Day 31 Song 31 - Petting Zoo

A little something I wrote at my brother's place in China. He lives in Shanghai in a skyscraper, and it was very peaceful in his apartment for about 2 hours every morning :-) I recorded with my buddy Florian in Lothar's studio in the RAW temple in Friedrichshain. Lothar is really nuts about acoustics and the walls and ceiling of each isolation room are covered in foam daggers and bumps. It was magical to record there, as Lothar is a true Sound Scientist.
Petting Zoo by Justine_Electra

Day 30 Song 30 - Berlin Rocks

And now a little dirty dance remix I made for my pals Sex in Dallas... Adrian was very passionate about this remix and came into my room every half an hour to espouse compliments on its developments. I really enjoyed making it, and I think you can hear that in the track :-)
Berlin Rocks by Justine_Electra

Day 29 Song 29 - Virgin

Yet another of my southern whore fantasy songs :-)
Virgin - She'll Let You In by Justine_Electra

Day 28 Song 28 - Bagpipes

If you live in Germany and have ever wondered about the literal difference between "kalt" and "warm miete", then you may find this piece of information valuable.

Grundsätzlich gilt lt. BGH WuM 2006, 518: „Die Vereinbarung einer Warmmiete ist nicht erlaubt“. Mancher glaubt, dass eine sog. Warmmiete sämtliche Kosten abdeckt, die im Rahmen des Mietverhältnisses anfallen. Doch im Mietrecht gibt es diesen Begriff nicht. Richtig ist „BRUTTOMIETE“. Diese beinhaltet einerseits die Nettomiete und andererseits die Heiz- und Nebenkosten (zusammengefasst als Betriebskosten bezeichnet). Als Betriebskosten dürfen nur die Kosten umgelegt werden, die in der Betriebskostenverordnung ausgewiesen sind und dementsprechend tatsächlich mietvertraglich auch vereinbart sind. Dabei ist zu beachten, dass auch eine Heizkostenpauschale, bei der alle Kosten mit einer monatlichen Zahlung endgültig abgegolten sind unzulässig ist (OLG Hamm RE WuM 85, 267; OLG Schleswig RE WuM 86, 330). Ausnahme ist dabei nur ein Gebäude mit zwei Wohnungen, von denen eine vom Vermieter bewohnt wird, hier braucht nicht nach Verbrauch abgerechnet werden, wenn das vereinbart ist.
Die Miete ist am dritten Werktag des Monats fällig (Bruttomiete). Über die monatlichen Vorauszahlungen der Heiz- und Nebenkosten ist nach Ende des gesetzlich vorgeschriebenen 12monatigen Abrechnungszeitraumes innerhalb 12 Monaten abzurechnen.

Bagpipes by Justine_Electra

Day 27 Song 27 - Mon Citroen

The literal translation is supposed to be "My Citroen remains in disrepair" x 5 then "I love you" then "I would like a beautiful night" and then "I would like condiments of the night (condoms??)" and then right at the end, the only other french phrase i know "Ferme votre busch" which means "shut your fucking mouth".
Mon Citroen by Justine_Electra

Day 26 Song 26 - Delmenhof

And now something for those of us who like to boogey down on a Thursday morning. It's one of my newest tracks, I made it a couple of weeks ago when I was visiting my parents-in-law in a town in Germany called "Delmenhorst". I made it all in Live 6.0 and it's still under construction - that intro melody is somewhat annoying so I'm going to make a new mix of it on the weekend and re-load it.
Hope you get something out of it :-)
Delmenhof by Justine_Electra

Day 25 Song 25 - Golden Brow

This is a remake of one of the first songs I ever "produced" on my own. At the time I was living in a town called Lismore, near the northern coast of NSW. My flatmate Damian had a fancy 80s synth keyboard and I remember distinctly being mesmerised by the sounds of my own recorded instruments, and the eery effect of the vocals. It was like sinking into another world, and I stayed there completely concentrated for hours.
But as I mentioned previously, this is a remake. I made it with Bernd from Tarwater and love the crazy alto sax at the end which is off-tune a little bit, but still seems to fit perfectly, as Bernd's music always does.

