General Description
Artist/Band: Jazzanova || || ||
Album Title: Of All The Things
Year: 2008

Beautiful Retro mix

How I Got Into This Music
Still can’t recall how I got into Jazzanova, sorry.. Must be the alcohol abuse killing the grey matter. But a new album from these guys will always get my attention.

Reviews/Album Details: || || ||
Videos: ||
Have a listen on:

Tracks that got my attention:
Look What You’re Doin’ To Me ft. Phonte
Just the intro.. Listen.. It’s Pure Jazzanova. Wow..
Phonte is a new entity to me and a very interesting fresh voice. The whole production is tight, a nice South American percussion on the background with some Santana guitar riffs and great backing vocal samples. Very nice!

Let Me Show Ya ft. Paul Randolph
Another singer I hadn’t noticed before. Paul Randolph is this great mix of classic vocal styles, triggering memories of Marvin Gaye. And on this track, we hear one of the main themes of this album: going back to Detroit, bringing back the Motown vibe.
And it’s done very, very well..
Also funny to hear a lot of samples and beats from the Belle et Fou album coming back to this record, like the background strings in the bridge.

I Can See ft. Ben Westbeech
Ben Westbeech has a great voice. Just like the previous
track, we can hear Jazzanova setting up a Classic Soul production. When you hear the strings in the background, you realize it’s the same old stuff they’ve been using for years, BUT.. It also fits perfectly with the Motown thing. Great production value!

Lie ft. Thief
Wow.. Now they’re switching to the Beatles/Electric Light Orchestra sound, including a string quartet, lovely! And the voice of Thief’s Sasha Gottschalk is a thing of beauty!

Little Bird ft. José James
Yep, should’ve seen this one coming. José James’s been working in Europe for a while now and this collaboration is an obivous one. Perfect combo of styles!

So Far From Home ft. Phonte
Had to double check the credits coz I couldn’t believe that Phonte rapped on this track and sang on Look What You’re Doin’ To Me. Wow..
A bit of anger in the lyrics, but the whole thing works for me, especially the smart resampling of the Let Me Show Ya track.

What Do You Want ft. Jon Dukie
It’s almost too cheesy to listen to, but I do love me this track!!!

Gafier ft. Pedro Martins and Azymuth
Jazzanova’s love for Brazilian music is a wellknown fact, just have a listen at all the remixes they’ve done in the past. Brazilian Greats help out on this sweet track.

Dail A Cliche ft. Paul Randolph
Love the track, love the lyrics. Hate Morrissey.

Conclusion
Thight production as usual and an interesting broadening of their repertoire by adding Soul Retro in the mix. Just like homebrewing your crystal meth, recycling Retro is a dangerous excercise. But if it works, you get the same addictive results without the nasty side effects.
Excellent album.

Rating:

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General Description
Artist/Band: Jazzanova
Album Title: Belle Et Fou Soundtrack
Year: 2007

Meh..

How I Got Into This Music
A band (or, music production team, whatever..) that I’ve been enjoying for quite some time now. Loved their In Between album from yesteryears and now, this album’s been released a coupla months back.

Google Search for reviews of this album || More on the band at || Watch their stuff at || Jazzanova at Answers.com

Tracks that got my attention:
Rendezvous
Very nice intro and tribute to the late great Barry White. Love the the whole setup, classic strings and horn section.

This Is The Place (Overture)
Jazzanova doing their wicked stuff, continuing the theme from the previous track and tearing it apart, going in all directions.

Maybe Now – Clara Hill
Have do more research on this singer, took me a while to get used to this track. Depending on your mood, it can get a bit too repetitive.

Behold These Days (Berlin ‘74)
Sweet sounds, love the mellowness.

D-D-D-Dance – Micatone
Know the band by name, but never listened to any of their stuff, more homework to do. It’s the combo of funny lyrics and the catchy chorus that work for me best.

Morning Star – Clara Hill feat. Thief
One of the reasons why I first hated this album: incredibly boring stuff. A band like Air can walk that tight line between sweet beauty and boring pompousness, but these guys are just on the wrong side of the line.

That Night (Live at the SK Office)
And wow, now the combo does get the job done! Nice save from that awful Morning Star stuff.

Keep On Making Me High – Jazzanova feat. Georg Levin
Ah, if only George Michael would hear this track..

Sun In My Candlelight – Wahoo
Funny how Pharrell/N.E.R.D. have a monopoly on this type of track: slow guitars and a falsetto vocal always reminds me of them. That’s about the only reason I like this track, but I still really hate the title.

Flickermood – Forss
Holy $#!T, Batman!!1! One of the best things I’ve heard in a very frigging long time! Instrumental, multi-sample, breakbeats and a nice box of chocolates for dessert – listen to this track before you leave this mortal coil..

Conclusion
Hmmm.. Jazzanova rules my waves, top 10 faves on my list on last.fm, but this album?
My first listening sessions were in the car, a big no-no, totally ruined my driving mood and I stopped listening to this album for about two or three months. Then, after a while I started listening to it at home and that saved the album for me, kinda.. Barely..
Keep in mind that this whole album is more of a music score to accompany a dance theatre music show thingie. I’d be interested enough to go see it, but the album as such isn’t that great. Honorable mention for Flickermood!!

