Do we need to introduce Penny Metal? Not really!! Just a fab DJ that dabbles in many things of artyness!! From designing posters to t-shirts to running her own club night and DJ globe trotter. Penny is long overdue a booking to DJ at NaZdrove! Consider it a certainty early next year!!
Bearing in mind that we live on an insular little island; How and when did you have your eastern european music epiphany?! What was it that prompted you to start playing the tunes you do?
I was off my head in a field dancing to techno when I stopped and thought: “this is shit!” I was so bored of the repetitive beat, the coldness of the electronic sounds and the insular way people danced. It was just not my rhythm!. I went back to the classical music which I grew up with and rediscovered Brahms Hungarian dances; remembered why I liked playing the Sabre Dance on the piano; my instinctive love of Eastern European graphic design and vodka and went from there. I went researching! That is when the vinyl collecting began. And I was in a position to play the tunes as I was making parties with people who encouraged me to play them. It was the start of my mission to ‘play tunes no one has ever heard and ought to’! The music continues to surprise and inspire me.
What were your musical tastes prior to this? I may be wrong but I was thinking that (like me!) you were a bit of a punk in days gone by and also possibly into the new age traveller, dubby techno festie world.....
What were your musical tastes prior to this? I may be wrong but I was thinking that (like me!) you were a bit of a punk in days gone by and also possibly into the new age traveller, dubby techno festie world.....
Yes to all those!
I recall your first gig was Djing under a railway arch (was it in Italy?). How did that come about and how did it go?
I recall your first gig was Djing under a railway arch (was it in Italy?). How did that come about and how did it go?
It was in a squatted railway arch next to the bus garage in Camberwell, south London about 14 years ago. I had two cassette tapes of Romanian folk music and 30 bottle of vodka. It wasn’t really DJing, more to see if I could get a reaction with the music. Needless to say there were some very crazy drunken people having a great time but I really put that down to the vodka! I bribed them! It was also where the phrase ‘Mad Tunes’ came from.
After that first gig, what came next? Please tell us a little about your gigs in the early days of your DJ adventure and people's reactions!
After that first gig, what came next? Please tell us a little about your gigs in the early days of your DJ adventure and people's reactions!
I was running around with the LSDiezel Sound system who were based in said squat so there were lots of opportunities to play… usually at 7 in the morning when everyone was either dubbed out or in a K-hole. I got the same reaction as I do now – amusement and bewilderment! My first regular DJ gigs were with Stranger than Paradise.
Can you tell us a little about the tunes you are currently playing? It would be interesting to know how you gel all these styles together and what forms the bedrock of your set. I guess there is an emphasis on all out speedy folk tunes? (Can you tell us about some of the music styles you play - from Ukrainian folk tunes to wedding songs - help our readers understand these styles a little!!!)
Gosh that is really difficult to describe! And I have yet to meet anyone who can describe what I do! Just by definition of Mad Tunes my sets are eclectic. The audience determines what tunes I play and my audiences vary wildly! I’m big into surf, Finnish rock and Israeli folk dances at the moment, and my ever expanding collection of weird electronic cartoon tunes. I usually start off quite something ‘safe’ like The Barry Sisters, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Cabernet Deneuve… something with a recognisable rhythm… and then take it from there. I have to build them up to the extreme Mad Tunes like speed accordionist Branimir Dokic and some of the Romanian tunes, and then I have a few cute crossover tunes which will spin the audience into the electronic world of moogs and theremins and back again into a world of bouzoukis. Its unpredictable, fun and dependent on what alcohol I am drinking!
Which of your songs are bonafide dance floor fillers!
Macedonian Hora - the BluTones, The Twilight Zone – The Ventures, Hiszpan – Lao Che
What is the craziest song in your set? Is there perhaps one song that you know is so off kilter that it will just completely confuse the dance floor! ( It often makes me smile to see that look on people's face when they suddenly think "How the hell do I dance to this crazy tune!!!")
What is the craziest song in your set? Is there perhaps one song that you know is so off kilter that it will just completely confuse the dance floor! ( It often makes me smile to see that look on people's face when they suddenly think "How the hell do I dance to this crazy tune!!!")
