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Archive for May, 2009

New Razoof album out – “High Tide, Low Tide”

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

This is the fourth solo album by producer and drummer Razoof from Germany/Cologne.
It showcases a very nice blend of analog dub/reggae feel and very chilled vibes.
Most of the songs on “High Tide, Low Tide” came about during Razoofs residency at the chill out hot spot Blue Bar on the balearic island Formentera.
Long time collaborators Emanuel Geller, Solar Moon fellowman Tom Dams and vocalist Don Abi contributed also to this album.
As well as Lady Alma (famous from her work with King Britt, Zap Mama and 4hero), swedish singer Sofia Pettersson, Zeb (playing Oud), Internal Dread, Desmond Foster and german roots reggae star Sebastian Sturm.
With this album, Razoofs love for all things reggae comes full circle.
Razoof got the nickname Razoof from his class mates in school because of his early love for reggae music.
Being an activie drummer on the blooming german reggae scene of the early 90ties, he provided the backbeat for names like Gentleman, Bantu, Patrice and Don ABi.
He later also joined Solar Moon.
After many albums and compilations Razoof started to produce original dub infused downtempo and deep house and electronica material around Y2K, released mainly through his own label “Nesta Recordings”.
This way several Razoof tracks like “Lambs Bread” (Stereo de Luxe) and “Universal Love” (Jah Love Recordings) caused some global dancefloor heat.
His 2007 remix album “Life, Love and Unity” went straight to the top of the german chill out charts for many weeks.
Razoof holds the summer residency at Blue Bar on Formentera 2009.
Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music

http://www.ganga.dk
http://www.flincmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/gangalounge
http://www.youtube.com/gangalounge
http://www.last.fm/music/Ganga
http://www.ilike.com/artist/Ganga
http://www.gangamusic.info
http://www.bandbase.dk/ganga
http://www.reverbnation.com/ganga

Tags: Chill Out, Don Abi, Downbeat, Ganga, high tide low tide, Razoof, reggae, zeb
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Sorry Lou

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

Its really early and the first busses are passing my house – some birds are singing and the morning is creeping in on me.

I was listening for the first time in years to the banana record – the Velvet Underground LP from 1967.

Got is as a present the other day.

Thats chill out downbeat music for you – like chill out at war with indian drones.

“Venus in furs – different colours made of tears. Shiny shiny leather. Shiny leather in the dark.”

Lou Reed is talking his way through this song – as usual – we love it.

Sounds like indian guitar playing – drone music – hypnotic and trance like. Tambourine on 2 and 4.

“I could sleep for 1000 years – different colours made of tears” he goes again”.

The guitar is crazy in this song – goes on and on. It works very well.

I am in a trance. Morning trance – first man up. First man on the job – in a trance.

I am glad for not being the busdriver.

“I dont know just where I am going” – Lou is waiting for his man and we are all waiting with him.

Its too early to be sensible.

“I wish that I was born a 1000 years ago” – the song “Heroin” creeps in on you with the same insisting guitarplaying and some drone stuff also.

“Its my wife and my life”

Guitar goes crazy now – or is it the drone, not sure but it sounds like a schrieking pig and we love it just the same – but its just too good damn early for that – not their fault though.

I skip to number 3 – “I´ll be you mirror” Nico sings – this is more the morning mood.

“I see you” – short song. Kind of weird but there is something about the way it fades out in the middle of the first chorus.

How is that for a new pop formular. Dont hear that so often in Country and Western or balinese gamelan.

Lou is in again on the next track on side 2 “The black angels deathsong”.

Some wild violin maybe – or bow stuff anyway – maybe on a guitar, not too sure about the origins of these string sounds. Some of them guitar.

“If you choose try to loose” – “choose to choose, choose to go” – really short song also.

Some choosing going on.

This song is written with John Cale.

Not sure about the lyrics but its Lou style allright.

“European son” ends this side with a frantic nervous track guitar and – again – lots of noisy distorted stuff going on everywhere.

Nice they didnt have digital at that time – wouldnt have sounded too good. But then again it might had.

Digital means tons of choices.

That wouldnt have gone well with Andy Warhols production technique I think.

This is mostly one takes I think – and the needle was in the red – most of the time.

