Autor: Ilka Busche

Ellas Kapell’s new album

10/11/2023

While many have re-interpreted the classic jazz compositions of our time, few have done it in such innovative and creative ways as Stockholm based quartet Ellas Kapell, if critics and audiences are to be believed. We are very happy to announce Ellas Kapell third album „FOR ALL WE KNOW“ , release on the 10th of November on Naxos Prophone Records.

The four members met in 2016 and have gone on to release two critically acclaimed albums, win the Golden Album Reader’s Choice Award (JAZZ/Orkesterjournalen), be named the Vocal Jazz Act of the Year by Lira Music Magazine, garner over four million streams, and collaborate with some of the biggest names in Swedish Jazz including Karin Hammar and Magnus Lindgren.

‘For All We Know’ follows their 2021 release ‘What’s It All About’, and continues in their quest to breathe new life into the standard repertoire of the 20th Century. This time around, the quartet set out with the goal of creating a musical atmosphere that allows the listener to both rest in the familiar as well as discover the unknown.

The record’s sound is sorrowful with glimpses of hope, enabling light and positivity to permeate the cracks in their Scandinavian-noir tone. Creative reharmonization, thoughtful arrangements and a European jazz sensibility are the primary tools used to provide modern contexts for songs any jazz fan will be all too familiar with.

With a playful, improvisatory aura, Lovisa Jennervall’s effortlessly powerful vocals carry the quartet through melodic solos, deconstructed jazz standard forms, melancholic harmony synonymous with the Scandinavian jazz idiom and a wide-reaching array of grooves bridging the gap between American and European approaches to the genre.

With an undeniable passion and respect for the tradition at the ensemble’s core, Ellas Kapell achieve balance between capturing the timeless sound of the music they fell in love with and the fresh, contemporary energy of a band striving to reflect their 21st Century musical identities into the artform.

 

 

 

 

Photo by Elvira Glänte
Cover by Frida Krafft

Gregory Porter’s new album

03/11/2023

GREGORY PORTER ANNOUNCES HIS FIRST EVER CHRISTMAS ALBUM ‘CHRISTMAS WISH’ 

A UNIQUE FESTIVE SELECTION, CHOSEN BY GREGORY PORTER &  3 BRAND NEW SONGS, WRITTEN BY THE MAN HIMSELF

RELEASED GLOBALLY FRIDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2023 VIA BLUE NOTE/DECCA RECORDS

FIRST SINGLE ‘EVERYTHING’S NOT LOST’ OUT NOW, LISTEN HERE

 

At last! With his customary class, elegance and sophistication, Gregory Porter today announces his first ever Christmas album, to be released on Friday 3rd November 2023 via Blue Note/Decca Records. Entitled ‘Christmas Wish’ it is a loving tribute to his favourite time of year – and to great songwriters, singers and interpreters including Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, Dinah Washington and Nat King Cole. In addition to this list of world class names, Mr Porter himself has added to the Christmas catalogue with three original tracks, soon to be favourites for the festive season.

Backed by his long-time band and produced by repeat collaborator Troy Miller, with orchestral contributions recorded at Abbey Road, the album features inspired interpretations of carols, jazz-age standards and soulful sixties deep-cuts including ‘Silent Night’, ‘Little Drummer Boy’, Marvin Gaye’s ‘Purple Snowflakes’, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Someday At Christmas’ and Frank Loesser’s ‘What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?, which features a powerhouse guest vocal from double Grammy-winning sensation Samara Joy.

The theme of sharing and caring at Christmas, and the sense of renewal and revival that comes when the year draws to a close, is all here in Porter’s most personal contribution – his trio of new, self-penned songs, ‘Christmas Wish’, ‘Heart For Christmas’ and first single, ‘Everything’s Not Lost’, released today (listen: here). This elegant piano ballad is Porter’s persuasive plea to remember those less fortunate than ourselves. “I’m always thinking of balance” he explains. “That has been instilled in me and it keeps coming up in a lot of my music. At your highest, at your greatest, at your most pleasant time, don’t forget about other people who are suffering.”

Gregory will further extend his love and talent, warming up the winter months as he tours the world with his band. In December 2023 he will be back touring five major cities in Germany presenting his new album as well as his greatest hits.

