At first glance the name Tina Tokio may conjure up an image of a glamorous woman from Japan. But in this particular reality they’re a pair of hairy-arsed German fellas. Don’t let that deter you though… They’re stirring one of the most interesting melting pots you’ll find in bass music right now.
Galvanizing over 40 years of friendship, over 20 years of music and touring together, no less than around five different aliases and countless musical inspirations from around the world, Tina Tokio is the zenith of Muadeep and FxFarmer’s art so far. Their expressions, ideas, passions and energy all wrapped up in a twisted bolt of tribalistic 140 fury.
It’s percussive, it’s full of surprises, it’s laced with intoxicating humanised elements. Cries, chants, shouts and grunts are all weaved intricately into tight pulsating patterns of toms, hangdrums, bongos and cowbells while necksnap breakbeats as the pair explore their shared sonic vision.
It’s a vision that can be dated back to the early 2000s when the pair of them (and another old friend Uwe) formed Funkanomics, a ghettofunk troupe who toured the world with a sound that was whipping parties into frenzies for years but hasn’t matured quite so well as other genres have.
Various iterations and aliases later, Patric Muadeep and Daniel FxFarmer have rekindled that groove with a much more sinister, deeper, hypnotic and technoid way. It’s a sound that’s already been supported by French culture connoisseurs Studio and long time underground champions Flexout. It’s a sound you can hear right here in this crucial mix…
Listen closely as there’s a lot of unreleased gear on here… And some of it may well be coming out on 1 More Thing. It’s too soon to reveal anything more about that but let’s just say we are massive appreciators. We called them up to find out more.
I see you’ve been working on your live show?
Muadeep: Yes. We are working on a live set that incorporates the DJ set with live machines. We’ve been doing live shows now and then, but not as often as we did when we were Funkanomics.
Let’s go back to Funkanomics. Take me back to the roots
Muadeep: Originally it was three guys. We were all friends together playing as DJs. We were looking for a producer and I’ve known Daniel for years so I said, “Hey guys I know someone. Let’s make a German funky boy band!” And from there it took off.
FxFarmer: We started the sessions in Patric’s apartment having long island ice teas the whole night, chopping samples and having a good time. Then we had a contract with Cut La Roc, remember him?
Wow yeah. Big beat major general. Blast from the past!
Muadeep: We thought we were going to be super DJ megastars!
You were for a bit, right?
FxFarmer: We released a lot of music and some very popular bootlegs. We toured Australia and Canada a few times. Also Russia, India, all of Europe, some UK festivals. It was the time when ghetto funk was huge and there were lots of mash-ups. We were doing lots things with people A Skillz, Featurecast. Do you know those guys?
Hell yeah. I came from breaks. That era was a lot of fun and it stems back to big beat which I think had a bad wrap. By the time ghetto funk ran its course it had a little cheesy though hadn’t it? Or it was harder to find quality maybe. It kinda dwindled out didn’t it?
Muadeep: Yes. In Canada it got really big with acts like the Funk Hunters but yeah especially here in Germany no one gives a shit. We had a really good booking agency in Frankfurt who made sure we were always busy here for years. Because we played a lot of bootlegs and remixes and mash-ups it was a party vibe and people here loved it. It was before the new techno movement got big and everyone got serious. We were super busy for quite a few years.
Sounds like a good grounding for everything that has followed. What was the final cause for the end of the project?
FxFarmer: Well Covid caused all kinds of problems but before that we had all split up so Funkanomics was just Patric and me. Then Patric focused on Muadeep and do different music. I was also looking to dive into new sphere and genres. The sound of Funkanomics changed and also the crew changed. I was flying and touring and playing all on my own for some time. Patric had a family, Uwe had a super busy job. That’s how it goes.
Muadeep: It’s classic story. People’s lives change. You have families and your focus or your interests change a little. It becomes much more like a real job then.
FxFarmer: But it paid for our partying for a long time!
Haha. Muadeep seems like quite a very strong contrast to Funkanomics . Was that purposeful?
Muadeep: A little yes. I think as musicians we are always looking for new things and inspirations. You’re always on a journey. Ghettofunk was fun but I was trying other things.
FxFarmer: Muadeep was also a project while Funkanomics existed
Ah so they ran parallel?
