quête:one mind
Basil Kirchin, a forgotten genius of post-war British music, was an influential jazz drummer, creative free-spirit and pioneer of Musique Concrète. Kirchin wrote a lot of albums, Mind on the run is one of the most representative Library record he wrote with fellow John Coleman. A milestone in british avantgarde.
- A1: The Mental Traveller Takes Off 00 01:06
- A2: The Mental Traveller Theme (Feat Nardo Says) 00 05:05
- A3: Train Ride (Feat Miles Bonny) 00 03:21
- A4: Seeds Of Labor (Feat Shamir Of Wolm) 00 03:14
- A5: Microsleep 00 03:09
- A6: Longitude (W/ S Fidelity) 00 04:13
- B1: Calmility 00 02:41
- B2: Second Nature Of The Beast (Feat Count Bass D) 00 01:54
- B3: Square (Feat Nardo Says) 00 02:07
- B4: Uncertainty 00 02:58
- B5: Shapes 00 02:33
- B6: Damn It's Sunny (Feat Robot Orchestra) 00 04:33
The Mental Traveller - A Soundtrack by Noa Erni
If music can take our mind to any imaginable place, on endless individual journeys, Noa Erni's "The Mental Traveller" is the infinite soundtrack. A soundtrack for mental wandering and soul searching, a blend of rap, jazz and hip-hop beats. "The Mental Traveller", an album assembled like a literary anthology, offers musical arrangements and unique narratives where epilogue and prologue of each track merge seamlessly. Far beyond the horizon of compiling single tracks, "The Mental Traveller" is a journey of sound and unity. Inspired by David Axelrod and William Blake, Ahmad Jamal and Flying Lotus - just to name a few - this work aims to be a tribute to these legends' legacies of past, present and future, detached from trends, norms and classical narrative structure.
Swiss-born producer and computer conductor Noa Erni has been crafting obscure jazz and hip-hop behind closed curtains (a.k.a. his flat in Berlin, Germany) for years - free from external pressure and as an adjunct to his day jobs as sommelier and co-owner of local fine wine store "Friedenauer Weinhandlung". On April 30th, 2021, Kommerz Records will release Noa Erni's debut album "The Mental Traveller" on 12" vinyl as well as on all digital platforms. The project features internationally renowned artists such as Count Bass D (alternative rap pioneer, who worked with Snoop Dogg, MF Doom (R.I.P.) and Retrogott), Miles Bonny (New Mexico-based singer and trumpeter), S. Fidelity (hip-hop producer signed to German tastemaker label Jakarta Records) and more. Erni's guests meld seamingly with this unapologetic and experimental album showcasing stand out performances on vocals, instruments and production.
While the album sounds like it was played by a jazz outfit with years of stage experience, the truth surprises and is even more exciting: Noa crafted the songs in countless hours of experimenting with a midi keyboard, various instrument plugins and perfected reverb settings. It was not one and the same band but one and the same person. Just a few tracks include actual live instruments: drums by Max von der Goltz on "The Mental Traveller Theme" and "Uncertainty", bass by Roman Klobe on "Longitude" and flugelhorn by Miles Bonny on "Train Ride".
It is with extreme pleasure that we, Basement Boys Records proudly announce our 100th single release and 30th year in the music business as an active recording label!
Holding down our 100th release is the legendary multi-faceted singer/songwriter/producer Byron Stingily. As one third of the Chicago-bred, world renown trio, Ten City and as its primary lead vocalist, Byron’s velvety falsetto graced such House Music staples as “Devotion”, “That’s the Way Love Is”, “My Piece of Heaven” along with scores of other classic House music favourites. As a solo artist, Byron went on to create such memorable House jewels as “Get Up” & “It’s Over” a classic collaboration with the Basement Boys for his project on Nervous Records.
“We Belong Together” contains four mixes. The Monday Night Vocal Dub and Instrumental are up first, with percolating congas and swinging violins that accentuate the well-paced drums and percussion of this delectable mix. The brassy horns sing in tandem with Byron as he tugs on the heartstrings with his romantic, chromatic vocal adlibs and signature riffs. The sugar-laden strings and sparkling pianos brings to mind the 90's Ten City production of Marshall Jefferson.