dancing on my own to the L.A.
swimming through the fields of light
take me down
take me to that ancient place
Stroke me underneath my golden brow
hold me under
hold me under
as you stroke my golden brow
feel the sweat as it holds my head
in this position
Dancing on my own to the L.A.
swimming through the fields
as you look that way
as you catch that tear
take me down the road
stroke me underneath my golden
brow
Golden Brow by Justine_Electra

Day 24 Song 24 - Primal Scream

My Dad was upset that not every song on my blog is "up to scratch". My argument was that everyone's scratch is different, and besides, this is a journal.
Enjoy today's song "Primal Scream". It contains the only known recording of Bernd Jestram's voice.
Primal Scream by Justine_Electra

Day 23 Song 23 - Wild Country Girl

leaving my wild city life
cos it's getting in my lungs
sick of dance and drink and rugs
thou seek your peace in the leaves
and the sky'll shine all day
and we'll eat and sleep and lay

he was my wild country boy
he had feathers in his hair
he took me riding on his horse everywhere
and we went shooting bows and arrows
and we played wretched games
we gave and lived under the rain

no two-time running man
will save my soul for me
no promises will stop me live my dreams

i was a wild country girl
i had feathers in her hair
and i hitch-hiked everywhere
my best-friend made guitars
and we stayed up all night
and his wife she didn't mind

no two-time etc.
no hard-done tellin boss-man
will get inside my day
i'm gonna have my fun and have my way

this is our wild country life
and we run around all night
and we cry and laugh and fight
these are our wild country babes
and they love it in the dirt
and they smile and play and hurt

no two-time etc.
no hard-done etc.
i'm gonna have my fun
i'm gonna have my life
i'm gonna have my love and have my way
Wild country girl by Justine_Electra

Day 22 Song 22 - Inside Yr Heaven

At the time when Hanno Leichtmann and I were working together (around 2000) I had a contract with a sub-company of BMG called K&P music, who some of you may know as Krall und Puppe of German "City" band fame. They were both very eager for me to record a hit-song (remember the days of militant record company managers?) and just LOVED Inside your Heaven.

Inside yr Heaven by Justine_Electra

Day 21 Song 21 - Can't Explain

If you are older than 25 then you probably have at least 1,2 if not 3 relationships that really made a deep impression on you psychically... and that is most likely because you "lost" meaning: you got dumped :-P and if the person/s who dumped you was passionately interested in some aspect of your creativity, then you probably found yourself on a kind of "pavlov's dog" endless cycle of productivity at the end of the relationship. some would call it "musing"... "Can't Explain" is one of a massive series of songs I did over a period of months in 2008... don't listen to it if you're in a good mood :-P although you can hear birds chirping in the background!
Can't Explain by Justine_Electra
i set you free
my little bumblebee
it's not so bad
it's not so bad
when you feel the pain
the pain of heartache
and it feels the same
i let it in
i let it in
it feels warm inside
the feel of heartache

i know what is
and i tell it loud
you cannot lose
when you love the crowd
i never noticed
just how hard it feels
the pain of heartache
when you let it in

it's not so bad
being on your own
the freedom whispers in the telephone
what will i do
with my time today?
i think i'll work it,
work through the pain
it's not so bad
when you work it out
it's not so bad
when you work it out
i let it in
and i tell you straight,
it's not too late

i'll find another
with a golden hand
who takes me swimming
who'll understand
with whom i'll sing
with whom i'll swim

it's not so bad
when you work it out
just who is running
and who's had enough
i build these pictures
inside my brain
and some get scrambled
and some explain

explain to me exactly what you mean
explain to me
come inside with me
i will help you feel
everything
is always strange when you work it out
i can't explain what it's all about
just choose your rides
get on it properly
you can jump off
before the end is near

they gave me a message
yesterday
i have to get up
and i have to pray
i must believe
in the times to come
or incomplete
my mission
to tell you now
to tell you now