There are many! Probably Gossipo Perpetuo by Jean Jacques Perrey, though most people look confused when I play!
Is there an Eastern European song that you just know you could never get away with playing in your set?!
Is there an Eastern European song that you just know you could never get away with playing in your set?!
Anything the other Dj has played.
Tell us about some of your club nights you have run in London. I'm thinking Soviet Reunion, Cossack Disko......
Soviet Reunion was great until I had to change the name to Cossack Disko! It was never the same and I gave up after being continually asked to play Shantel.
Polka Club and Radio Gargarin are great little nights. But my favourite nights are with The Last Tuesday Society which are wonderfully decadent. I usually play on top of a coffin surrounded by pig heads and chicken feet, or in front of naked men and women lounging in cake! And I’m usually drunk on champagne.
I get the impression that you have a personal affinity with a lot of this music beyond just how it sounds? Is there another, perhaps personal/ political, dimension to what you do?
Communism!
Have your previous music scene involvements influenced you as a DJ? Are there ideas or aspects from other scenes that you have tried to weave into your current musical endeavours?
Have your previous music scene involvements influenced you as a DJ? Are there ideas or aspects from other scenes that you have tried to weave into your current musical endeavours?
Yes, only in the aspect that a lot of my friends make obscure music. I try to stay unique in what I do. And I have a penchant for short crazy electronic tunes inspired by my love of cartoons.
You've DJ'd at some of the major European mainland club nights - Balkan Beats, Nuits Tsigane etc. What have been some of your highlights? (Any favourite club nights/DJs?)
You've DJ'd at some of the major European mainland club nights - Balkan Beats, Nuits Tsigane etc. What have been some of your highlights? (Any favourite club nights/DJs?)
Nuits Tsigane in Paris was a real highlight – it was my first ‘big gig’ and I was playing with Dj ClicK, Gaetano Fabri and DJ Tagada and sat there wondering how the hell my set would fit in to what they were playing! And they sat there wondering how the hell they were going to follow my set! It was also the first time I showed my Soviet commercial design slideshow so to me it was special. The Kopi in Berlin was funny – I had a room full of punks bouncing off the walls to cheesy Ukrainian wedding tunes! I also love playing at balkanXpress with Kosta Kostov. But my most enjoyable gigs are at the Escheloraque in Berlin with my favourite DJ Miss Vergnuegen – I am always astounded at the tunes she plays!
So....Djing from London to Budapest via Vienna and Helsinki to Istanbul. Can you tell us in which city you had the craziest reaction and what it was like?
So....Djing from London to Budapest via Vienna and Helsinki to Istanbul. Can you tell us in which city you had the craziest reaction and what it was like?
At a bar in Naples to a completely unsuspecting audience! They were expecting house music. I did play some pretty obscure tarantellas…
I've seen you listed to DJ at some slightly strange cultural events. What is the strangest non-music event you have been a dj at?
The launch of Grand Theft Auto 4.
You have the vinyl obsession! I take it you have some record hunting stories to tell us? (Greatest finds etc or funny related stories to finding vinyl).
You have the vinyl obsession! I take it you have some record hunting stories to tell us? (Greatest finds etc or funny related stories to finding vinyl).
In Bucharest I was rather upset to find that my regular dealer had disappeared so I recruited my friend to search out some. We ended up at a bookstall next to a metro station. It took him a while to convince the stall holder to open the metal cabinet behind him…”but Sir there is nothing in there except rubbish”…. out fell about 30 musty, warped records. Romanian folk, famous singers from the 50s, disco etc. I bought 20 of them - they smelt of communism! They still stink! But they sound great!
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When did the 'condition' that is record collecting first come on? Is it a condition that you can manage, or has it taken over!
Haha great question! About 15 years ago when I went on my voyage of discovery of Eastern European music. But I have always been a collector – my vinyl has to compete with collections of circular saw blades, graphic design books and dead bumblebees! But finances and space does limit me and sometimes when I get the urge to go hunting and I don’t find anything I am rather grateful. But when I do I am always throwing everything unessential out of my bag to fit in a few extra records. My last bag broke hauling 52 vinyls back from St Petersburg.
What release is the holy grail of your record hunting?
