51
Words Adam Anonymous
AMBASSADORS
AT LARGE
Proudly spearheading the German drum & bass scene with hints of distinctly international flavour, Santorin sure maintain
Teutonic tendencies toward workmanlike ethics. After celebrating their tenth anniversary last year, the label turns its attention to
latest compilation ‘Ambassadors 4’, a humungous vault of fresh d&b from their home country and beyond…
Taking a quick glance down the tracklisting of So does Santorin, as the series mantle suggests, see secondary moniker, From Amen To Z, as a subtitle to
‘Ambassadors 4’ is a fairly fruitless intention. In itself as ambassadors for German drum & bass? ‘Ambassadors 4’.
fact, even held up to track-skipping d&b mix album “Santorin artists come from various countries around
leviathans, it’s difficult not to feel exhausted merely the world,” Lichtwald clarifies. “It’s more in the “Pressure is kind of an oasis,” Lichtwald enthuses.
reading through the ambitious range of truly eclectic sense of ambassadors for drum & bass, to spread our “Telmo A and I can play every kind of breakbeat here,
talent showcased within. Surely this was a monstrous interpretation of the music we love from an original from Amen to Z. Jürgen, the club owner, always says
undertaking, we ask Santorin’s Oliver Lichtwald, aka view. It’s all about the music, the vibes, the deep ‘Pressure the best running and constant drum &
Lightwood, while taking a moment to recover our moments and the high times.” bass event with the same resident line-up from the
breath? beginning in the whole of mainland Europe’. Maybe
After tireless digging through over 1,500 demos, a he’s right. Up to 500 to 600 people every month
“Ha ha, definitely. The role of a label gets more and veritable glut of producers make their Santorin debuts since 1994 speaks for itself.
more important nowadays, I think. At the moment on the comp, too, alongside more established label
there are so many good talents and at the same time favourites like Simon V and Young Ax, who contribute “The German d&b scene is still versatile,” he
even more redundant or crappy tracks around, so who cuts with skittering deepness and blissed-out headrush continues. “You get everything from raves to tiny club
will select for the masses? Do you want to hear 100 appeal respectively. events, in big and small towns. But the attitude of
new tunes every day or listen to the ten best ones?” clubbing changed in general, I think. It seems people
“Many new artists found their way to Santorin,” prefer watching culinary shows on evening TV than
Scaling up that well-argued logic, the double CD confirms Lichtwald. “There are strong talents like trying to find out new acrobatic dancing steps!
version of ‘Ambassadors 4’ is announced by three sH1 from Leipzig, Parhelia from St Petersburg and
12-inches before and on its release on May 8. Boasting especially Tyler Straub from California and Dan “Thankfully we’re in Tübingen, the German city most
27 tracks, it’s comparative child’s play against the HabarNam from Romania.” worth living in. Besides good food, here everyone
four individual pieces of its digital release, though, is still crazy about learning new dancing steps. And
which includes an additional 18 tunes in total. All are Based in the fairly unremarkable German university there is this special aura of the scientific research
previously unreleased. town Tübingen, on the face of things this isn’t the arising from the local university! When you get rid
most obvious base for a drum & bass movement. of worldwide connecting, chatting, file transfers and
“The ‘Ambassadors…’ series started back in 2002,” Cheerily, one of the most famous past residents was Twittering, you can just lie down on the grass near the
Lichtwald explains. “It was time to spread the Santorin Alois Alzheimer, who gave his name to Alzheimer’s Neckar River, unwrap your barbecue grill and have a
sound. The fourth instalment presents the entire disease. Yet Santorin’s monthly night, Pressure, has good time with your friends. What else do you need?”
spectrum of Santorin, from high-pressure pop to old become something of a Mecca in European d&b
school jungle to dark cyclones of bass.” terms, consistently attracting hundreds of revellers for Amen to that, indeed.
the past 15 years. It has also lent its tellingly descriptive
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K51_Santorin.indd 51 29/4/09 13:09:56
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