M.A.N.D.Y.

Bringing Berlin to Basstown by bus

By ELI GOLDSTEIN

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How big a deal is it that Berlin-based dance label Get Physical is going on tour in North America? So big that they're taking a tour bus even though they don't need to bring any instruments. And that's actually a bigger deal than you think—the last time I had heard of a techno tour bus in the US was when a friend asked me to provide party favors for the Crystal Method after a show at Axis in the late '90s. It only took a decade for dance music on this side of the Atlantic to recover from the trance/prog/white-boy-house/d&nb/electroclash doldrums, but now that one of the world's most influential label is coming to the country—the one that gave birth to house and techno in the first place—it's clear that everything is finally heading in the right direction again.

"I can't wait to give North America the real taste of Berlin!" exclaims Philipp Jung, one half of tour headliners M.A.N.D.Y. (which stands for Me And You in case you were wondering). "We feel like Berlin has been the melting point for electronic music for quite a while now. We want to share our approach about music and present our very unique sound to North America, but it's important not to be too super-serious and also have some time for comedy and fun. And maybe we'll also bring a piece of the wall?!"

It's this light-hearted approach that has set M.A.N.D.Y. and the Get Physical squad apart from the über-serious minimal techno diehards and landed them a string of recent genre bending dancefloor hits. Sure the label's prolific output (at least a single a month) has included many influential minimal bangers, but uniquely cutting-edge tracks like Nôze's forthcoming gypsy chorused "You Have To Dance" (which many called the song of the year at the Winter Music Conference in Miami), last summer's Cumbia sampling festival monster "Heater" by Samim, or 2005's Ibiza anthem "Body Language" by M.A.N.D.Y. vs. Booka Shade (who, along with DJ T, make up the label's management team) set them above the fray. And if you're cool, you probably remember when they sold out and tore down The Estate last summer.

"People are really longing for songs again after minimal and everything sounding a bit the same," says Jung. "We have the impression that people are really happy when there's some song in the track. People look up and dance with each other. DJs are lacking the self-irony. For us it's a big part of an artist's life to step back and make fun of yourself and not take it too seriously."

All this talk about fun and games might make you think that M.A.N.D.Y. is some kind of joke. You are wrong. M.A.N.D.Y. is dead serious about their DJ sets. The duo still play mostly vinyl and spend countless hours preparing for gigs or putting together their infamous mix CDs (most recently for the legendary London super club fabric mix series). "Before this tour we'll sit down and talk about the major tracks we want to include, because people in America don't know us as well as people in Europe."

As to their genre-strattling sound: "I would consider it house music, which should be for your soul and your body," he says. "Not too soft like lounge, but not too hard. We like the energy of techno but not too hard or too dark. Our music is somewhere between both."

M.A.N.D.Y.

W/ HEIDI, RED FOXXX & JEFF GROSSE

SUN. 5.4

UNDERBAR

275 TREMONT ST.

BOSTON

617.292.0080

9PM/21+/$10

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