JM#052 – Rulefinn

Syncopated hats, snapping bass-lines, larger than life string arrangements and an energy you can almost touch; it must be the sound of Disco, and selected by one of Oslo’s staunches admirers of the genre, Rulefinn. The Oslo DJ takes us back to the early seventies, to a time before Abba and the Bee Gees, when Disco was still the proclivity of a rough and ready big band and it was still funky. Away from the sequence, the cheese and the sickening commercialism, Disco was a high energy music made by brilliant musicians especially for the dance floor.

Rulefinn highlights the fundamental building blocks of Disco from the origins of the genre with unmovable four to floor kicks, expressive vocals, and overblown arrangements coalescing around a raw energy. He tames them where he can, reigning them into a mix with the experience of lifelong commitment and an impeccable knowledge his selections. Infectious and intense, it is none other than the sound of Disco as it was always intended and mixed by an experienced hand.

Give us an introduction.
I’m Rulefinn; DJ, record collector, label manager of a tiny label called Finnitus, producer, and all-around nerd.

What is your earliest memory of a piece of music?
 The intro track on my TMNT read-along cassettes.
What sound or genre do you feel represents what you try to do through your selections?
Disco for sure. It has the full emotional registry; it has dancefloor monsters, the slow jams, the solos, the power vocals, the sampled-to-death-for-a-reason drum tracks.
What do you consider your role as DJ should be?
To make people dance. That is totally combinable with self-realisation through research though, but it’s important to keep the balance.
What was the theme of your mix?
 I wanted to do a straight-up high-tempo disco set, a journey from European obscurity to American cheese.
Which track in your Æmix best represents the theme of your mix and why?
 I would say Carolyne Benrier – Secret agent love. It’s a 16+ minute track that I dropped in from the second “act”. Cheese and floor-filler in perfect harmony.
What do you hope your Æmix relays to the listener?
 Disco is so much more than Gloria Gaynor and Bee Gees.
What’s next for you after this mix?
 I’m currently working on a world tour this fall, hopefully consisting of gigs in South America, Asia and a couple of dates in Europe.