Ancient Astronauts
photo by Oliver Kurzemann
NAUTS Kabanjak · Dogu · Switchstance Recordings · Since 2001
They returned to planet Earth in 2001 after traveling the musical cosmos for thousands of years. Old school hip hop, Jamaican dub, African funk, and forward-thinking production — all assembled in Cologne and beamed directly to the galaxy.
The very name implies a mash-up of the distant past and the far future — traits exemplified in their melding of old school hip hop, funk, and dub reggae with forward-thinking flair and production technique.
Kabanjak and Dogu started doing parties together in their hometown of Cologne because they had similar musical tastes and were tired of cheap chart pop and cheap house music. They started producing together, spending a lot of time in the studio working on a sound that incorporated both of their tastes. It took a while to really know where they wanted to go.
Since 2001 they released tracks on label compilations and 12-inches through their label Switchstance Recordings, with music sold internationally from the start. Remixes followed for Fort Knox Five, The Jungle Brothers, Kid Loco, Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets, Zion I & The Grouch, Dr. Rubberfunk, All Good Funk Alliance, and Zion Train — among many others.
Their debut album We Are To Answer — released June 9, 2009 on ESL Music — linked up with an extraordinary roster of collaborators and was one of the most anticipated albums of that year. This is the personal favorite album of the Antakly Projects editor, 2009. A show not to be missed.
"At night when we shook around 3,000 people in the tent the manager of the band came to ask if the band could dance in our DJ area — because they were loving the music we were playing and security had problems keeping the fans away from them."
How did Ancient Astronauts begin?
First we just started doing parties together in our hometown because we had similar musical tastes and were tired of all those parties with stupid chart pop or cheap house music. Then we started to produce music together and spent a lot of time in the studio working on a direction of sound that incorporates both of our tastes. It took a while to really know where we wanted to go.
We released tracks on several label compilations and 12-inches on our label Switchstance Recordings since 2001 — music sold internationally from the start. During these years we did remixes for Fort Knox Five, The Jungle Brothers, Kid Loco, Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets), Zion I & The Grouch, Dr. Rubberfunk, All Good Funk Alliance, Zion Train, and more.
Another great memory is when we hosted the Groove Tent at a big festival in Austria where Placebo were the headliners. At night when we shook around 3,000 people in the tent, the band manager came to ask if the band could dance in our DJ area — because they were loving the music and security had problems keeping the fans away from them.
Greatest inspirations or influences?
There are so many inspiring things out there. We could write a book. Whether it's music, books, or painted art we're open for everything. But a great part of inspiration has an American background — like Hip Hop, Jack Kerouac, Charlie Parker, or even Jackson Pollock.
Yeah, American Hip Hop was a strong influence but also Jamaican Rockers Reggae and Dub, and African Funk. As far as DJing goes, the UK scene was the biggest influence for me. Labels like Ninja Tune, Mo' Wax, or Catskills showed us the direction of instrumental but very musical and melodical Hip Hop and Dopebeats.
Upcoming shows, tours, music events?
We will do our first USA tour in September, playing cities like New York, Washington DC, Miami, Austin, Boston, and more. We also do an event series called Trix & Flix in Cologne — 4 to 5 times a year, combining video premieres of selected international snowboard and skateboard movies with an ass-kicking party night on 2 floors.
We're working on dates for Bucharest, Sarajevo, Essen, Innsbruck and more.
Favorite artists?
Every unique artist doing their thing and staying true to themselves and their art. But to name one — it could be Tom Waits for me. He puts so many different musical styles together and makes it his own. When you listen to the radio you need one bar to know this is Tom Waits. That's what makes him one of my favorite artists.
I have to agree that every unique artist staying true to themselves deserves the highest respect. My favorites: Bonobo, DJ Krush, Mos Def, Burning Spear — because their music is timeless and original. When I heard them for the first time I got this feeling that I was listening to something very special and unique. There's some magic about their music and how they do it in their genre.
Best part of being part of ESL Music?
The Pharcyde — legendary Los Angeles hip hop duo, one of the most celebrated groups of the '90s.
UK reggae toaster and MC, one of the most recognised voices in British soundsystem culture.
Bay Area hip hop artist, known for his politically charged rhymes and jazz-influenced flow.
Singer and collaborator, adding a deeply melodic and emotive dimension to the album.
Oakland rapper and spoken word artist, known for soulful lyricism and global musical vision.
Additional sonic collaborators rounding out the diverse textures of the debut album.
of Open Ears
As I heard on the radio, Afro-American musicians were touring Germany already in the 19th century and left a great impact. They introduced the Germans to early jazz forms like the Cakewalk. We also have a long musical tradition of our own — whether it's Techno or Classical Music or Krautrock, German people have always been very open for music.
True. We also have a long culture of Reggae live concerts and soundsystem parties in Germany. Reggae became really huge, some acts became real popstars. Also the Gypsy-influenced Balkan music became very strong, and through radio stations like Funkhaus Europa, world music got more and more followers and club nights dedicated to this music got bigger and better. There's so much different styles of music which makes Germany very interesting to go out and enjoy good people and music.
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"Every unique artist doing their thing and staying true to themselves and their art deserves the highest respect."
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