What release is the holy grail of your record hunting?
That has yet to be determined! I thought I found it 7 years ago when I got Romanian Dances by the BluTones but I keep on finding astounding records.
Favourite places to hunt out records?
Favourite places to hunt out records?
Berlin.
But you are not just a DJ! Can you tell us a little about all your other projects? - the Compilation CD series you have been releasing - Mad Tunes Radio Show on the airwaves......
The Mad Tunes CDs: the best tunes from my vinyl collection. I wanted to introduce people to the tunes, most of which you couldn’t find on CD. And the audiences I was playing to at the time had no clue about the music so the Cds were a good introduction. 10 years on I have just made Vol 16. I am up against iTunes as record companies are uploading their back catalogues but this just makes me more determined to find more and more obscure tunes. I have given away so many Mad Tunes Cds over the years and love it when people excitedly tell me they ‘have Vol 4’!
The Mad Tunes Show on wirelessfm.net: I started the internet radio station Wirelessfm with a couple of friends about 7 years ago and have doing a show ever since. We used to broadcast out of St Agnes Place until it got evicted and demolished. Now I broadcast from my front room. Its rather random, like my DJ sets, but it gives me a chance to discover new tunes. It does get a bit difficult when I can’t pronounce what I am playing though!
Slideshows: I started making simple slideshows when I was running Soviet Reunion. I have a vast collection of Soviet advertising posters which I found on the internet and they made a great backdrop to the music. I go against the trend of movies and cutup videos as I like to present the image as a whole rather than be ‘arty’ about it. This attitude probably explains my dislike of remixed music! I also like to tailor-make each slideshow to fit the gig. I did a vintage food poster slideshow to show in Italy. And I have a new Czech matchbox slideshow…
The Tower of Beebel is an installation of dead bumblebees, currently standing at 137ft tall. Another of my collections! My ambition is to show it in Tate Modern, with a soundtrack of my 59 versions of Flight of the Bumblebee, and an exhibition of my photographs and information about bumblebees.
You also have a deep interest in the world of design? You say your influences range from dada, punk and soviet graphics - can you tell us a little about those influences?
You also have a deep interest in the world of design? You say your influences range from dada, punk and soviet graphics - can you tell us a little about those influences?
Dada and punk went hand in hand – they were both confrontational and I have always been on the rebellious side so they really spoke to me and determined my outlook on life. I also have an interest in propaganda and advertising and always admired the strength and simplicity of Russian graphics, the essence of which I have adopted in my DJ sets. Design and music define a country and the more I explore the music the more I understand the design. Currently I am into Czech matchbox design and print processes.
Am I right in thinking that you have designed your own posters and you are also running a clothing line?
Am I right in thinking that you have designed your own posters and you are also running a clothing line?
Well my other job is as a graphic designer so it made sense to design my own posters! The clothing shop came about when I had no money and no work and needed to expand my design style by finally learning Illustrator (most of my design is photo based). I had accumulated this huge collection of Czech and Polish matchbox covers from the internet and some of the images were ripe for interpretation. I was admiring a t-shirt of an owl in Cologne recently when the guy who was wearing it said ‘it’s yours!’ Doh!
Tell me about your fascination with the design of record covers and your recent exhibition of LP sleeves in Scandinavia - how did that go?
Tell me about your fascination with the design of record covers and your recent exhibition of LP sleeves in Scandinavia - how did that go?
Theoretically, as a designer I feel I should try and portray a product realistically. With the majority of the record covers they seem to dispel that theory! I find great covers with bad music, and bad covers with great music. But as a whole my attitude is: if the record is bad its not a problem as the logo is great/cover is great/sleeve notes are funny or any combination of these! In Uppsala it was the first time I had shown them and it was well received. It was really nice to talk people through the designs, pointing out font use, photo use and styles defined by decade. Then I sold them a Mad Tunes CD! I would love to do a bigger exhibition.
Phew that's a lot of activity for one person, is there anything else we should know about Penny Metal?
Phew that's a lot of activity for one person, is there anything else we should know about Penny Metal?
I am a bumblebee specialist.
Where are you going in 2011?
Where are you going in 2011?
A Na Zdrove Party?
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