Day 20 Song 20 - 50 Times

If there's two things I like, it's phonebooths and library books. I think it's their anonymity. And their condition. You always have to trust that the last person to use them didn't wipe snot on them, and if they did it doesn't matter. Also, when you call someone from a phonebooth, they don't know who's calling you, and if you use a phonebooth in the dark when it's raining, it makes you feel like you're a detective or a fugitive. Even if was pissed in. Another thing I like is 70s era council flats. There's a big acre of them around the corner from my 30s era nazi worker's flat. Walking past them is so depressing that it gives you a good mood just as a contrast. It was on a mid-summer evening walk past those council flats that struck me with the need to record a song. This is what came out! *WARNING* it's RRRUFF!
50 Times by Justine_Electra

Day 19 Song 19 - Tammy Pilot

I had a very close friend when I was 19. Her name was Tamara Verhagen, and together we wanted to conquer the world. She led me to tree-lined valleys in her Toyota Hiace and eventually to Europe where we got picked up by the Roman Mafia and had all kinds of terrifying adventures. I wrote this song and realised later that it was about her. A kind of imagined dialogue that she could have had with her parents if they could express themselves better.
tammy pilot by Justine_Electra

Day 18 Song 18 - Me & Cherry

This is the first song I ever did on ProTools. As you may or may not know, it signalled the beginning of a love affair that would never end... :-) And on that note I would like to take the opportunity now to thank you all for your comments and words of encouragement. I'm really enjoying this project already, I'm wondering why I didn't start it earlier (!) and I'm looking forward to dusting off more audio files and loading them up for your perusal/enjoyment :-) If you watched the Louise Hay movie, you'll understand when I say I'm going thru the "green light effect", and am getting some positive opportunities already, directly as a result of this blog! And I have YOU dear reader, to thank for that!
Winners of mp3s so far:
Martin Busse
Amanda Kelly
Gabriel Kinkel
Joni Taylor
Me & Cherry by Justine_Electra

Day 17 Song 17 - This Could Be The Most Beautiful Noise

Bonjour fellow traveller!
This old song was recorded in downtown San Francisco in 2008. My buddy Joe has a studio in his basement there which he graciously let me use for around 2 months. I met a very cute boy in a pub nearby who plays guitar in The Hospitals, and he played the very crunchy electric which thunders on through the track. Although circumstances denied me more intimate relations with the young Chris Gunn, his guitar solo retains a permanent place in my heart.
This Could Be The Most Beautiful Noise by Justine_Electra

Day 16 Song 16 - Rose of Texas

My parents-in-law came to visit this weekend. It was very relieving. They love the baby and looked after him so that we could go out and get our groove on.
We all went to the art gallery together on Sunday, and on the way home we got done by the Berlin ticket inspectors. I wrote (well, it remixed itself on the record player and i recorded it) this song for my buddy Dirty Harry Potter a DJ and truck driver when he told me he was travelling through Texas. And I think it applies quite well to those ticket inspectors too.
Rose of Texas by Justine_Electra

Day 15 Song 15 - Sonnet

I am totally getting into organic african instruments, or indigenous instruments generally.
The call of the wild!!!
Sonnet by Justine_Electra

Day 14 Song 14 - Gazey Pasha

Made this in Turkey too - I like it but Steffen says the swooshing pan-noises can get you on a bad trip if you concentrate on them too hard. I am considering removing them, but for I haven't yet found a good replacement. This track also branches into a (take cover) minimal direction... which for me is a bit overdone and I'm going to tone it down, next week... and I stole some Jenny Wilson finger snaps which I want to squeeze in there somewhere too... anyway - a good weekend track!
Gazey Pasha by Justine_Electra
The intro is a bit long, but that is because it's the DJ mix :-)
Also - the first person to guess which song it's a remix of wins the high quality mp3 or aiff version.

