- Live From Earth, live from Melbourne.
- Berlin label and collective Live From Earth crew does things its own way. And it works. Over the past ten years, the team has become a major force in the city, mixing a killer ear for techno and house with a sense of humour and pop sensibility that has proven irresistible to audiences and scenes around the world. That's why we chose Live From Earth for our latest cover story: its DIY attitude, humble origins and tenacious spirit are everything we love about underground dance music.
Accompanying the cover story, this RA Podcast features a recording of a live back-to-back between two of the label's chief artists, DJ Gigola and MCR-T (the latter of whom has produced some of Live From Earth's biggest hits, including horsegiirL's "My Barn My Rules"). The hour-plus recording makes for a handy microcosm of the label's sound, rushing through contemporary and vintage techno with plenty of raunchy vocal samples and hip-hop a capellas. It's blazing but never too hard, catchy but never predictable. Above all, it's fun—the group's guiding principle.
What have you been up to recently?
MCR-T: Speaking for both of us: we've been on separate tours with individual goals for the last month prior to our Australia tour. I was trying to take some much needed time off and focus on recharging for the upcoming months. Sadly or thankfully (I don't even know anymore) it turned into an all-out writers' camp where I got to accumulate and produce singles for my upcoming album project ≠ (NOT THE SAME). Additionally I've been working on being a label manager for mine and Clara Cuvé's new label SESH, which is dropping its first 22-track VA release in April.
Plus, I had the chance to work with local Miami talent MJ Nebreda and La Goony Chonga attempting to bridge a connection between Miami and Berlin. Furthermore Gigola and I got to perform for our friends in Los Angeles who host my favourite US parties, TUNNEL Worldwide. Shout out to them. And I got to round off my stay with a super fun closing of NYC's infamous BASEMENT. So all in all my stay in the US, though intended for relaxation, turned out to be very much a fun little business trip with friends. Now we're in Australia halfway into our tour and awaiting to conquer hearts and minds of Australia one stop at a time.
DJ Gigola: I was traveling North and Central America to work on music and to play a few shows in Mexico, Miami (where I met JJ, AKA MCR-T), and LA (where we both played TUNNEL together). I went to Costa Rica for a small break afterwards and we both met again in Houston to fly together to Australia where we both have individual shows and shows together. Unfortunately, our sets at Pitch Festival didn't happen but that didn't stop us from enjoying our other Australian tour stops, connecting to the local community and seeing our friends here.
How and where was the mix recorded? And can you tell us the idea behind it?
DJ Gigola: As it was really hard to sync both our tour schedules we chose to do a spontaneous live back-to-back during a joint club night here in Melbourne. We both like the idea that the mix is spontaneous and live and in resonance with our audience so it felt right to just plug in the TASCAM, press record and go with the flow. JJ and I work best together if we have an audience that we can respond to and as this mix is also about representing our collective Live From Earth, it was important to us to stay true to our roots: live, sweaty and fun club nights surrounded by friends (as you can also tell from the photos that were taken the exact same night).
MCR-T: Hell yeah. Gigi said it first. Staying true to our nature and how we got to where we are right now. A fun and spontaneous DIY mindset that just goes for it. That is the Live From Earth DNA and the Berlin ID. Taking risks and opportunities. (Is your half glass full or empty? You choose.) Ha ha!
Considering what was played, we wanted to showcase tracks of colleagues that described our mood in the moment of the recording. Eclectic styles of sexy rhythms, sassy feels, hot basslines to drive the dancers—that were just as surprised to see us back-to-back as we were—insane. Additionally, we threw in our countless unreleased gems for our up and coming projects so if you enjoyed some of the tracks in snippets or story posts on IG here you go with an extended playtime in the mix.
What's one club or party that had a major impact on you as an artist?
DJ Gigola: For me it's hard to pin it down to one club or one single party. I would say growing up in Berlin and having the privilege of being naturally surrounded by Berlin's rich club culture had and still has a huge impact on me as an artist. Especially, when you're a teenager, affordable parties, a diverse, open subculture and access to spaces and a local community that you identify with are very important to grow into yourself and Berlin had just that. It's also where JJ and I connected and what connects us as a label and collective. Growing up in Berlin, in its club culture and calling it our home.
MCR-T: I'd say the first parties that forged my goal-getter DIY mindset predated my time at Live From Earth. I was throwing illegal raves in remote places in unsuspecting suburbs of West Berlin together with my brother Gen97. Later on my dear friend Frederic assisted in our efforts just like all of our local homies in the area. We built a club infrastructure in the ruins of abandoned places. Temporary palaces where we could create the spaces that we were not granted access to at the time. This was 2015 to 2017, we had little to no money so we improvised. A lot of manual labour was involved, and I was a nobody. But we pulled people because we were doing it for the culture and people loved the risk-taking approach. That's from the hosting and DJing side of things.