Rating:

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General Description
Artist/Band: Jazzanova
Album Title: In Between
Year: 2002

Electronic, Warm and Grooooovaaay..
 
How I Got Into This Music
Can’t remember.. Damn, it’s the old age and all that apfelkorn all those years, heh..
Ehm.. Yep, must be around the time of my Discovery Of New Music in 2001: heard Groove Armada and Zero 7 for the first time that year. Jazzanova are one of those great additions to that list.

Review at Answers.com || Google Search: Reviews of In Between || Concert dates

Tracks that got my attention:
L.O.V.E. (and you and I)
Damn.. Still breaks me into little pieces. Just love (no friggin’ pun intended) the whole setup: that sample (almost sure it’s Andy Williams) and those gazillion different beats! On a later album they even produced a track with just those beats on it – incredible experience..

No Use ft. Clara Hill
Nice song, sometimes a bit too slow, but on a lazy summer afternoon? Perfect laidbackness

The One-Tet ft Capital A
Funky, groovy, jazzy and some quality raps

Fade Out
Nice dramatic interlude

Hanazono
Starts out nice, but gets a bit messy afterwards, but.. Production value is very good

Mwela, Mwela (Here I Am) ft Valerie Etienne
Other way around, intro’s not so great, but I just keep waiting for those incredibly beautiful and powerful vocals to start and then.. it’s heaven!

Keep Falling ft. Ursula Rucker
Great, haunting vocals and lyrics

Cyclic
Love this interlude, just the whole contrast of darkness and light, setting up the next track

Another New Day
Excellent track for traveling!

Place In Between
Meh.. Not impressed

Soon ft Vikter Duplaix
Great voice, soulful and classy

Dance the Dance ft Doug Hammond
Oooooooooooooooo… One of the best tracks on this album: it’s soundscapes, incredible vocals, breaks, beats, instruments and production

Sub-Atlantic
Meh..

Glow And Glare
80’s dance and soul instrumental – weirdly nice. Especially like the build-up

E-Ovation
Funny

Takes You Back ft Desney Bailey
Large variety of pleasant beats and great vocals, also heavy on the retro

Wasted Time ft Vikter Duplaix
Perfect mood ballad i.e. a Shut The Curtains And Let’s Get Nasty ™ classic!

Conclusion
Funny thing this band.. The music isn’t always easy or dancable, sometimes even a bit annoying. But 85% of the time you get great audiophonics combined with soundscapes, moodlands and everything you need to chill, relax, travel, sleep, dream and make love to. Great album! Saw that they’re performing in Amsterdam at the end of this month – time to check them out..

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General Description
Artist/Band: Nightmares On Wax
Album Title: In A Space Outta Sound
Year: 2006

Catchy dance grooves!
 
How I Got Into This Music
Well, if you stroll around stuff by people like Zero 7, Jazzanova and Groove Armada, you kinda get this group in your sights very quickly. First time I really connected with their music was when I heard ‘Night Interlude’ (or remix, can’t remember), a very mellow track that triggered quite some memories. I knew the keyboard sample from The Pharcyde’s ‘Passing Me By’ and that made me go nuts coz I was happy with the discovery but I still didn’t know the original track, dammit! So, one nice Sunday morning, enjoying my brunch over at Dizzy’s Jazz Cafe I was pleasantly surprised coz they were playing the original track: Quincy Jones’ excellent version of ‘Summer In The City’.. Weird, huh?
Anyways, this album came out and I just had to gave it a listen..

Tracks that got my attention:
Passion
Uhm.. I don’t get it.. This is probably one of the most simple songs ever made in this galaxy.. So why do I get this incredible feeling of joy everytime I hear it? ARGH! Perfect moment to listen to this track: driving your car along the Maasboulevard in Rotterdam at sunset on a lazy and hazy day, oooooooooh..

The Sweetest
Weird track, the ragga-ska guitar and dub are unbelievably catchy, but the bass didn’t thump the hell out of my speakers. Still loving it though.

Damn
Wow.. Just sit back, relax and enjoy this track! Soundscapes, very minute details and accents and a great vocal setup with Chyna B and the gospel choir thingy. Catchy and groovy!

You Wish
Taking us back to the ‘more familiar’ sound of NoW

Me!
Kinda Appollo 440-ish rock guitar loops with sweet vocals, works for me after listening to it a coupla times.

I Am You
sigh.. wow.. wow (again)..
Who the hell is this guy?!?! I mean, Mozez, yep, that’s his name and try finding anything on him on the net with just that name..
I’ve been enjoying this artist’s vocals on the Zero 7 albums and it’s incredible how much emotion and depth he can give a track: an absolute master!

African Pirates
Now here’s a track waiting to be picked for a commercial. It’s easy to imagine this becoming a dance floor hit this summer!

Conclusion
Yep, a very catchy and groovy album with different hooks for different tastes. Can’t compare it with any previous stuff, but I can imagine a very commercially successful year for Nightmares On Wax.

Rating: (and a big thanks to Mozez’ performance..)

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