Day 13 Song 13 - Do Yr Show

Wow - this song has a massive history. To cut it short, I bought the record with the original sample loop in Sth Africa on the Red Bull DJ Academy, got the basic lyrics ("I was with her for 8 months at the same time as being with this other guy") from my then-flatmate, Sarah (shit forgot her surname! oh well..!) and then my good old buddy Patrick Petzold (Rich n Kool, Nachlader) came along and did this fabulous French rap (french rap is really one of my favourite things ever) at the Masha Qrella Studio, and Muffin did the "mnah mnah"s and Kwesi, infamous 8mm doorman and motorbike fanatic, did the deep black man "build a house next door to you"s. That whole 2nd half (the english lyrics) is ripped off this song called Mona, which Craig McLachlan from Neighbours made totally famous in the early 90s. Oh shit I hope he doesn't google himself and I get in trouble...
Do Yr Show by Justine_Electra

Day 12 Song 12 - The Waves aka B-Lento

"And the waves fall in, and the waves fall out."
And to celebrate an exhausting day with child, this bossa nova, a la Jestram.
It's funny how the bigger the child gets, the heavier it is to carry. Add to it some rigorous piano playing and you have a pair of very tired armsies.
Good night :-)
The Waves by Justine_Electra

Day 11 Song 11 - The Can Man

My little man lived in a can
He had a sunhat for a lid
My little boy didn't need no toys
The grass and flowers were his friends

He ran up the street like a bolt of light
When the coppers found out where he lived
He sailed on the sea to the land of the free
Where the monsters
Asked him all to sing

Recorded this one in Turkey last week...

The Can Man by Justine_Electra

and some eye candy to accompany your viewing experience:

Day 10 Song 10 - Baby on the Run

If you ever had a boyfriend who you loved more than he loved you, then you'll understand this song. It may even be the case that he loved you just as much, it's just his free spirited attitude caused you to feel like you spent more time yearning for him than actually spending quality time with him. F***er.. A song for heartbreak!
There are a couple of versions of this, but this particular version was produced by my good buddy Stephan Ruhl, a true friend who I met through an ad in "Der Zweite Hand" around 12 years ago when he was looking for (translated) "someone who can sing trip-hop". When I played him this song he got all revved up and put a band together specially to record it, with Gabriel Kinkel on bass and Alex Tarnas on drums. Thank you Stephan!
Baby on the Run by Justine_Electra

Day 9 Song 9 - Kinda Feel Comfortable

The Sunday hangover cure is:
Kind a Feel Comfortable by user1218154
This song has a working title - "Tribute to Tarwater" because it REALLY reminds me of Bernd's slow, sensual, scraping textures. Actually, I believe it really was composed on a Sunday, one of those days when everyone in the flat is hungover and bumping into eachother in the hallway, grinning foolishly. No-one wants to go out because it's really grey, but the coldness sweeps through the flat washing the cigarette smoke and alcohol away. Can you tell I drank 1 too many Jaegermeisters last night? Whatever... enjoy!
Play it LOUD!

Day 8 Song 8 - 40,000 years

Jor-El makes really great synth electro-pop dancefloor tracks, and I remixed one of them. It's called "40,000 years" and is, like most of the songs on my blog, only available here :-) I DJ it in my tek-house set sometimes, and sing live over the top. It is very fun.
40,000 years by user1218154
btw soundcloud rocks right now!

Day 7 Song 7 - Los Angeles City (EXTREME REMIX)

Matti Montgomery calls this "The Google Maps Song". It emerged while looking fervently at a Google Map of L..A. I decided to go there to escape certain death (that isimportant sometimes) and ended up recording it in the Valley with some very nice guys whose names I am actually not sure of (met them on shrooms), but I'll look it up and post it next week. My good friend and guide, Moss Seros, annihalated all present with his battle-axe guitar playing shreds.