DJ/songwriter/musician/producer, Maurice Fulton is one of House music’s true originals, back where he started. Maurice had the first release on Basement Boys Records with Sticky People "Kong". A man with a mind-blowing complexity behind all that is deep, dark and funky.
Fulton’s mix takes a more soulful tech approach employing a host of electro sounds. A fervent polyrhythmic vortex of percussive wind chime effects, married with classic snares, tom toms & hi-hats, deep sub bass and a meaty kick all define this masterful alignment of electro and acoustic elements. At the midway point, Maurice turns the suspense-filled symphonic intro from the previous mixes into this electro breakdown groove fest sure to drive dancers into a frenzy complete with Byron’s heartfelt lyric.
Closing it out the Main Mix in all its glory, hi-powered, dense bottoms and percussive elements, sweet R&B “boogie” style chords, neatly placed horn accents with Byron slaying the lyric as he always does in his exquisite, soulful pleading falsetto telling the object of his affection, “We Belong Together”.
How would Roc Marciano and MF Doom sound if they were born in Athens to immigrant parents?
MC Yinka & DJ Booker provide an answer by teaming up to bring us their first LP “Night Lights”.
MC Yinka finds inspiration in blighted areas, urban struggles and multicultural subcultures. With a unique and characteristic voice, he touches on various social and spiritual matters and concerns.
Night Lights is fully produced by DJ Booker who surprises with his sample selection and the overall approach on the production. He balances between trippy and minimal sounds with dark and abstract samples. The beats vary from broken to “J Dilla – inspired” rhythms to discreet patterns that trigger the imagination and the expectations of the audience.
Not to mention the scratching skills of DJ Booker which spice up the music production and established him as one of the best scratch DJs in Europe according to British magazine “Undercover Hip-Hop”.
The album features one of the most “conscious” MCs, Mr. Lif, well known for his collaboration with the Thievery Corporation, and the hip-hop street performers Twinsanity who call our attention to the raw reality from Athens to Boston.
Night Lights will be released on vinyl by the label Mind The Wax in February 26th, 2021 and includes 10 tracks.
Following on from the success of ‘Greg Belson’s Divine Disco’ series Greg Belson and Cultures of Soul team up again to explore the world of Gospel Funk. Belson, one of the world's leading collectors and DJs of gospel music, has assembled a collection of some of the rarest Gospel funk records for “Greg Belson’s Devine Funk.”
In addition to the full-length, available on CD and LP, choice selections from the compilation will be released on 7 inch singles in limited quantities. Third in the Devine Funk 7 inch series, includes the laid back breakbeat laced “I Don’t Want to Be Alone" by Allen Gauff Jr.,
- A1: Barbara Tucker - Beautiful People (Underground Network Mix)
- A2: Essence - Moments In House (Full Effect Mix - Dj T Edit)
- B1: Mole People - Break Night
- C1: Dj Sneak - Keep On Groovin' (Fat Bottom Mix)
- C2: Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle (Original Mix)
- D1: South Street Player - (Who?) Keeps Changing Your Mind (The Night Mix)
- D2: Sole Fusion - Basstone (Underground Network Mix)
Legendary NYC house label Strictly Rhythm is celebrating a mammoth 3 decades of cutting edge, roof-raising house music. Truly a benchmark.
Originally founded in 1989 by the dynamic pairing of music industry man Mark Finkelstein and A&R expert Gladys Pizarro, Strictly tapped directly into the fertile New York underground and after hours club scene, helping to launch and bolster the recording careers of dance music luminaries like Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez, Ultra Nate, Todd Terry, Wamdue Project, DJ Sneak, Louie Vega and many more. Strictly Rhythm is easily one of the most recognisable and respected dance music powerhouses of all time.
Across 3 limited double vinyl offerings, the Strictly catalogue has been expertly picked over to present you with a snapshot of some of the most earth shattering house music to emanate from the streets of New York City. A who's who of producers and artists, all killer and no filler. End to end classics that help to tell the story of one of dance music's most well loved labels. Classic cuts and essentials from DJ Sneak, Wamdue Project, Louie Vega (Sole Fusion), Essence and more all feature on part 2 in their unedited, 12" mix glory.
Fully legit, remastered and selected with love courtesy of Strictly Rhythm and Above Board distribution for 2020. Happy birthday Strictly Rhythm!