Muadeep: Yes but Muadeep was on a much lower level for that time, that got bigger when Funkanomics came to an end. It was just the sound and the vibe that I was feeling at that time and still do.
You can feel that in the Tina Tokio sound. I regularly play Muadeep and Tina Tokio tunes in one set. Take me to the inception of Tina Tokio.
FxFarmer: Well we’ve been best friends forever over 40 years so we can go back a long way! And because of that, Funkanmiocs was the biggest fun. Getting to spend time with your oldest friends and sharing music and experiences was the best. Partying on stage, in hotels, in festivals. It was years of the best times. Then Patric started Muadeep and that sounded so good. Such super output but bookings weren’t as frequent. I was still playing a lot of Funkanomics shows and sometimes I asked him if he wanted to come back and play together again, maybe go in the studio and we figured we needed to make some changes.
Muadeep: We wanted to explore lots of other ideas and Funkanomics had too much history.
FxFarmer: We love so many styles of music. World music. Jazz. Bass music. Every genre in bass music and the Funkanomics project wasn’t right.
It had its time
FxFarmer: For us we wanted to bring a lot of the energy we loved together. The techy side, world music and the energy of drum & bass but in more of a 140 type of style.
It’s the perfect fusion
FxFarmer: It’s very difficult for us to find a place here in Germany that will book it though. Or other countries for that matter.
We are in a risk averse industry right now. Especially in terms of events.
FxFarmer: I think so too. We are making our own parties by ourselves now. We are doing art parties where you can watch pictures, there’s poetry, an old cinema. Just small places where we can fit in say 100 people or something like that. These events really work but the straight bass in-your-face sound doesn’t really work here. We are in the countryside, we have a super small city with a nice club culture for such a small city but it’s super difficult to find bookings like they were back in the day. The clubs were full back then and the club scene and DJ scene has changed so much now. The changes over the last 10-15 years is so much. DJs and MCs and performers were drawn to that because they wanted to create and express but now there are so many other ways to create and express yourself. You don’t need to leave your own house to be a character now, you know what I mean?
Absolutely. There are so many more options to be creative and find an outlet, clubs aren’t the only place. I’m intrigued by these art parties. Excuse my ignorance but where are you based?
Muadeep: We are very close to the border of Austria and Switzerland near Lake Constance. Do you know this area?
Not particularly but I can hear a little Austrian lilt in your accent. Years ago a German friend explained to me how the Austrian accent is comparable to the Welsh one. I never understood until I talked to people like Mefjus and Camo & Krooked!
FxFarmer: Ahahah. Yes we can see why you hear that.
Muadeep: To be specific we are in Ravensburg. Maybe you know it from children’s toys?
My kids have Ravensburg puzzles. Yes!
Muadeep: We are from the land of puzzles!
Haha. That sounds magical. So here’s a smooth segue… What’s the next piece in the Tina Tokio puzzle?
Muadeep: Haha, nice!
FxFarmer: We are still working on our live set. At the moment it’s more like a jam but we want to go deeper and explore the possibility of the machines.
Muadeep: We want to utilize the pioneer kit that uses stems and create a lot more live remixing. We’ve played a lot of shows with the live element and DJ set, it’s been super fun and that’s where we want to be.
FxFarmer: It’s what we came from, in a way. Funkanomics was four turntables and an MPC.
Oh so going back to your roots but in a contemporary way?
Muadeep: Yes and of course release so music which we are sending to some labels right now.
I really like that one on Studio
Muadeep: Oh they were so nice to work with. They take time. They shot some beautiful promo with a brilliant video of our performance. They did it super nice. They’re small and thinking in the right direction.
I’m really inspired by them. We are representing the same spirit and culture. Let’s wrap up with something we have in common… We’re all covered in tattoos. Tell me about yours!
Muadeep: Have you got all day? We are old men, we have too many. Daniel is having them covered up many parts of his body with black work. I think that is also popular in the UK
Yeah I’m seeing a lot of that.
Muadeep: Daniel is covered like a whole suit underneath his clothes.
Oh woah. Full body job.
Muadeep: Yeah! We love tattoos. When I was a kid I always said I would have a full body of tattoos, I knew this forever.
Muadeep: It’s art at the end of the day. Same as music or writing or any form of creative expression. It is the life as I know you understand.
FxFarmer: Long may this continue…