Happy Birthday, (re-)united Germany!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_wall

Xenia Beliayeva – Analog Effekt: Probably my favourite electro/techno tune this year.

I just purchased a wonderful – beautiful – new instrument. This time it’s nothing about computers or electronic devices at all. Instead, I found something on eBay that I had on my wishlist ever since I thought about guitars: A Fender Japan ‘66 Reissue Jazzmaster Left Hand.

Actually, it’s only Fender Japan, who build those classic models in left hand editions. Fender USA does not seem to think it’s necessary to serve those musicians – unless you’re Kurt Cobain or so… Anyway, here she is – and I can already confirm that she sounds great too!

So, I guess, it’s time to spread the word about one of the most appreciable efforts of what could be called “underground” in the Danish electronic music scene (in which I would find myself sitting happily with Everpure, too.)

I’m talking about VUF Records from Denmark’s main city Copenhagen. It’s basically just a small one-man-show record label, but this guy has gathered such an incredible network around him that he managed to release five (5!) compilations of sweet, experimental, interesting, exciting, pop-laden electronica – and all of them for free!

You cannot buy any of them on CD, as far as I know, but you can find all direct download links at their Facebook page, and find the contact details at their own website at VUF / RECORDS*.

This is clearly something that cannot be praised enough. Go get all of them and then go spread the word!

Finally, I managed to finish the first of the two full live videos of our concerts at the Emergenza Festival earlier this year. So, here is the full concert we played at the Danish Emergenza Festival’s semi finals at Lille Vega in Copenhagen. Five songs, from start to end. Uncut.

Not that I would really need it, but I’m already quite excited about purchasing Apple’s new Logic Express 9 very soon. It’s not as big a change as the step from 7 to 8 had been – considering the complete workplace overhaul – but it features a couple of very interesting new functions.

First of all, the new “Flex Time” will probably bring Logic on top of the list again together with its competitors Live, Cubase, and Pro Tools. I guess, it’s something a lot of Logic users have been waiting and yearning for a long time.

Then there are all these new guitar amps and effects. I am using Logic quite a lot for creating both classic and rather creative guitar sounds, which is something I really like about it. And it’s so easy to use – just grab a preset and tweak it with whatever settings and effects. So, now we can probably go even further with some “classic” amp simulations.

And finally, some of the new production features, especially the improved EXS24 integration, will be much appreciated by many users.

Why am I only talking about Logic Express and not Logic Pro or even Logic Studio? Simply because I only use the Express version, since the only differences to Logic Pro are the absence of surround sound capability, Space and Delay Designer, the Sculpture synth, those vintage instruments EVD6, EVB3, EVP88, and that massive collection of Loops and further presets. Which I have not missed yet, since the available functions, effects and instruments in Logic Express are already more than I could fully explore and use yet.

Anyway, if you’re interested in a first review of Logic Pro 9, you can read a very first verdict at musicradar.com.

Recently, I took a bike trip to the wonderful Gribskov forest in the north of Copenhagen. The weather was beautiful, we got hundreds of mosquito bites, and I shot a couple of random scenes with my little digital compact camera. Back home, I thought I’d try to put them together with one of our latest Everpure songs. So, here is my very first attempt in creating a music video. Nothing fancy, nothing special, not even any celebrities. Just some late summer forest atmosphere. Enjoy it!

Very early this morning, 22 men of that group of Iraqi refugees have been sent to Iraq, despite everything that Kirkeasyl and even Amnesty International have tried. In my humble opinion, this is a very bad day for the reputation of the Danish society, which everyone once thought was open minded, tolerant, friendly, hospitable, and happy.

Obviously, this country is not a good place to be if you’re not white AND well educated AND from a so-called 1st world country. It is really making me upset to see that the danish government step by step establishes a two-classes foreigners system, and the utmost of the people would just sit back and watch it.

The Copenhagen Post – Iraqis sent home

All of a sudden, this piece of art of the Danish artists group Superflex from 2002 comes into mind again: Foreigners please don’t leave us alone with the Danes!

They say about the criticising reactions: “If you are angry about the fact, that Denmark is developing into a broader ethnic society and if you are proud to be Danish, you might get provoked. But the poster does not say that the Danes are not good. It just says that it is not enough just to be Danish or to have a Denmark which is only for the Danes.”

The Danish newspaper Politiken (probably rather left than right wing oriented on the political agenda) has an interesting collection of articles about the chronology of the Iraqi’s asylum case. It’s all in Danish, so it’s only for a limited audience, I’m afraid, but it gives a really good reading to learn what happens, what opinions people (and politicians) have, and what could all go wrong when a country becomes too rich and too unconcerned, if not blasé about the directions of their political leaders (and the latter is my personal opinion only, of course.) Read it all here.

The New York Times:
Raid in Denmark to Dislodge Iraqi Refugees Leads to Protests and Hunger Strike

The church Brorsons Kirke in Copenhagen had been shelter for a number of Iraqi refugees who were not accepeted by the Danish government. This week, the police removed these persons from the church to send them back to Iraq. This action made a number of Danes protest against it by blocking the streets through which the bus should transport the refugees away. What you see in the video is how the police brutally and violently tried to get the protesting people out of the way.

One thing is of course the law of asylum that says under which circumstances refugees would be accepted or not. And if we would assume that the Danish governement went by the books, there would be one or another reason why these refugees couldn’t be accepted. However, they searched asylum in that church, and there were people who cared and helped them, which is a good thing under any circumstances.

I am not a “believer”, I am just brought up in a society that calls itself a Christian society, and thus I am brought up with what you could call Christian values. But being grown up and having met people from all over the world, I have learned that those “Christian values” are basically the same as those values that probably any other religion in the world supports. And what happened here in Copenhagen this Thursday the 13 of August is an incredible proof of how badly the Danish government and its executive powers failed again in considering “Christian values”.

I really hope that this is going to change with the next election, and that the Danes will wake up and realise that they are going the wrong way here.