People must have written books about this album.

Feels alsmost sacrimonial to write like this about it buy hey -

this is the age of digital.

And I would choose a concert – any day with these guys – over this record – sorry Lou – and Andy.

Still love it though – its like a record at war with itself.

chill out downbeat artist Ganga
Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music

Tags: Andy Warhol, chill oyt, Downbeat, Ganga, Heroin, Nico
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Remember Enigma

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

I do for sure. I never heard that combination before.
I was travelling in India at the time. All the way through from Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madras, Pondicherry, Bangalore and many small places I dont even remember the name. All the way up to Delhi, Calcutta and following Ganges up to Badrinath, Kedernath and Gangotri. Also spent alot of time in Manali and Parvati Valley – especially Kir Ganga was a memorable spot.
Right at that time it seemed Enigma was to be heard everywhere there were backpackers.
And many other places.
The simple melodies, the monk choir? Dont remember if it really was a choir, but definitely the monk singing was very prominent and was part of the “hooks” I remember from that release.
The first album was called M.C.M.X.D. – I have no idea why.
Tracks were “The voice of Enigma”, “Principles of Lust”, “Mea Culpa”, “The Rivers of Belief”, just to name the ones I remember.
Enigma was the project of Michael Cretu and his wife Sandra Cretu.
It seems they have 15 releases up until now, with remix albums and everything, but I kind of lost track of them at “The cross of Changes”.
I remember being little dissapointed when I bought that album.
But Enigma will always for me continue to be a part of my musical history which I will always remember.
It was so new and different at the time.
And I guess it also caught me totally off guard running around in India without too much intellectual filtering and analysis going on.
I have been trying ever since to get back to that state of mind, but its not so easy when you live your life in the middle of a society trapped in its own impossible attempt to achieve what is believed to be progress, by using only lingual logic. We need abstract…. now please.!
Anyways, thank you Enigma for opening my eyes a little wider back then nearly 20 years ago.
CHill out, downbeat artist Ganga
Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music

Tags: Chill Out, Downbeat, Enigma, Ganga, Mea Culpa, t
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“Call of the midnight sun” – chilled exotic dinosaur beats

Monday, May 18th, 2009

I just want to share these lener notes from a – very -old LP I picked up a while back.
Old school lounge you could call it. Definitely downbeat, lots of vibrafone and sounds from way back when a taperecorder was hifi equipment and it was cool to look happy on record covers.
Here goes:

“Recently I spent some time during a very pleasant holiday in Hawaii, lounging on Waikikki Beach, watching and riding in Catamarans on the beautiful pacific; but the most enjyable time was spent watching and listening to the exotic sounds of the Arthur Lyman Group as they performed nightly in the shell bar of the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel.
The versatility of the Arthur Lyman Group amazed everyone present, including myself.
Looking around I thought to myself,what a tribute to Arthur Lyman, when even the employees of the room became part of the audience.
Listening to the group playing the old standard MIDNIGHT SUN, it came to mind how great some of the current favourites, that will undoubtedly become standards, such as HELLO DOLLY, GIRLFROM IPANEMA, GET ME TO THE CHURCH ON TIME, and one of my extra special favourites PEOPLE, would sound on my daily KMPC radio show, played in the Arthur Lyman style. Then, as if a dream had come true, the group performed the aforementioned songs, which two nights later were recorded at the Hawaiian Village Hotels famed Aluminium Dome, and incorporated into this album,along with the japanese folk song HAMABE NO UTA, a song of the sea;the american traditional tune BLACK IS THE COLOUR OF MY TRUELOVES HAIR; the hawaian favourites A MAILE LEI FOR YOUR HAIR and DAY AND NIGHT; the broadway hit ROOM WITHOUT WINDOWS and the exiting arrangement of 500 miles.
<
<
This group consists of four of the top musicians and arrangers in the Hawaiian islands.
Arthur Lyman is a virtuoso of the vibes, marimba and bongos, and is responsible for the majority of the arrangements. Allan Soares is a master of the piano, celeste and clavietta.
Harold Chang is a percussionist who excels in all things "drummatic."
Archie Grant, Jr. plays a great bass, flute, guitar and ukulele.
I know that you will enjoy the Call of the Midnight Sun, whether in monoaural or stereo.
I hope that some day you will have the oppurtunity to see the Arthur Lyman Group perform.
Until then, HIFI RECORDS makes it possible for you to enjoy the most exotic sounds in the world. HAPPY LISTENING."