Los Angeles City (EXTREME REMIX) by user1218154

Day 6 Song 6 - Around & Around

Ooh.. cutting it close there! I have been effing around for the last 2 hours trying to get some kind of streaming solution together. I know all the mp3s don't work - crap. But this one hopefully does!
Anyhow.
This song poured out of me and Live 6.0 was the nearest thing, so it's the first ever song I made with Live. Have you tried Live before? If you're like me, then you're brain needed about 2 years to understand the, as they say in the tutorial video, "Live Concepts". Yaaawn. So I just kind of made this song the way a homeless person would knit a scarf. Nothing against homeless people. But you know what the scarf looks like. So it's quite surprising that this song came out sounding, in my opinion, quite styling actually. Well, just have a listen and nudge some kudos this way. And as Charlie Brown would say - "Blech! Kudos!"



Around and Around by user1218154

Day 5 Song 5 - Old Miss

Heylo! Schneider TM says this song reminds him of a band called "Beat Happening". For me it's a mixture between Jon Spencer and Joni Mitchell. Just a supposition, but I must admit, that's a big ticket to put on yourself. If it reminds you of anything else (but please don't tell me if it's "shit") then comment, or contact me privately.

Old Miss by user1218154

Day 4 Song 4 - Boozy Shoes

This song is a reel toaster! If you're trying to give up alcohol then this is the song for you! The basic lyrics are: "Boozy Shoes, Where are you? Come clean. Come clean." Maybe AA could use it as their anthem at the end of the friendship circle... Anyhow, the black guy singing on there is actually me pitched right down... did you guess?


Boozy Shoes by user1218154

Day 3 Song 3 - Lovesong

Here is a track i made with Hanno Leichtmann, aka "Static" from City Centre Offices. He used an Akai MPC to do the beats. He's actually a trained drummer, and can play jazz drums surprisingly well (for an electro guy). It's called "Lovesong" and as you will hear, the chorus is stolen. But from who?? The first one to email me who gets a free mp3 of their choice. Just to spice things up a bit..;-]

Lovesong by Justine_Electra

Day 2 Song 2 - Ring a Rosie

This is called "Ring a Rosie"
The background loop was edited using a good old Atari.
It sums up the feeling in Berlin after a hectic night on the town on May 1st.
It also reminds me of my missing cat Rosie. He's still at Karsten's Cat Farm waiting to get picked up.

Ring a Rosie by user1218154

Easy listening!

Day 1 Song 1 - Nippon Darkness

Hello! You are probably reading this because you have heard of other music from Justine Electra (me) and I recommended that you come visit my blog. After watching "Julie and Julia" I decided that it's not enough to just write a blog. You have to make a CHALLENGE!

Anyone who knows me probably saw my music archives - it's all stored on DVDs and CDs as ProTools files in an Ikea cabinet in my pretend music studio in my flat in downtown Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. A space-clearer said I should make a best-of my hand-made, hand-produced songs and throw the rest away. She's right - I feel somewhat shackled by my disorganised back-catalogue, and since the baby came i really need to make space.

The songs are going to get uploaded one by one, and your feedback will help me with my "best of". If you want to buy a song for private or commercial use, then just hit the order now button and I will send you the song.

BTW I would be flattered if anyone wanted to do a cover version of any of them - for whatever reason. Let me know if you need chords or lyrics. If you intend to sell the cover version, then email me and we can discuss publishing details.

Also, if you want any tracks for remixing purposes then don't hesitate to ask!

If I get behind then I'll publish a number of mp3s at once, but the maximum allowed behind-ness is 7 days.

Here is the first song. It's called "Nippon Darkness". Actually it's a cover of a Will Oldham song "I See a Darkness", and was made famous by Johnny Cash. Acid Pauli did a version (I DJ it in tek-house sets) but it wasn't until Till Kuenzel made the Tresor documentary "Sub-Berlin" and commissioned me to record a cover version that I considered covering it myself.




Nippon Darkness by user1218154


See you tomorrow!