‘The Watchful Eye Of The Stars’ is Adrian’s ninth studio album.
Produced by luminary John Parish (Aldous Harding, PJ
Harvey), this sublime collection of ten songs invites us to join
Adrian at his storytelling best, regaling us with tales of travel
and wonder, by sea, by road, all quietly transfixing,
transformative and wholly captivating.
Suffused with a hazy and surreal quality, Crowley describes
‘Watchful Eye’’s poignant narratives as those which insisted
themselves upon him. After the fact, it seemed these songs
came to him more or less fully formed. “It’s a beautiful and
mysterious thing,” he says. Perhaps it is a tendency to hold onto
memories (“It’s taken me so long to write to you / Well I just
couldn’t find a pen,” he laments in ‘Bread And Wine’), that
allows him to unleash them lyrically in completion. For Crowley,
the creative process is an organic event rather than a practice
he feels compelled to regulate or control. He approaches lyrics
much like he does short story writing. “The songs straddle the
conscious and subconscious world and some are even
psychedelic in my mind, but to me they are all at once true
stories and born of another place,” he shares.
In making the album, Crowley moved between studio and at
home recording, while John Parish produced. The pair worked
from tracks made initially by Crowley on a charity shop ¾ size
nylon string guitar or Mellotron: “In this way, John wanted to
keep some of the magic of that first take,” says Crowley.
Contradictions and complexities are left intact, initial recordings
were limited to one or two takes and the songs feel more like a
dream recounted upon waking.
Jim Barr of Portishead contributed double bass and was
brought in to engineer parts of ‘Watchful Eye’ in Bristol. Nadine
Khouri and Katell Keineg were invited in as guest backing
singers.
The heavyweight vinyl includes a digital download card.
Heavy Psych trio from Portugal based in North London. Mainly influenced by 60's psychedelia and 70s Prog with hints of modern Stoner and Space Rock. They deploy their magic fog into the room to take the entire audience on a journey from the edge of a rugged desert to the outer edges of distant galaxies. The acid-doused amps of Madmess vent serpentine psych and bleed the deepest shades of violet from the electric heart of Rock & Roll. Madmess are Luis Moura (Drums), Vasco Vasconcelos (Bass) and Sam Paio (Guitar) Resident Records: "Heavy stoner riffage smashing against crashing drums is always a winner, in our book, & this one happens to be an especially yummy chunk of squealing fuzz" More Fuzz “ This Portuguese trio’s Psychedelic/Space rock conjures images in my mind of the power of a rocket launch, followed by the serenity of orbit before smashing back through the atmosphere and returning to Earth.”
La grande vallée (1993/95), 20'41
Musical composition, design and sound production carried out at the INA grm Studios (Paris) in 1993/95
Original audio recordings in the Drôme and the Mont Ventoux areas
Voice: Hélène Bettencourt
Vocal occurrences: Frédéric Malenfer, Bruno Roche, Lionel Marchetti
Bass clarinet (for processing): Jean Andréo
Micro-climat (1989/90), 21'33
Micro-climat is the first movement of the Sirrus cycle (Micro-climat, Passerelle, Sirrus) composed in 1989/90
Musical composition, sound design and production, audio recordings in 1989/90 at the CFMI studios in Lyon (Lumière University, Lyon 2)
"I wonder if my fascination for clouds (without being an obsession) may have risen at the end of the 80s as, whilst composing Micro-climat, I would regularly wander between the Vercors mountains and the high plateaus of the Monts du Forez discovering, through my eyes, body, breath, active observation and walk, that natural forms when constantly changing and yet swollen with a unity of matter (in this instance, water) open one up to a deep, fundamental breath and a clear field for the mind. The sky and its forces: our ally.
A model for a natural music which, although fixed, as in musique concrète (a rule of the genre), moreover on a recording tape, will remain charged with such a poetic quality that (isn't it its role or rather its reality?) it will ensure a perpetual renewal for our senses, so as to reach another idea of the world, far more open and richer than what we could have imagined."