This album is old, but I cant read the exact year anywhere. Great fun to listen to.
Chill out downbeat
Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music

Tags: Arthur Lyman, Chill Out, Downbeat, Ganga
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Listening to “Air” again – Virgin Suicides, Soundtrack

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

Just got my hands on this soundtrack for the movie “Virgin Suicides” from 1999. This was back in the days when Air was still a young band I guess, and the cuts on this CD are very fresh sounding.
Very acoustic and ofcourse lots of strings and pentatonic melodies.
The filtered synthesizer sounds are very prominent alo on these tracks. They sound very organic and it seems like they are actually played by hand – the indidiual phrases anyway. Not that it makes so much of a difference as long as it works – and that it does I think.
These tracks are very cinematic ofcourse and its very obvious that you are listening to an Air album.
Plenty of horns is here and also the odd organ sticks his head in. One of them really sounding a lot like a churchorgan.
All the tracks are downbeat I would say and its easy to picture yourself in the hammack chilling to this album when a hard days labour is done.
Even though some of the tracks have pretty harsh and dark voiceovers – from the movie I guess.
I never saw the movie, but from the title I would say its pretty obvious that there needed to be some darkness lurking in these tracks – and there definitely are darker vibes on this album also.
But hey – thats the other side of the coin right
I like it – nearly all the tracks have something about them. If you are into soundtracks I would go and buy this album.
Its out on emi music France and the movie is directed by Sofia Coppola – the daughter of the famous Francis Ford Coppola.
I recommend this little trip into the unknown.
CHill out downbeat artist Ganga
Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music

Tags: Chill Out, cinematic, Downbeat
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Air – Modular Mix – Premiers Symptomes

Friday, May 15th, 2009

I am not sure exactely what it is that I like so much about Air.
I absolutely loved their first stuff – new and fresh sounds from a country that we are not normally overwhelmed by musically – not me anyway.
But this was great somehow.
Simple and with very precise orientation towards their own sound – their own aestetic.
Now I am listening to an old track also. Its called Modular Mix and appears on the album “Premiers Symptomes”.
I am not sure, but it seems to originally be from 95 – released on SOlid Source.
Anyway, I am not getting much wiser from the french cover notes.
My point is that its a track that very much encapsulates their sound.
Handplayed bass and the moody synthesizer.The naivistic guitar playing the same nots for a long time. Two cinematic string clusters breaks the track off and a reverse sound brings us back into normal Air land with wobly synthesizer lines and small naivistic pentatonic melodies.
A little bit funky and with stabby horn and a dry bottom end that tends to also be a bit dubby.
The next track on this album starts out in exactely the same mood. Casanova 70 its called.
The classic Air bass lines and pentatonic melodies and chord shifts are there and something else ofcourse which is their little secret magic place from where they find out what goes and what goes not. No need to talk so much more about this.
I love this track also.
In the next track they are a bit more dry in the beginning.Same bass line and some funky keys is around in several forms.
Some shaker action is filtered to give a little movement and they recorded some weird ambience stuff to warm it up. Nice chill out downbeatatmosphere in this track also. The horns as we know them are still here. “Les Professionels” – come to think of it I heard this track in different disguises over the years. But never like this. It ends with the guitar line that I definitely have heard on many Air tracks.

