Between 1990 and 1994, a lively scene of musicians, some of them new, had formed at B-Flat II, where we recorded all the sessions in the back of the basement on the former Bacillus Deer Tascam 24-track mixing console.

This resulted in the LP "The B-Flat Live Mix" in 1994.

It was still the time when there were many illegal bars in the city and the Italian Sergio Ferrero (from Turin) with his "Zero series" was certainly one of the most active underground promoters. I was also an active guest in his illegal bars.

Then we came up with the idea that the B-Flat II and Zero hiphop and rap scene should join forces.

Bourelly was always in town to give concerts. I then asked Bourelly if he would like to perform with his hip band "The Bluwave Bandits" on one day and do a fusion with B-Flat musicians on the second evening.

Reinhard Birri contributed a few musical ideas for the workshop, otherwise we left everything to chance.

Jean-Paul Bourelly & The Bluwave Bandits

Jean-Paul Bourelly (g, voc)
Mark Batson (keys, rap)
Eugenio Perez Jr (b)
Fred Alias (dr)

B-Flat Nights with Bandits

Roland Philipp (ts)
Thomas Geiger (ts)
Christian Ostermeier (ts)
Robert Morgenthaler (tb)
Daniel Schenker (tp)
Debbie Dee (rap)
Riddim Flirt (rap)
Nik Bärtsch (keys)
Reinhard Birri (g)
Rainer Weber (g)
Reto Fürst (g)
Roberto Francomano (g)
Lionel Sumithram (g)
Lukas Meier (dr)
Roy Bürki (dr)

The whole thing should have been a CD production, but I fell out with Rainhard Birri after the Fat Festival and our Bazillus label and our collaboration was kaput. It took me about 5 years to recover from this quarrel.

Sergio Ferrero and I, as non-football-fan's, hadn't realized that on that day the World Cup 1994 took place! So we ran up a steep deficit. Fortunately, the city gave us a big contribution and we got off lightly.

On July 14, during our festival, Bourelly had learned that he had become the father of twins!

His daughter Bibi Bourelly is now a well-known singer/songwriter in the USA. Bourelly was then challenged as a family man and we had not seen each other for several years. His wife from Morocco unfortunately died of cancer in 2000. 

Only after the opening of the Bazillus ad hoc live club at Ausstellungstrasse 21 in 2004 did JPB make a comeback.

In the meantime I had learned to work with the program Pro Tools in my small studio at Stauffachquai 3. At his next visit I handed him a CD with about 7 remixes from all his own CDs/LPs.

JPB: «…Years later, I showed up at Beat's house one day on a surprise visit and he pulled out a compilation of old tracks of mine that he had mixed and combined in his studio just for fun. It was like a gumbo JPB mix through the 90s. It re-contextualized those moments, like eating grandma's fried chicken from the US South in the Berlin subway. It changes the whole experience. I had no interest in rehashing works from the past, but I saw but I saw an opportunity to create new jams that were tailored to the current state of things.

I was looking for a groove essence, tight and consistent, that could be a part of the adventurous millennium - to open new dimensions. Musicians are always looking for what makes music rediscover a new discovery zone. Me too…»