Tue, 11 Jan 2011  /  Post a comment
“Emotion-rich electronic disco epic” – IDJ Magazine
“Bright, playful, spacey, and colorful, music for the nighttime that retains the warmth of an afternoon on the beach” (8.0) – Pitchfork
Following the success of Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas comes diskJokke (a.k.a. Joachim Dyrdahl) the latest in a string of exciting and innovative artists hailing from the respected Oslo electronica scene.
diskJokke was discovered by Oslo-Disco luminary Prins Thomas, who immediately signed three tunes to his Full Pupp label (released on two 12” singles). Almost simultaneously in Germany, M.A.N.D.Y and the Get Physical gang signed diskJokke for five other tunes (spread on two 12” singles) to their new Get Physical sub label, Kindisch. Following these releases, word quickly spread about diskJokke’s quirky, spaced-out and dubby mixture of house, Italo and disco, and he was soon asked to remix tunes for a number of artists, including Lindstrøm, Foals, Lykke Li and Bloc Party.
For years diskJokke has been closely connected to Norway’s premiere club night, Sunkissed, where he is a resident DJ with G-HA, Olanskii and VinnyVillbass. He is part of the Oslo scene that has evolved around Sunkissed, as well as smaller hotspots Nomaden and The Villa, with Rune Lindbæk, Linstrøm, Prins Thomas and Todd Terje. Smalltown Supersound picked up diskJokke when he appeared on the Sunkissed compilation in 2008. They immediately knew that his music was a perfect match for the label.
diskJokke’s debut release, Staying In, was a tripped out mastodon of an album. It was the sound of Norwegian disco taken to its farthest, futuristic limits. It’s epic, groovy, cinematic, poppy and most of all melodic. But at the same time, it is melancholic, and as the title suggests, staying inside on dark winter and autumn nights to make music certainly reflects the mood of the record.
Not long after he released a 7” edit of now classic track Rosenrød with Moshi Moshi, and that was quickly followed with a remix compilation of his best rerubs from 2008 / 2009 on the Smalltown label. Through Winter 2009 / Spring 2010, there were remixes for Crystal Castles, Daniel Wang, Tim Deluxe, Crystal Fighters, Monarchy, Penguin Prison, The xx, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Coldplay / A-ha / Mew supergroup Apparatjik.
Jokke has played all over the world entertaining crowds in Brazil, Beijing, New York, Jakarta, Moscow and Istanbul under his various guises as a DJ, with his laptop live set and now and again with his live band. June 2010 saw the worldwide release of his second album proper, En Fin Tid to critical acclaim, a mix for Radio 1’s Annie Nightingale and a number of other releases including an excellent collaboration with DJ Strangefruit entitled The Sjukt. The coming year will include a new downtempo record based on the one-off live show he did with an Indonesian gamelan orchestra this summer, a new remix compilation and a variety of 12“s including a collaboration with Holy Fuck.
Some quotes from the En Fin Tid album:
“Joachim Dyrdahl has created a masterpiece of the genre…” – Clash
“…exuding a fantastically emotive kick throughout.” – Metro
“…his sublime new album.” – Time Out London
“title track [En Fin Tid] uses its stately cadence as an anchor for an insanely hypermelodic tune that Hans-Peter Lindstrøm would kill to have created.” – Time Out New York
“Fans of Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas should not miss this grin inducing treat.” – Little White Earbuds
“An ambience Jean Michel Jarre would be proud of.” – DMC Update
“A head turning piece of work” – Resident Advisor
“The album’s modus operandi involves carving out galaxies of hypnotic arpeggiated grooves that suspend you in their orbit, stirring you into a heightened sensitivity before the afterburners are released in a searing melodic drop.” – Drowned In Sound
“His tracks twinkle with colorful hand percussion and wind-chime synths, and the buoyant, effortless feel is achieved with arithmetical precision.” – Pitchfork
“…plots an irresistible course through rubbery psych and sparkling boogie.” – Uncut
“His second album “En Fin Tid”, a retro-futurist cosmic disco gem, should take him to the next level.” – Mixmag
“Blissful electronic music.” – The Observer
Booking North America: Carter Adams
Booking Scandinavia: Mark Vaughan
Booking Rest Of World: Laetitia Desouens
Management: P-C Rae & Vegard Waske