Jahcoozi is a German electronic music group made up of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-born, Sri Lankan-heritage songwriter and frontwoman Sasha Perera and two producers and instrumentalists,
Robot Koch and
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
-born Oren Gerlitz. The band met and formed in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
in 2002 and have released three albums.
History
In 2005, Jahcoozi were signed by
Kitty-Yo
Kitty-Yo is a German record label specializing in quirky pop and electronica. It was founded in 1994 in Berlin by Raik Hölzel following the creation of an independent zine of the same name. The label began by publishing music for Surrogat, Patric ...
, the Berlin-based mother label of
Peaches
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...
. Later that year, they released the "Black Barbie" picture-disc vinyl and a full-length debut album entitled ''Pure Breed Mongrel''. The trio have issued three full-length albums as well as numerous other releases, including EPs, picture discs, remixes, features, and a Japanese album. They have released music on labels including
Kitty-Yo
Kitty-Yo is a German record label specializing in quirky pop and electronica. It was founded in 1994 in Berlin by Raik Hölzel following the creation of an independent zine of the same name. The label began by publishing music for Surrogat, Patric ...
, Asound/K7, Playhouse,
NinjaTune, Citizen Records, Crosstown Rebels, 1965, WMF Records, and Hydra. ''Barefoot Wanderer'' came out in 2010 on
Ellen Alien's Berlin-based imprint
BPitch Control
Ellen Fraatz, known professionally as Ellen Allien, is a German electronic musician, music producer, and the founder of BPitch Control music label. Her album '' Stadtkind'' was dedicated to the city of Berlin, and she cites the culture of reun ...
.
Musical style
Jahcoozi's sound has been described as consisting of abstract electronic beats within ragga, dub, and electronica; a mongrel style of avant-garde, electronic pop music. The group built up a solid fanbase with their underground shows in 2003. Songs such as "Black Barbie" and "Fish" gained them early recognition. The latter earned them a spotlight on the cult BBC show of the late
John Peel, who called it "Beautiful pop music from the future". The album ''Barefoot Wanderer'' has been described as "one of the year's most disturbingly beautiful creations".
Individual projects
Robot Koch also produces and performs as a solo artist under his own name and works as a songwriter and producer for many different artists internationally. Sasha Perera co-wrote and sang the song "Silikon", featured on
Modeselektor's album ''
Hello Mom!
''Hello Mom!'' is the debut studio album by German electronic music duo Modeselektor. It was released on BPitch Control on 11 October 2005.
Critical reception
Nitsuh Abebe of ''Pitchfork'' gave the album an 8.3 out of 10, saying, "There's hardly ...
'' and on
Thom Yorke
Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been descri ...
's iTunes playlist in 2007.
Collaborations
Jahcoozi have collaborated with and been remixed by a number of artists, including
Modeselektor,
Siriusmo, M.Sayiid, Barbara Panther, Ramadanman, Ikonika, Stereotyp,
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and guit ...
, Guillermo.E.Brown, Oliver $, RQM, King Cannibal, Mochipet, Rustie, Buraka Som Sistema, Missill, Stanton Warriors, Lexie Lee, D-Double, Tinchy Stryder, Lethal B, Kano, JME, Skepta, Ata + Sasse, Cassy, Luomo, New Flesh, Infinite Livez, Alhaca Soundsystem, Sukh Knight, Milanese, and Kalbata.
Their music has been used in games such as
Grand Theft Auto
''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily d ...
and
FIFA and has been featured on compilations such as the ''Wire Magazine Compilation'' and ''We Love Techno''. The band has played at the televised opening of the IFFA Athletics World Cup at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, the
2010 Shanghai Expo
Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...
, and at clubs such as Fabric in London, Rex club in Paris, and Montreal's electronica-oriented Mutek Festival.
They travelled to Nairobi, Kenya, to participate in a music exchange project called BLNRB alongside fellow Berlin-based electronic musicians
Modeselektor and Gebruder Teichmann.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Pure Breed Mongrel'' (2005)
* ''Blitz 'N' Ass'' (2007)
* ''Barefoot Wanderer'' (2010)
EPs
* ''Fish 12"'' (2003)
* ''V.A.: Girls EP'' (2004)
* ''Rebel Futurism Part2'' (2004)
* ''Black Barbie EP'' (2005)
* ''Double Barrel Name'' (2007)
* ''BLN'' (2009)
* ''Namedropper'' (2009)
* ''Barbed Wire'' (2009)
* ''Watching You'' (2009)
* ''Barefoot Wanderer Remixes PT 1'' (2010)
* ''Barefoot Wanderer Remixes PT 2'' (2010)
Remix albums
* ''Nearly Naked: Barefoot Wanderer Remixes'' (2011)
Mixes and collaborations
* Panorama - "Super Race Monkey" (2003)
* Mendelson - "White Canary" (2004)
* Raz Ohara - "Hymn" (2005)
* Modeselektor feat. Jahcoozi – "Silikon" (2006)
* Unknownmix - "The Siren" (2006)
* "Black Barbie" - stereotyp remix (2006)
* Asian Dub Foundation - "Altered Statesmen (2009)
* King Cannibal feat. Jahcoozi - "Murder Us (2009)
References
External links
Archived websiteJahcooziat
Kitty-Yo records
{{Authority control
German electronic music groups
Musical groups from Berlin
Kitty-Yo artists
BPitch Control artists
Downtempo musicians