Suche:compiler suite

Late Night Tales and Bonobo were pretty much made for each other, it just took them a while to both realise it. Stepping forward into the compilers spotlight for the 33rd edition is Simon Green - aka Bonobo - a musician, producer and DJ perfectly suited to soundtrack an evening spent reclining to some parallel beats. Six albums to the good (most recently 'The North Borders' released earlier in 2013), Green has been on a winning streak since 2010's breakthrough 'Black Sands', which has now sold in excess of 160,000 copies. His music has aided the sales of Citroen cars and Olay creams, as well as soothing the puzzlement of Lost. Wrapped in delicately programmed drums, Green's music is at once both sombre and reassuring. If what comes out the other end is the music of Bonobo, then this is the fuel that keeps the engine running: soul, jazz, classical, pop, funk, leftfield, rock. Pianos and brass are abundantly present. Our ivories are warmed and tickled by the classic, Bill Evans, and new school, with Matthew Bourne's mournfully beautiful 'Juliet' and Dustin O'Halloran's 'An Ending A Beginning'. The brass section comes courtesy of Menehan Street Band's jazzy 'The Traitor', 'Flipside' by the Hypnotic Brass Band. Exclusives include YouTube sensation 'One Thing' by Peter & Kerry . Not only that, but there's Bonobo's special LNT cover version, a brilliant reading of Donovan's 'Get Thy Bearings', As the light dims, the unsettling sounds of Lapalux or maybe even Shlomo pierce the misty evening air, before giving way to the ethereal splendour of Eddi Front's 'Gigantic' or even Nina's paean to an imagined rural idyll 'Baltimore'. Amble down to the riverside. It could be the Great Ouse, as willows weep into the water; it could even be in Brooklyn overlooking the Lower East Side, as the sun slides down the sides of the skyscrapers. Take a notepad for inspiration. Maybe even a hipflask for a slug of something warm. Sit down and reflect and let those beautiful pianos skim the water's surface. Sometimes, you think, life is good. You can't play a symphony alone, it takes an orchestra to play it: Simon Green is your conductor.

COMPILED BY PETE PASQUAL, ERICA OLSON & DJ KINETIC

Following on from acclaimed compilations like 'Down Under Nuggets' and 'Heavy Soul' (and two other new titles 'Running The Voodoo Down' and 'Dodgy Bossa (& Silly Sambas)' - details below), Festival Records presents another deep dig into the archives, this time shining a light on rare Australian soul-jazz, jazz-funk, and freaked-out groove rock from the late '60s and '70s.

BACK ON THE STREET AGAIN - AUSTRALIAN FUNK, SOUL & PSYCH (MOSTLY) FROM THE FESTIVAL VAULTS is a stunning 20 track CD and 2LP release that highlights a point when the previously disparate styles of rock, jazz and soul all started influencing each other, and exciting new genres were created. To quote the liner notes (by DJ Kinetic):

Australia produced some amazing music during the 60s and 70s that sat outside of the normal rock mould. Avant guard artists like John Sangster pushed boundaries and experimented with the fusion of local and overseas influences, artists like Dalvanius recorded soaring disco music that was lost amongst the popular music of the time, only to be rediscovered by DJs overseas who were searching for unknown sounds, composers like Brute Force and His Drum took risks and recorded left-field funky sounds hidden within their more mainstream compositions, and popular artists like Billy Thorpe occasionally strayed from their A&R directions and took leaves from the books of American artists who were largely unknown in Australia at the time. Beneath the veneer of bland rock and roll lay an unknown multitude of funky sounds hidden from mainstream view.

In addition to the artists that Kinetic mentions (and the compilation features two John Sangster tracks - stunning versions of 'Hair' and the Beatles' 'A Day In The Life'), the collection includes iconic names of the era like the Daly-Wilson Big Band (featuring Kerrie Biddell), Renee Geyer and the Johnny Rocco Band. '60s sides from Ross D Wyllie and The ID (featuring Jeff St John) reveal the various styles' roots in American rhythm & blues, and the unexpected inclusion of some legendary Australian rock outfits like Tamam Shud and Blackfeather reveals the psychedelic and progressive rock influences at play. The full range of the music is highlighted by the inclusion of both cabaret/daytime TV performer Al Styne and outrageous Kings Cross club act Count Copernicus & The Cosmic Fire as well as the in-house studio 'pops' orchestra, Festival Studio 24 Orchestra.

Co-compilers Pete Pasqual, Erica Olson and DJ Kentic to undertake interviews with specialist media around release. Facebook ad's around release.