By Geoffrey Rowlands

 

Britain often leads the world in almost every musical genre. But there are times when the UK charts lag far behind those of mainland Europe at least in the field of dance music. Such is the case now with German DJ/producer Wankelmut’s smash hit single, My Head is a Jungle. The song, which features vocals by Australian singer Emma Louise, has stormed to number five on the UK chart. But it was originally released 18 months ago and enjoyed chart success across much of Europe during 2013.

“The different time frames don’t bother me,” smiled 27-year-old Wankelmut, real name Jacob Dilssner. “The song was being played in UK dance clubs well before it crossed over to the mainstream chart scene.

“I recently created an Essential Mix for BBC Radio One. This probably gave me the publicity I needed for more people to learn about My Head is a Jungle and actually buy the song.”

Berlin-born Jacob developed his career from a hobby.

“I was at university studying philosophy and political science. I’d always enjoyed music. Rock music was really my first love but I became immersed in the techno and house music which was being played in small clubs around Berlin.

“My knowledge of this led to friends asking me to devise DJ sets when they threw parties. I then began actually DJing the songs myself at these parties. The response was so positive that I started DJing at some of the small clubs where I’d first got into dance music.”

His production break came during a holiday in America when he heard Asaf Avidan & The Mojos’ Reckoning Song. “I had a very basic set up of two decks and a mixer on which I played my DJ sets. I’d just expanded this with Ableton Live softwear to beef up my DJing with edits and other productions. I was able to use this to create a new version of Asaf Avidan’s track which I called One Day Reckoning Song.

The whole remix was done on one night late in 2011. I uploaded it to my SoundCloud page and was overwhelmed by the reaction. I got so many offers from labels who wanted to licence the track. But I had no record deal so it was created for my own pleasure. This meant there was a lot of legal stuff to be done in terms of getting permission to use the samples before my remix could be released commercially.”

Eventually issued in the summer of 2012, One Day Reckoning Song became an enormous hit all over Europe. A chart-topper in 10 countries, Spain and Britain were the only major nations where it failed to make the top 10.

“The track really got me noticed. I found myself in demand to play DJ sets at the biggest clubs in Europe. It was quite a step up from the small venues around Berlin.”

Most of Wankelmut’s output since his success with One Day Reckoning Song has been remixes for the dance club scene. Apart from My Head is a Jungle, his only other commercial single is the recently released Wasted So Much Time which features vocals by American singer John LaMonica.

“I enjoy creating my own music but I have more fun working on remixes and particularly performing DJ sets. That’s why I don’t spend all that much time working on new stuff of my own.

“DJing started as a hobby and has become my life. I love being on stage entertaining people with good music. If some of that good music happens to be my own creation then that makes me doubly happy.”

 

in

brief

John LaMonica

 

Many readers will probably be unfamiliar with singer, songwriter and producer John LaMonica. Apart from performing vocals on Wankelmut’s latest single, John has released a variety of EPs and albums over the last 16 years. He has also worked with an assortment of bands and solo artists spanning many musical genres.

Some of his more recent output, plus collaborative work, is posted at (no www.) soundcloud.com/johnlamonica. Many of these songs can be downloaded for free.

The official video for Wankelmut and John’s track, Wasted So Much Time, is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ufLRKbyyXQ. Videos for some of his songs with other artists can also be found on YouTube by typing John’s name in the website search box.

 

Victoria Kern & Menno

 

Weekend is the recently released new single from Kazakhstan-born but Germany-raised singer, model, dancer and TV presenter Victoria Kern.

The uptempo dance track also features Dutch singer Menno, full name Menno Bjorn Reyntjes. Born into a musical family, his father is a famous classical singer, there was never any doubt as to what Menno’s career would be. His only choice was the type of music he performed.

His versatile output has covered R&B, rap, soul and funk plus production work under the name Ryan Melody. More recent times have seen Menno move into dance music. Victoria had previously recorded numerous tracks with dance stars Bodybangers so a collaboration with Menno seemed like the dream ticket.

The official video for their single is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBri8uKCGw. Type Victoria’s name in the website search box to find more videos for her work with Bodybangers and other artists. Menno songs can be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/menno-music. Some official promos are posted at (no www.) mennomusic.com/videos/

 

Rome

 

Sublime with Rome singer and guitarist Roman Ramirez, better known simply as Rome, has just released his debut solo album, Get Free. The album is effectively a follow-up to his 2012 four-song solo EP, Dedication. Apart from drums and a guitar contribution on the title-track by Butthole Surfers axeman Paul Leary, Rome played every instrument on all ten songs.

An audio posting of lead single, If The World, can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTUjF4eLI8E&list=PL1E28C7DAD054A3F7. Following this are videos for three more album tracks, Scream, Eighteen and Terrorista. Next up are two songs from the Dedication EP, Seasons and the title-track, while the final video is Rome’s version of Rehab which he made as a tribute to Amy Winehouse.

 

Jerome Woods — (Rome)

 

Roman Ramirez is not the only artist to perform under the name Rome. Smooth R&B singer Jerome Woods is also known by the same sobriquet. Now 44, the height of Rome’s fame was during the late 1990s. His self-titled debut album was a top 30 hit on the Billboard 200 while the single, I Belong To You (Everytime I See Your Face), peaked at number six on the Hot 100.

The intervening years have been pretty quiet in terms of chart success. But Rome hopes this will change with the release of his new EP, My Time Again.

Anyone unfamiliar with his work can hear nine tracks at (no www.) myspace.com/thebestofrome/music/songs.

 

Cobra Starship

 

It is three years since American dance rock quintet Cobra Starship released their fourth studio album, Night Shades. Although the album only peaked at number 50 on the Billboard 200, lead single, You Make Me Feel ..., hit seventh spot on the Hot 100 becoming just the band’s second top 10 hit.

A new album will be issued later this year but they hope for more chart success with the recently released lead single, Never Been In Love. The song features guest vocals from Swedish duo Icona Pop who enjoyed an enormous world-wide hit last year with their single, I Love It.

A lyric video for Never Been In Love is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXI9uqh-hNA

 

 

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