Last month I met Tim Sweeney djing at MiniMüzikhol, a venue Arto Mwambé have been playing at recently. The place is in Istanbul, run by a local hero called Minas. Dancing till late, this legendary night had its finish with a belly dancing track edited by Baris K. - Yaz Gazeteci. Soon coming to Offenbach, we are looking forward to his gig at Robert Johnson together with Oliver Hafenbauer and Manuel Raven on the 18th of december 2010. Tim Sweeney is running, every Tuesday since 1999, his radio show Beats in Space in New York. Featuring, among others, Robert Johnson resident djs such as Brontosaurus, Losoul, Gerd Janson and Ata. On his website you can listen to every show ever recorded. Since then I am still in touch with him, so i took the chance to have a little e-mail interview with Tim. Here it is.
TS: Hi Ramona!
RJ: How is it going?
TS: Sitting at home on a Saturday night in New York after I tried to
make myself dinner (didn't do that good of a job, to be honest. I love
food, but I can't cook!) and working on this interview while I listen
to Hunee's record on WT Records. Not the most typical Saturday night
for me, but I can't complain. Good to be in one place for a little
bit!
RJ: I still can't get this track out of my head. You send me the link
to the radioshow of Baris K, which is mainly compiled with turkish
music, both traditional and contemporary. It underlines the mood of
the city perfectly, the mixture of new and old, not only in the music
scene, but in general. How did you experience Turkey, in particular,
Istanbul?
TS: Well, so far, I have only been to Istanbul in Turkey and for me it
is that crazy mix of East and West. Beautiful old buildings and some
ugly new ones, amazing food, the Islamic call to prayer happening
throughout the day and night, the minaret's along the skyline, and
then the clubbing and house parties like you could find all over the
world. I haven't had a chance to stay in Istanbul for long though.
This last time was my third time there, but it's always only been for
a day or two that I could stay. Not enough time to really experience
everything in the city!
RJ: Is there any remarkable connection concerning contemporary dance
music in form of artist and music exchange between America and Turkey
going on right now, or to be more precise between New York and
Istanbul, you have noticed?
TS: Hmm, well, Andrew Lovefingers from New York first turned me onto
the music of Baris K from Istanbul. And we've both been big supporters
of his music. There's definitely a scene here that's interested in
Turkish music. I remember a friend from APT (a club in New York that's
now shut down) giving me a CD of old Turkish music years ago too. And
they're not in New York, but the B-Music label from London has put out
some amazing compilations of Turkish music as well.
RJ: Is Turkey ready to enter the European Union? What do you think, Tim.
TS: Haha, you want the opinion of the stupid American? That's trouble.
Well, I would like to see them a part of the European Union for sure!
I like things to be progressive rather than protectionist, but most of
them time it doesn't seem to end up that way now-a-days!
RJ: Ok, let's go back to New York. Oliver has been visiting you few
months ago in your studio during his stay in the States. We are
curious about how it looks like in your studio. Do you have any
pictures?
TS: Yeah, I was just putting some studio pictures online actually. You
can see them here on my Facebook fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=243524&id=239709938060 .
I've been trying to take more pictures recently. I didn't document much of
anything during the first ten years of the show, so I have to at least
do that for the next ten years!
RJ: You are running Beats in Space since 11 years now, the same period
Robert Johnson is existing now. What drove you to start the show back
in 1999?
TS: I had played on a couple college radio shows when I was in high
school and I really enjoyed it, so I just knew it was something I had
to do once I got into college on my own. I had been collecting mix
tapes of radio shows from London when I was in high school too, so
there was something always kind of magical about radio for me.
RJ: Have you since ever left New York for a longer period than 7 days?
TS: I have, but not often! This year I missed one show. Even though
I'm flying a lot, I like to be here in New York to do the radio show.
I enjoy doing the show live. It's just more fun and exciting that way.
I like the mistakes of live radio. I like the chaos of live radio. For
me, it's what gives the show it's character. Everything feels so clean
all the time in music now. Things don't need to be perfect all the
time.
RJ: Have you, or rather, what kind of musical development have you
noticed in yourself since the last years?
TS: Oh, I don't know the answer to that one! sorry.
RJ: As I remember, last time you have been playing at Robert Johnson
was with Thomas Hammann at a DFA night in February 2009. Anything
returning to your mind from this visit to Frankfurt/ Offenbach?
TS: I remember loving Thomas' DJing and thinking how nervous I was
playing at such a legendary spot with so many amazing DJ's. One of
those "I'm not worthy" moments. I had a great time though (but I did
stay nervous until the very end)!
RJ: Thank you for the interview. We are looking forward to see you again.
TS: Thank you! I can't wait to come back.
You should definitely check out Tim's website: http://www.beatsinspace.net/
Photo by Tim Sweeney / Facebook
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