Frankie Flowerz
..whether its Frankie Flowerz or Audio Royal or Hybrid Funk or 2 Dawgs it all boils down to one person- Berlin based, Malaysian born Mohan Das.
Releases..having produced for over a decade now, his releases can be heard on various labels such as Crosstown Rebels, Turbo, Funkhaus , Hypercolour, Blaou and most recently on Internasiojnal; his style is passionate mix of soul, funk, disco, techno, jazz and deep house music. Last year, he took over as Label Head & A/R for Funkhausmusic, Berlin. (www.myspace.com/funkhausmusic).Mohan built his studio in Switzerland(1993) out of boredom during the daytime and his perpetual love for music. Then he formed a 6 piece soul, funkjazz band called "Funk You" in 1995-he was the lead vocalist & backing keyboardist and also wrote songs for the outfit.As his sound got better (so he thought), he began to approach some labels. His first ever 12" was on Blaou called "Free my Soul EP" under the Das Deva guise in 1999 in Berlin. In 2002 he was approached by Funkhausmusic to join them in building up the label and its sound. He released there as Audio Royal and Hybrid Funk. Funkhaus became a known Label to many DJ's and punters. 2005 -Frankie Flowerz was born-Crosstown Rebels wanted his music and they got it -he did two 12" -"The Key" (the record with the scratch) and "SweetsistaVoodoo/In your Eyes" and a remix for Adamsky (“Larynx”). In 2006, Mohan sent Tiga an MP3 for his then 12" on Funkhaus, "Now or Never" ; Tiga loved it and they met. Funkhaus disbanded in 2005 but he continued the label with one of the owners. Then came Hypercolour in 2006 (Mohan had met Jaime, one of the label owners in Krakow, Poland after a gig )-a 12” was cut- the “Sweet Dreamz” EP on Hypercolour, UK. Its 2007 and Mohan discovers Myspace and puts some of his different sounding productions on the player and hunts for friends-Prinsthomas finds him and “Break The Barriers” gets signed on to Internasjonal . He sends out "Rain " and “Stylo” to Tiga and they meet...again.Then Mohan meets Thomas von Party (Tiga’s brother) Oh Yes! Funk Dat gets signed on to Turbo Recordings…it continues. Its 2009 and January kicks off with a signing to Om Records, San Francisco. With some hard hitting releases on some of the worlds finest electronic music labels, Mohan is set to expand his music; sharing it with people who dig his vibe.
Spinning… on the global DJ circuit for a good 24 years after leaving Malaysia in 1990 to DJ in Switzerland, (till 1998) Mohan has Headlined; as well as either supported /opened for/played in a party with Kenny Dixon Jr (Moodymann), Theo Parrish, Prins Thomas, Trentemoeller, Laurent Garnier , LTJ Bukem, Etienne de Crecy, George Morel (Germany tour -Coke Dj Culture in 2002), Carl Craig, Afrika Bambaata, Kevin Saunderson, Sasha and James Zabiella, (Coke DJ Culture 2006 ; Sonne Mond, Sterne Festival 2006) so as to mention some.
DJ Sets…Mohan, as most people know him, began dj'ing in Penang, Malaysia in 1984 playing funk, rock,new wave etc during live band pauses in the Skyroom.This was while he was waiting for his O level results. He had 2 tape players with pitch control and boxes of cassetes containing 12" recorded on to them. 2 years later he had turntables and vinyl and it wasnt long before he had played in every club on the island. HIs brother ,who was living in Switzerland hooked him up with a DJ Agency in Zurich and in 1990 his career took off full time in Europe. After 8 years of touring in Switzerland, he left for "greener pastures"..so he thought. Berlin beckoned next and this was to be a period of huge change-Berlin was Techno city and Mohan a deep, soulful House Dj who loved Funk..Great-he realised he had to develop more and explore deeper, so he embraced Techno , Electro and just moved along and took things the way they came -he didnt have an agency to assist him so it begun from scratch-To cut a long story short(meeting people, forgetting his way home etc)he got his gigs and soon earned a reputation for his house sets in Berlin when he was the Resident in the Casino Lounge, 103club and other venues from as early as 1999; soon he was playing all over in Berlin ,Germany and Europe;over the years he has incorporated a bigger spectrum;thus tastefully combining electro, minimal and techno - he also loves playing soul, funk , disco (as most true House DJ’s do)and downtempo in a more laid back setting .expect to hear the oldskool,newskool and the future sounds in his dj sets.
Mohan has his regular nights at the Roter Salon, Berlin called “Electric Mondays” where he plays with his partner Ricardo Rodriguez.
Events & Workshops…Mohan also throws his own parties ( EU Clubnight Parties with his partner Bastian Fritz; who concepted the Clubnight in Berlin, 3 Men on 4 Decks; Little Asia in Big Berlin etc) and organises Funkhaus Label Nights all over Germany where he brings in guests from around the world.
In 2005 he organised and held the first ever Tsunami Benefit ( 2 days) in co-operation with UNICEF and NO-Ufo’s in Berlin. The line up featured Supa DJ Dimitri( Dee-lite), Paul Van Dyk, Ewan Pearson, and also the then upcoming Artists like Kiki,Fairmont, Luna City Express etc. All door collections were donated to victims of the catastrophe, mainly children in Sri Lanka.
Being a qualified Audio Engineer, Mohan is also tutoring students in Electronic Music Production as well as hosting DJ workshops in 2 schools in Berlin.
Apart from that he plays worldwide. Pls check www.myspace.com/frankieflowerz for a full club listing, music etc.
