtrack music is made to intensify the feelings the pictures you see should transport. That’s why many soundtracks are full of emotions. Sometimes it might be a bit over egged the pudding but I have to confess that I’m quite sensitive for this kind of music and especially sad and melancholic soundtrack music really moves me if it’s well done.

One of my favourite composer for soundtrack music is Ryuchi Sakamoto. The song Bibo No Aozora is featured in the movie Babel. This is a beautiful solo piano version.

When I’m back at home from my gigs at the weekend I don’t usually listen much to house and techno. Recently I have listened to a lot of indie and folk music. Some of my current home listening favourites are the new album of Warpaint or the new albums of Neneh Cherry or Midlake. The song I chose is from Midlake’s new album Antiphone which I play on heavy rotation at the moment. It’s released on Bella Union which is actually one of my favourite indie labels. Midlake just played in Berlin where I live but unfortunately I missed it.