Lionel Marchetti, 2011
Lionel Marchetti is a major figure of the "third generation" of concrète musicians, a term he values. Listening to these works, imbued with poetry and traversed by micro-narratives, one can indeed retrieve the original concrète spirit, the one that draws from the sonic world, with ears wide open, so as to extract a fertile, rich and multiple substance then shaped and conveyed towards a formal and musical abstraction. Lionel Marchetti has mastered this process, but his real distinctive feature is a truly unique talent for setting climates (as one sets traps) and keeping us on constant alert. The two pieces in this record perfectly illustrate the entrancing dimension of Lionel Marchetti's music, whose charm leads us, through each successive listening, to become voluntary captives so as to better liberate ourselves.
François Bonnet, Paris, 2020
Optimo Music presents “Janara” the new album from Italy’s José Manuel. We always have our ears open for music that is unique, powerful and that can conjure up a ritualistic atmosphere, and this meistrerwerk did all that, and then some. We knew we had to release it after the first listen.
We’ll let José tell you about it….
This album is a result of the necessity of exploring and opening my mind to new musical horizons, by testing the main traditional instrument of the Italian region Campania, whose name is “Tammorra”. It is a big drum, which must not be confused with the typical tambourine, made from a wrap of wood shaped in a circle and covered with dried skin (almost always goatskin or sheepskin). This instrument was used during playful events, especially during rituals and ceremonies, such as the frequent devotional pilgrimages in honour of the Virgin Mary. By using this instrument, the sound, the rite and the magic could take possession of the mind and the body creating a perfect union. Also, the dancers, as if they were bitten by a tarantula and possessed by a strange evil, launched themselves to an uncontrolled dance by moving every part of their body.
In addition to the Tammorra, I also inserted some texts, which have been written by some Neapolitan friends and interpreted with Neapolitans voices, in honour of the “JANARA”. The Janara represents a popular belief of the Southern Italian regions, particularly of the Benevento area. The Janara is one of the many types of witches represented by folktales belonging to the rural tradition.
The Janara was expert in medical herbs, which were also be used for her magical practices, such as the manufacturing of ointment. The ointment gave her the power to become incorporeal with the same nature as the wind. According to the tradition, in order to snatch the Janara it was necessary to grab her by the hair. It was also said that if anyone was able to capture the Janara during her incorporeal moment then Janara herself would offer protection to them and their family for seven generations, in exchange for her freedom.
With this work I hope that the listener might get carried away by the spirit of this pagan and popular legend that can be still be considered as current. As a matter of fact, the folk tales speak of a probable comeback of the Janara, who after being burned at the stake seems to be thirsting for revenge for the evil suffered.
The 'Abroad EP' catalogues a period of time spent travelling Japan in the spring of 2019. Throughout the course of the month-long trip, Rudy carried around a portable recorder, capturing various sounds that caught his ear. That collection of found sounds would eventually become the foundation for the EP, each track utilizing a handful of different recordings ranging from bird calls in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, to windchimes in the coastal town of Kawazu. The EP took a full year of patient, daily work to complete, during which time Rudy invited a diverse group of collaborators in to help finish the songs. Throughout the recording process, harp, saxophone, and violin parts were added to create a unique blend of organic and electronic sounds.
POSY is the recording name of Rudy Klobas, Portland-based producer and multi-instrumentalist with a unique sound that intersects jazz, R&B, and electronic music. Originally trained on classical guitar, POSY gradually taught himself piano, bass, and drums and began writing and recording his first songs on a four-track cassette recorder. POSY's music is lush and densely layered, but maintains an element of simplicity that ultimately leaves one feeling relaxed, nostalgic, and hopeful all at the same time.
- 1: Unlawful Assembly
- 2: Content 3. Before I Ask
- 4: Why Are We Waiting
- 5: Create The Visitor
- 6: We Can Really Feel Like We?Re Here
- 7: More Data
- 8: I Didn?T Know I Was Dead 9. Failure
- 10: Don?T Don?T Get Freaked Out
- 11: Anything Else
- 12: Attractive Target
- 13: Open Your Mouth
- 14: Incomprehensible Solution
- 15: The World Will Decide
Negativland’s mirror image sequel to last year’s True False, The World Will Decide turns the focus away from the very human inability to accurately define reality, and towards the technologies being built to do a better job at it. But if sorting true from false seemed like a full time job back when all one had to keep track of was one’s own mind, life alongside the machines built to connect everyone only seems to multiply the uncertainties. On The World Will Decide, those uncertainties are made almost deliriously danceable: a netweb of densely sampled voices melting speech back down into music and back again, into what everyone can agree are the real questions—did that firefly really land on your finger? Would you like to be arrested? Does this app connect you to people, or replace them? Is this post an example of inauthentic behavior? Do people have to die? Or, as one of the many sampled voices on this work assures the listener: we can really feel like we’re here.
