[HKClubbing]

Variously known as Laid, Cuba Computers, Nars, Kelly Project, Outcold and a whole host of other names throughout his 15 year career, Stockholm producer/ DJ Jon Andersson is currently best known as Zoo Brazil and it’s under this guise that he spins at London’s Pacha this Friday (June 27). Not that the Latino flavoured name has so far made him any more popular in Brazil, he’s the first to admit.

“We just came up with Zoo Brazil when we were under pressure to deliver an artist name on the spot and originally we expected to use it for just one or two releases,” he laughs, “Then the name blew up and now we’ll be keeping it for some time, for sure,” he says.

Not that he’s too fussed, he hints when quizzed about the results of a new survey by condom company Durex revealing that 1 in 10 people think Brazilians are the sexist people in the world.

“That's just Durex talking again, don’t trust them; the company is run by Brazilians,” he claims, “I’ve told them many times they should get over it but they keep putting out this statistic. In reality, nine out of ten people think Swedish are the sexiest so once again- Durex, please stop it- no-one believes you.”

Being Swedish is something he’s particularly proud of, he continues, both for making music and love.

“It helps a lot, particularly for picking up good looking girls,” he boasts, “All Swedes are good looking and healthy as I’m sure you’re aware? OK, good, that was just a reminder, so thank God I’m Swedish.

“In fact, we never even need those pick up lines in bars because we have that Swedish/ Scandinavian magic touch for everything we do- even with music. So a Swede tweaking a Moog (synth) is different from how a German would do it.”

Chat up (and joking) talk aside, his new techno anthem Tecknik is currently blowing up into one of the biggest records of 2008, though for his Pacha gig and everywhere else, he insists he’ll be making it up on the night, as he goes along.

“I never plan anything at all; perhaps no-one’s coming to see me so I prefer to chill and do as little work as possible,” he laughs.

“No honestly, I don't plan my sets at all. These days I get sent so many promos that I don’t really have time to catch up but on average I tend to have around 15 or so news tracks in my sets every week. I also always play a lot of my own new productions so I always have an idea in my head about what I’ll be playing.”


Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): Technik is blowing up right now though it's harder than most of your other tracks: how conscious are you of people's expectations?

Zoo Brazil: “I, or should I say ‘we . . .  I’m doing all music with my long time music partner Johan Emmoth- for 16years now! Oohh sorry did not shake your hand  here; my name is John Andersson – hello . . . Sorry. Yes about Technik . . . well I only make music I like myself, so if others like it that’s great. After 16 years of doing it, it seems like more and more are liking our music every day now, which is great. But we make many different styles so we never have to worry about falling out of fashion or being tied too much to trends.”

Skrufff: Technik is a proper dance floor bomb of a track: did you have a clear idea when you started to make the track?

Zoo Brazil: “Yes I had this bassline idea and tweaked my analogue synths to the max then after some more tweaking, Tecknik was born. We were both rolling round the floor laughing when we finished it, wondering what people would think when they heard this swizzling bassline that just built and built and built. The first place I played it at was a club in the Ukraine and I can confirm that it worked.”

Skrufff: How much is playing London different from elsewhere?

Zoo Brazil: “I think it took a while before the UK caught up with the more electronic sounds coming out of Germany but having said that the UK has always been the key player in the dance scene. My heart’s always been with the UK scene and it still is.”
 
Skrufff: Did you ever visit London in your youth?

Zoo Brazil: “I went there for the first time with a friend back in 1998, we stayed for 2 weeks and went to various record label like Pagan Records and  Azuli to leave some  demos that we’d made between 1993 and 1998. It was so much fun, I remember having to fun away from some gang we encountered in Soho after we got lost in some well dodgy area. We were also refused entry to some hip club because they told us it was a ‘members only’ night, so yes, I’ve certainly had my moments in London. Since then I’ve been there like a hundred times so I know where to go and where not to go; it’s like my home town in Sweden plus much bigger with a subway (underground).”

Skrufff: You prress release points out that you were instrumental in persuading
Legendary German techno label Harthouse to relaunch last year why did you leave them for Gung Ho for your new album?

Zoo Brazil: “I have not really left them for Gung Ho, but since no label has paid us millions of pounds to stay with them we release on many labels, also because we make so much music. As far as Harthouse is concerned it feels great to work with a label you dreamed about working with. To be honest, I don’t think there are any producers out there who are signed to as many different labels as we are. I hope not, anyway, otherwise we need to find some more.”

Skrufff: You've been producing for ten years: how difficult was it to feel competitive when the likes of fellow Swede producers John Dahlback and Steve Angello became overnight stars a couple of years ago when they'd only been making music for several years?

Zoo Brazil: “10 years? It’s more then that? Both are good mates and we work with themclosely. John Dahlback is sitting next door to us here in the studio and Steve Angello is my neighbour. In fact I’m trying to persuade Steve to sell me his apartment at the moment. John also signed a new track from us today and we’re working on a remix for Steve as we speak but we’ve sold more records and John and Steve put together. We wrote a song called ‘The One’ which is on Kylie Minogue’s new album which has sold over one million copies and counting so I’m sure we have the sales lead so far. We are happy and proud of both of them; viva la Swede.”

Skrufff: Cari Lekebusch chatted to Skrufff a couple of years ago and described a random drunk guy trying to punch him in the booth (he said: 'typical Stockholm; there are always bar fights and stupid things happening'): has anything similar happened to you?

Zoo Brazil: “No I’m always the guy that punches first; I was the guy that tried to to hit him. Hahaha. What did Cari do? Sounds odd.  Swedish people are usually soooooo friendly so Cari must been playing else where; But stupid things always happen.”

Skrufff: How much is the plan for Zoo Brazil to become a live act? And to be famous?

Zoo Brazil: “Playing live is coming, plus we’ve had some fame already; and more will come. In fact we’ve done more than anyone knows. It’s funny like that, the way people don’t know who’s behind certain projects. Take that Kylie track I just mentioned we didn’t make any noise about it at all, where some others would have made it front page news. Our philosophy is to let the music speak for itself.”


Zoo Brazil spins at Pacha London on Friday June 27 (alongside Jonty Skrufff) His new album No Place Like Home’ is out shortly.

Article by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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