Hailing from Berlin, Jan Jelinek originally gained attention from the club scene with his 3 singles from Klang Elektronik as Farben (these tracks have subsequently been released on the album "Teststar"). Long before his sound started being categorized as "click-house", he'd been taking an experimental stance with house music.
Under the name Gramm, he released an electronica album called "Personal_Rock" (Source), and the tranquil sound of this record showed a different side of his musical personality. From Pole's Scape, he released the critically acclaimed "Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records" LP, which utilized minute fragments from jazz records to create a unique tech-jazz sound. Jan is an avid listener of jazz, which is his musical backbone, and that's what makes all of his records so lush and beautiful. His collaboration with Computer Soup may prove to be a touchstone for his future work. He has also remixed Kid 606, Ilpo from Pan Sonic, and Phil Ranelin on Hefty. His collaboration track with the Japanese production team Indopepsychics is featured on their album "Leiwand".
Computer Soup originally started in 1993 with 5 members. From the start, they blended jazz with electro-acoustic elements, and gained recognition for their unique use of minimalism in extended performances. First playing on the streets of Shibuya, then doing studio session work, the group made
their debut on the self-entitled album "Computer Soup" from Soup-Disk/Silverworld in 1997. The group received positive feedback from artists such as Oval (Markus Popp) and Paul Schutz. When Oval toured
in Japan, Computer Soup improvised with Popp on stage, which resulted in an unforgettable performance. The group then released a CD-R trilogy "Urumuchistan", "Girl From Urumuchi", "Urumuchi In The Sky", and was featured in the compilation album "Nowhere Rain". The "unassertive" nature of their performances at cafes and various venues in Tokyo have slowly but surely created a fanbase for their work. In 1999, after releasing "Toizarasi" on Soup-Disk/Sun Out, they released "Dream Mons" (Lastrum). 2 songs from "Toizarasi" were featured on the 10 inch series from American label Plug Research. The group now consists of Hori on trumpet, Okubo on electronics, and Ikeda on computer. In the fall they will be releasing a full album as well as a single featuring Oval.
(Biography Last updated 11 February 2004)