Tags: Air, Chill Out, Downbeat
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“No one built this moment” (and something about this blog)

Monday, May 11th, 2009

SInce I started this blog, I have been around many topics and arguably many non-topics, as it sometimes has been difficult to find out what the focus of the writings should be.
I dont know why it took me so long to figure out that the focus ofcourse is music and everything that has to do with music.
Sometimes its about the creation of the music itself – in generel or more specific about my own music and the whole practice of writing and producing the way I do.
Sometimes it has been about the world surrounding us, crazy stuff happening and thoughts about the nature of music and why we bother to care for music. The most abstract artform of all.
Isnt it just a waste of time – basically sometimes its entertainment, sometimes it can be enligtenment and sometimes a bit of both or nothing of the kind.
Music also comes in many disguises – go into the street and listen or go into the countryside
and open your ears.
Anyway, the writings in this blog is about music.
And then next many blogs I will write about other peoples music. TRacks or albums that I like or that inspires me.
I just got hold of the newest album from danish “Bliss”. Its called “No one built this moment”. All their albums are released on Music For Dreams – the danish chill out, downbeat label that does very well at the moment and releases artists such as Lulu Rouge and Aura.
I think the album must be the best they ever made. Its further away from New Age than ever before. If anything, some of the hypnotic tracks of the album is a bit trancy in their nature. This is a great thing I think, and makes the tracks breathe more. Not trancy synth lines, but in the way the guitar f.ex. plays the same line for one whole track.
The track “Calling” features Sophie Barker from Zero 7 and is a good example of this.
Hypnotic guitar line nearly all way through the track and an – admitedly – poppy Sophie Barker vocal on top. They make good use of the small guitar also. Dont remember the name of it, but it has a very distinctive high timbre and fiots the track great. AT the end the violin is a bit disturbing I think, but all in all a very good track.
The more I think of it, the clearer it is to me that it is Sophie Barkers vocal that is the most important ingredience on this album. She has a fantastic voice for this kind of music. “So Still” is a brilliant example of this.
“Stop me” is another track with Sophie Barker on it and he small guitar. STill cant remember the name of it. I use on my new album also. This track is a bit more uptempo but still goes down in a long breathy break in the middle of the track. Rest of the track is a bit electro dubby in the production style. Very suttle though. The best track on the album I think. Again Sophie Barkers voice tend to spread gold all over the track.
“Light to your life” is the only track with Sophie Barker where it sounds like the same recipe but without any content in the same league as the other Sophie Barker tracks.
For some reason Boy George sings on one of these tracks also (”American Heart”). He actually does it very well. Would have been fun to hear him just on top an acoustic guitar and not drenched in Bliss synthesizer pads. Nice chorus in this song. Didnt understand why they needed to have Alexandre Hamnede on this track. She sings well, but its actually more disturbing than rewarding.
Lets see if they dont make it on to another hollywood production with one of these cinematis tracks.
Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music

Tags: american heart, bliss, calling, Chill Out, Downbeat, light to your life, No one built this moment, so still, stop me
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Laibach playing bachs “Kunst die Fuge”

Monday, May 4th, 2009

One of the biggest churches in Copenhagen recently filled up with people all anxious to see and hear the slovenian avantgarde industrial music collective Laibach.
We waited for one whole hour before they appeared behind synthesizers, computers, electronic drums, turntables and mixers.
The light dimmed and two huge walls lit up with Laibachs visuals.
Very impressive, just the setting in itself.
Its a huge church, the biggest of its kind in Scandinavia – (dont know the english name for this kind of churches). And they set uptheir gear on the alter – or in front of the alter.
The walls lit up in colours and a huge drone started the concert.
Laibachs driving creative force is one man who has been there all the way from the start apparently. At this concert he was behind the turntables and a laptop.
Then there were two guys on synthesizers/fx/laptops, one on electronic drums and one guy
reading the scores and playing the notes from J.s. Bachs “Die Kunst der Fuge”.
I am not sure exactely how much he played, but he seemed occupied during the whole concert.
I think what he played was sent to the others to manipulate with computers and fx.
So the notes from the original score was sometimes hard to recognice amidst all the drones and synthesizer madness.
The result was stunning though, and not boring at all.
I am not sure exactely what they did, but it worked.
A massive wall of sound – purely electronic and with some voice manipulation also.
Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music

Tags: Chill Out, Downbeat, Ganga, lai bach
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Ganga

Archive for May, 2009

New Razoof album out – “High Tide, Low Tide”

Sorry Lou

Remember Enigma

“Call of the midnight sun” – chilled exotic dinosaur beats

Listening to “Air” again – Virgin Suicides, Soundtrack

Air – Modular Mix – Premiers Symptomes

“No one built this moment” (and something about this blog)

Laibach playing bachs “Kunst die Fuge”

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