Deap Lips is Wayne & Steven from THE FLAMING LIPS with Julie & Lindsey from DEAP VALLY. This special collaboration came together after a friendship formed between the bands.- - The seeds of Deap Lips were first planted years ago, when Troy and Edwards each fell in love with the music of the Flaming Lips. The Lips' 1999 classic The Soft Bulletin is one of Edwards' top ten of all time. "You can listen to their entire catalogue and the experience is so intact, full of experiments, philosophy, hooks, and the sublime," says Edwards. "There are very few artists who can offer the same experience on a decades-spanning deep dive."
Flash forward to 2016 as Deap Vally were touring with Wolfmother and Coyne turned up at a show in Raleigh (Edwards was on maternity leave at the time). Wayne, in town scouting the best edible giant gummy props, came for the show and Troy and Coyne were introduced after the set.
After that chance meeting Coyne started following Deap Vally on Instagram and would tag them in random posts of the Lips in the studio, much to their delight and amusement. Deap Vally wondered:
is Wayne hinting at a collaboration? They had this theme on the brain as Edwards and Troy had recently embarked on a series of yet to be released collaborations with the likes of KT Tunstall, Peaches, Jamie Hince (The Kills), Soko, Jenny Lee (Warpaint), Jennie Vee (EODM), Zach Dawes (Queens of the Stone Age, Mini Mansions), and Ayse Hassan (Savages).
Rich in musical associations yet utterly singular in its voice, joyous with an inner tranquility, the music of Natural Information Society is unlike any other being made today. Their sixth album in eleven years for eremite records, descension (Out of Our Constrictions) is the first to be recorded live, featuring a set from London’s Cafe OTO with veteran English free-improv great Evan Parker, & the first to feature just one extended composition. The 75-minute performance, inspired by the galvanizing presence of Parker, is a sustained bacchanalia of collective ecstasy. You could call it their party album.
This was the second time Parker played with NIS. Joshua Abrams: “Both times we played compositions with Evan in mind. I don’t tell Evan anything. He’s a free agent.”
The music is focused & malleable, energized & even-keeled, drawing on concepts of ensemble playing common to musics from many locations & eras without any one specific aesthetic realization completely defining it.
“The rhythms that Mikel plays are not an exact reference to Chicago house, but that’s in there,” Abrams says. “I like to take a cyclic view of music history, can we take that four-on-the-floor, & consider how it connects to swing-era music? Can we articulate a through line? I dee-jayed for years in Chicago & lessons I learned from playing records for dancing inform how I think about the group’s music. The listener can make connections to aspects of soul music, electronic music, minimalism, traditional folk musics, & other musics of the diaspora as well. It’s about these aspects coming together. I don’t need to mimic something, I need to embody it to get to the spirit, to get to the living thing.”
For jazz fans, the sound of Parker’s soprano & Jason Stein’s bass clarinet might evoke Coltrane & Dolphy, even though they didn’t necessarily set out to do that & they play with complete individuality. Abrams sees a bridge to the historical precedent, too. “Since we first met in the 1990s, one of the things that Evan and I connected on was Coltrane’s music,” he says. “I hoped that we would tap into that sound world intuitively. In this case, I think that level of evocation adds another layer of depth, versus a layer of reference.”
Indeed, this is a performance in which the connections among the ensemble & the creative tension between improvisation and composition build into a complex mesh of associations & interactions. While the band confines itself to the territory mapped out by Abrams’ composition, they are remarkably attentive & responsive, making adjustments to Parker’s improvisations. When Parker’s intricate patterns of notes interweave with the band, the parts reinforce one another & the music rockets upward. Sometimes, Parker’s lines are cradled by the group’s gentle pulse & an unearthly lyrical balance is struck.
Drummer Mikel Patrick Avery is locked-in, playing with hellacious long-form discipline, feel & responsiveness. Jason Stein’s animated, vocalized bass clarinet weaves in & out with Lisa Alvarado’s harmonium to state the piece’s thematic material; the pulsing tremolo on the harmonium brings a Spacemen 3 vibe to the party. Abrams ties together melody & rhythm on guimbri, a presence that leads without seeming to. Like his bandmates, he shifts modes of playing frequently, improvising & then returning to the composed structure.