As a guest, the place that taught me everything I know about the freedom-loving, free-spirited culture of sound of my city is unapologetically Berghain. I've been a regular guest there since I was barely 18. It influenced my sense of sound and fashion at a time where techno wasn't commercialised yet. Having the privilege to have a club in your backyard that pulls all of our favourite industry legends at an age where you're just fresh into the experience led me to spend countless nights and days on that dance floor studying and taking notes from our favourite artists. As the years passed by slowly solidifying the desire to one day maybe grace the speakers on a Sunday with my own creations I started making in my bedroom studio. As a Berliner boy who lives for the culture and simply put just loves sound and started from nothing—this is the ultimate honour.
What's one social or political cause you want the world to pay more attention to?
DJ Gigola: I would love to encourage people to be more open and to practice listening to one another and allowing themselves to try to feel into another person's perspective, even if it sometimes feels uncomfortable. Apart from that, to spend more time IRL and less online.
MCR-T: Try and practice how to reflect and evaluate an unbiased opinion on happenings in the world. Challenge the general consensus and challenge the general media. Make up your own mind outside of social media. Engage with one another. COMMUNICATE with the like-minded but especially speak with the people you don't share the same opinion with. Agreeing to disagree in peace is the healthiest practice in socially explosive times like these. So much hate and prejudice derives from lack of communication. You don't have to be right. Don't force your interpretation of right and wrong on somebody else. Learn to walk away and agree to disagree. This discourse has become a pissing contest of who can repost and claim bragging rights of who said what first and when. So ignorant, so depressing.
What are you looking forward to in the near future?
DJ Gigola: Apart from the obvious (my upcoming releases and shows as well as our label showcases), this year feels very transformative to me. I cannot quite tell in which way but I'm very excited to fully sink into this process and see what creative output and personal growth will derive from that. Also, I'm playing a lot of territories I haven't been to, yet, including my South American debut with DAME festival in Chile, Gop Tun Festival in Brazil and Baum Festival in Bogotá. I feel very grateful about being invited and welcomed by communities so far away from home all over the world allowing me to connect, exchange and physically share the dance floor.
MCR-T: I'm happy to just enjoy the ride wherever it takes me. Amid the flight from Perth to Melbourne I had the humbling experience of crying mid-flight about how fast everything is moving and how much this means to me and how thankful I am to be here, how thankful I am to do what I can in this industry. I know nothing in life is free. There has never been any handouts for us. We have always been the underdogs which is why I feel so fortunate and thankful to have my ULTRAS community, the Live From Earth family, my hometown Berlin and all my family friends and loved ones back me wherever I go. I do this for my people.
I look forward to playing and hanging out with the community wherever I go. I look forward to showcasing my take on sound for my time being on earth. Every show is another chance for me to bridge that gap from the unknown stranger rapping and singing into a mic at the party to potentially becoming a fun memory that you want to revisit and listen to in your free time.
Read the Live From Earth cover story
TracklistDJ Gigola - Siente (el Ritmo) (unreleased)
Parzubanil - No Pares
VICA- Gemini (Mental Duality Remix)
Fukumachi - Berlandieri
TSVI - Progressiva
Onleash - Bendecido (Onleash Edit)
Danny Wabbit - Suave
MCR-T -Wet Anthem (unreleased)
David Lohlein & Rove Ranger - Club Riot [SESHVA01] (unreleased)
MCR-T -Here I Cum (unreleased)
DBBD - All Night
Vromo- Burn Up
DJ Gigola - Untitled (unreleased)
DJ SWISHA- Club Megamixxx (Dub Mix)
Mike Dunn - Snare Your a*ss Off (Taffies pepper in je reet Edit)
NWA - Gangsta Gangsta (Acapella)
DJ Babatr- Rock To The Beat (DJ Gigola Edit)
Deetron - Miss Suave (DJ Gigola Remix) (unreleased)
COBRAH - 10 / 10 (MCR-T & VTSS Remix) (unreleased)
Lil Uzi Vert -She So Nasty (salingo Remix)
MCR-T - Party Starter
Amadeezy Bump N Boom [SESHVA01] (unreleased)
Marco East -Bellybutton Piercing Girl (unreleased)
KET (ARG) - Chinatown
DJ Gigola- La Batteria (unreleased)
Shawn Cartier- Lardgroove (unreleased)
MCR-T - Kind der Nacht (unreleased)