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Fanu - Radio Cafe98 - Feb 2005
trocknroll
Biography of Fanu
Janne Hatula from Finland is the figure behind the artist names Fanu and FanuSamurai, the former of which concentrates on drum and bass, while the latter produces downtempo-oriented projects.
Fanu got into jungle and drum and bass in the mid-nineties, which he considered seminal time in terms of shaping the backbone of drum and bass as well as his own drum-and-bass way of thinking. It was artists like Photek, Tek9, Source Direct, Goldie, Roni Size and labels such as Metalheadz and Good Looking Records, to mention the most important ones, that were largely responsible for making Fanu’s style what it is today.
“I’m creating today’s drum and bass with the aesthetics that come from the past,” he says. “More often than not, there has to be proper breakbeat action in the music that I write because what blew me away in old drum and bass was the mind-blowing syncopation, and for me, that was what made jungle and d&b what they were back then.”
Those are the elements that Fanu definitely cherishes with great pride. “What is equally important in music is what I call emotional resonance (he admits he picked that one from DJ Shadow); there is often this certain level of depth in the tunes that I find myself liking the most. Imaginative soundworlds are where it’s at!”
Fanu’s unique style has definitely made an impact on today’s drum and bass audience. So far, he has released music on Subtitles, Commercial Suicide, Offshore, Breakin’, Thermal, Warm Communications, Soothsayer, and LoCuts. At present, there’s music by him lined up to be coming out on Nerve, Warm Communications, Darkestral, 13 Music / Vibe’z, Make-Shift, and Subtle Audio.
Like that wasn’t enough, Fanu is just about to launch a record label of his own called Lightless Recordings, which will concentrate on releasing the style that he is pushing: deep atmospheres and dirty fat breaks.
To close the circle, Fanu also DJs to represent the styles to the fullest: so far, he’s been called to bring the breakbeat pressure to England, Hungary, Germany, Holland, Poland, Belgium as well as his homeland, Finland. “I like to keep the set varied: I play different styles and switch between the moods as I think it’s important to keep the crowd interested. I’ve always found the unexpectable DJs the best, and that’s why I am like myself when I get behind the decks. Nothing beats seeing the crowd go mental for tunes you love the most!”
FanuSamurai, Janne’s downtempo alter ego, produces material that resembles drum and bass a little but which still falls outside the definition of drum and bass.
“In downtempo I find endless possibilities for musical ideas: if compared to drum and bass, I think there’s a bit more space for playfulness and limitlessness in downtempo,” he admits. “My biggest downtempo influence must’ve been the smokey triphop I heard in the nineties. But basically, into downtempo I pour all my non-dnb influences. I owe a great deal to Future Sound of London, Underworld, Dj Shadow, Amon Tobin, and many more.”
FanuSamurai’s debut album called 'Focused Mind' is coming out on Pauze Records around June 2006. There’s been props coming for the album from the likes of Amon Tobin, Polar/K as well as Blu Mar Ten so you know FanuSamurai’s downtempo works are nothing short of genius material in a league of its own.