“As specific as the composition is, the goal is to internalize it & mix it up,” Abrams says. “The idea is to get so comfortable that we can make spontaneous changes, find new routes of activity, stasis & byways every gig. It’s like a web we’re spinning. If someone makes a move, we all aim to be aware of it, make room for it. Experiencing & listening is what it’s about, & Evan supercharges that.”
& “supercharged” is the word for this album. With Parker further opening up their music, descension (Out of Our Constrictions) is the sound of Natural Information Society growing both more disciplined and freer, one of the great bands of its time on a deep run.
Aguirre edition: Mastered by Helge Sten, Audio Virus, Oslo. Lacquers by Dubplates & Mastering. Liner Notes by Theaster Gates. LPs pressed on premium audiophile-quality vinyl at Pallas Records. US 2xLP edition available thru Eremite records.
- 10: Avalanche Warning (Remix)
- 01: Nem-X Intro
- 02: Bombs
- 03: Fire (Feat. Maniac, El Da Sensei &Amp; A.g.)
- 04: Bad Weather (Feat. Vegamonster &Amp; Med)
- 05: Mind Power (Remix)
- 06: Raw Essence (Feat. Prince Po)
- 07: Head In The Clouds (Feat. Opio)
- 08: Shotgun (Feat. Sadat X, Edo G &Amp; El Da Sensei)
- 09: Sat Nite Interlude
- 11: Fuck What You Heard (Feat. Psycho Les)
- 12: Raps In A Suit (Feat. Tony Patagonia &Amp; Slaine)
- 13: In Wine There&Apos;S Truth (Feat. Talib Kweli &Amp; Main Flow)
- 14: Sell Me A Dream (Remix)
- 15: About Time (Feat. Seedless & Lmno)
- 16: Point Blank (Feat. King Magnatic, El Gant, Bloodsport & Nbrown)
Los Angeles emcee Pawz One returns with Featured Unreleased Collab Kollection Issue Two (F.U.C.K I.T!), the second installment in the series that features guest appearances, unreleased songs and remixes.
The 16 track album includes artists like Talib Kweli, Ras Kass, A.G. of D.I.T.C and others are featured on the album along with artwork done by Gift Revolver who recently did artwork for Conway, Wu-Tang and Big Pun. Producers include Snowgoons and many others from Japan, Netherlands, Chicago and Los Angeles.
e 05: Mind Power (Remix) [feat. Termanology & Ras Kass]
[j] 10: Avalanche Warning (Remix) [feat. Percee P]
[e] 05: Mind Power (Remix) [feat. Termanology & Ras Kass]
[j] 10: Avalanche Warning (Remix) [feat. Percee P]
2LP on crystal clear vinyl. In these trying times, where intimacy and closeness are fraught with danger, Dans Dans (Dance Dance) brings you the sound of connection, communication, passion and togetherness.
In these trying times, where intimacy and closeness are fraught with danger, Dans Dans (Dance Dance) brings you the sound of connection, communication, passion and togetherness.
Dans Dans unites the talents of three of Belgium's most prolific music makers in Bert Dockx (Flying Horseman), Fred 'Lyenn' Jacques (Lyenn, Lanegan band) and Steven Cassiers (Dez Mona, DAAU). An utterly unique musical collective, the trio are set to release new album 'Zink' on the 23rd April via Ghent based independent, Unday Records.
From jazz, psychedelic blues and ecstatic noir soundtracks to spacey rock 'n' roll, Dans Dans cut their teeth on the cool jazz cafe scene in Flanders, Brussels with their sensational live performances and have since gone on to become a mainstay on the flourishing Belgian musical landscape.
Releasing their self-produced, eponymous debut album back in 2012, their highly distinctive, intuitive mix of musical styles and their ever-imaginative live shows caught the attention of discerning music lovers, journalists and promoters. A relatively unknown tour de force outside the Benelux region, Dans Dans have built a solid fan base since their inception with limited edition runs of early releases becoming collector's items among vinyl enthusiasts.
Well-received appearances at Cactus Festival, North Sea Jazz and Pukkelpop, as well as Gent Jazz, Ljubljana Jazz and Jazz Middelheim have confirmed their reputation as one of the most unique and exciting bands to come out of Belgium. In recent years, the group has been touring throughout Europe, garnering enthusiastic reactions beyond the Belgian borders as well. There's a case to be made that Dans Dans even played a key role in breaking down the wall between the Belgian jazz scene and the pop/rock circuit (years before pop journalists began referring to a New Wave of Belgian Jazz).
Opening with the moody noir rhythms of 'Cinder Bay', Dans Dans look to construct their own musical universe across 'Zink'. 'Naiad' unfolds into a devastating explosion of heavy feedback and wild, crashing drums before subtle electronica and baroque art-rock collide on 'Anemone' giving a good indication of Dans Dans' eclecticism. There's unquestionably a deep, underlying filmic beauty to the music, an evolving darkness and a perpetual sense of dread and paranoia. Elsewhere, 'Ravine' is intoxicating, provocative and uncompromising while the beatific 'Shell Star' is an infectious exploration of hypnotic grooves, atmospheric sounds and mind-bending melodies.
Producer Christine Verschorren (Philippe Catherine, Ivan Paduart) accentuates the music's wondrous fluidity throughout 'Zink'; the intriguing interplay; the subtle ties; the deep layering. Musical styles and influences are being blended organically and sublimated into what can only be called Dans Dans-music. "This is no fusion, no rock or jazz or ambient. This is the sound of the searching, intuitive human; of a timeless, mysterious dream; of the heart, the gut and the soul," says Dockx.
Sometimes a work of art comes unintentionally from a place from deep within the soul. It meanders and flops onto a table and sits and waits for its birth.
The album begins with "Wait Till The Stars Burn", a planetary ode to the Sun. The second track "Tribute to the Pharoahs Den", is a requiem for Danny Ray Thompson (R.I.P.) of the Sun Ra Arkestra, his music and legacy now floating above us in the infinity of space. Both tracks and featuring Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott (of the Sun Ra Arkestra).
The album ends with a requiem for Hal Willner (R.I.P.) whose devotion to celebrating the weird and insane was like an insatiable thirst leading to deep introspection and joy in harmony and sonic dissidence.
These compositions have all come from this place inside my bipolar, seroquil ridden mind. It is as much a tribute to the great composers who have inspired me; Alice Coltrane, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Philip Kelan Cohran, Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, John Carpenter, Quincy Jones, Old Bollywood, Film Noir, to name just a few. In my 23 years of being a composer of music I have had the great opportunity to score several films all of which never got any commercial fame. These films were made from the blood and sweat of film directors and their crews who tirelessly made incredible documents that were ultimately ignored by humanity. But that never stopped them nor will it stop me. These tracks are from the infinite celluloid that runs deep in my mind, body and soul. In my lifetime i never thought i would see the deaths of "Celluloid" or "analog recording". I refuse to accept the coroner reports on said fatalities, so here is my offering to the canon of cinematic overtures and analog self-preservation, for the films in our heads yet to be made.
Alfa Mist is one of the driving forces behind a young and vibrant scene of UK musicians, who've taken on jazz as their musical narrative. On his new album Bring Backs the producer, self-taught pianist and rapper takes us on a sonic trip back to his beat-making past on the streets of East London, through the depth and musicality he discovered composing and playing jazz. 2017 saw the release of Alfa's breakthrough record, Antiphon and the 2019's album Structuralism were both self-released on his Sekito label. His latest endeavour, 2021's Bring Backs, sees Alfa taking on new challenges. The record marks his first release for the label Anti and is also the most detailed exploration of his upbringing in musical form.
Alfa Mist is one of the driving forces behind a young and vibrant scene of UK musicians, who've taken on jazz as their musical narrative. On his new album Bring Backs the producer, self-taught pianist and rapper takes us on a sonic trip back to his beat-making past on the streets of East London, through the depth and musicality he discovered composing and playing jazz. 2017 saw the release of Alfa's breakthrough record, Antiphon and the 2019's album Structuralism were both self-released on his Sekito label. His latest endeavour, 2021's Bring Backs, sees Alfa taking on new challenges. The record marks his first release for the label Anti and is also the most detailed exploration of his upbringing in musical form.




