 

Order the album here

 

TRACKLIST

  1. Silent Night
  2. Christmas Waltz
  3. Everything’s Not Lost (Written by Gregory Porter)
  4. Someday at Christmas
  5. Purple Snowflakes
  6. Little Drummer Boy
  7. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? – feat. Samara Joy
  8. Christmas Wish (Written By Gregory Porter)
  9. Cradle in Bethlehem
  10. Do You Hear What I Hear?
  11. Christmas Time is Here
  12. Heart for Christmas (Written by Gregory Porter)

 

Anne Paceo’s new EP

27/09/2023

We are happy to announce the release today of this 2nd remix of S.H.A.M.A.N.E.S. by the aptly-named Chocolate Genius Inc. for the song „Healing“

Anne Paceo discovered his work on the albums he made for No Format, and was very impressed by the richness of his writing, and his creativity.

On this song, Marc Anthony has transformed it into a long cosmic suite of 7 minutes and 30 seconds. The vibe is electro, with Dougie Bowne’s Lo-Fi beats, celestial vocals, lunar pianos, cosmic effects and twinkling strings like you would hear in a big movie score.

„When I listen to this remix, I feel as if I rediscover my song, but, above all, as if I enter a new and even more intense world.“ Anne Paceo

Listen now

S.H.A.M.A.N.E.S remix season will be released on December 1st.

MUSIC VIDEO OUT NOW!

21/07/2023

One year after the release of their single “Seher Yelleri“, Philippe Cohen Solal and Rusan Filiztek unveil a new remix featuring the American artist and rapper Rey El, through this new music video.

In Jamaican culture, the phrase ‘hold a meds’ is often used to describe the time set aside for meditation. Rey El and Amvshious hold a meds to the soulful sounds played and sang by Philippe Cohen Solal and Rusan Filiztek in one of New York’s great state parks.

This meditation is a cause of celebration in the artists’ cross-cultural interconnection with the intention of inspiring community togetherness.

 

Watch the video

 

 

NEW SINGLE RELEASE FROM NICOLA CONTE

16/06/2023

 

 

We are excited to present the second single from the album UMOJa „Into the Light of Love“, by the celebrated Italian spiritual jazz master, DJ, producer, guitarist and bandleader Nicola Conte. Co-produced with Alberto Parmegiani and Myles Sanko.

Umoja, which expresses unity and harmony in Swahili, brings together universal feelings through the multifaceted global music that Conte has spent his life studying and researching.

Umoja’s music draws inspiration from the deep spiritual sounds of 1970s indie and free jazz, the soul records of the private press, and the African and Afro-Caribbean rhythms of Conte’s collection. But he also acknowledges his debt to many of the decade’s most celebrated musical icons, such as American cosmic jazz masters Lonnie Liston Smith and Gary Bartz, and Afrobeat originators Fela Kuti and Tony Allen.

Proudly revivalist, Umoja was recorded directly to analog tape, with only two takes for each track. „In search of a spontaneous, almost improvised feel,“ Nicola made sure that the few overdubs were also transferred to tape to preserve the color and warmth of the analog sound. „Very little post-production or editing has been added, so what you hear is very much what happened in those magical live sessions.“

 

Pre-order and listen

 

Label @farout_recordings

Album artwork by @mzwandilebuthelezi_art

Nicola Conte photo by @giojoland

New Signings by Electric Chair

20/04/2023

Kat Eaton: In a music scene that is rich with female singer songwriters, Kat’s unique voice stands out with its low soulful register and immense power and purpose.

Ellas Kapell: A shared enthusiasm for Ella Fitzgerald initially led the members of Ellas Kapell together, but the band soon exceeded this common denominator and took on its own shape and sound, fashioned by the four musicians.

Dimensions of Wayne Shorter (Magnus Lindgren & John Beasley): For the Dimensions of Wayne Shorter production, Lindgren and Beasley composed a new work for large orchestra and band especially for the Philharmonic. Last year, they still had the opportunity to personally exchange musical ideas with Wayne Shorter at his home.

Stream of the concert of Magnus Lindgren – Stockholm Underground

04/02/2023

On November 25th Magnus delighted his fans with a great concert at the Cologne Philharmonic.

Now and until February 24th you can enjoy this amazing performance of Magnus Lindren, Henrik Janson, Lars Danielsson and Per Lidnval.

 

Organized by KölnMusik

Recording location: Kölner Philharmonie

 

Myles Sanko is back and this time with his first ever live album!

02/02/2023

Recorded and filmed live to a sold-out auditorium at the magnificent Philharmonie Luxembourg, accompanied by his trusted soul/jazz sextet (pianist Tom O’Grady, bassist Jon Mapp, drummer Rick Hudson, guitarist Phil Stevenson, saxophonist/flutist Gareth Lumbers, trumpeter Sam Ewens) and the 70-piece Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra led by Grammy Award winning conductor Gast Waltzing.

“To be able to release my first live album of such magnitude is a dream come true” says Myles Sanko. “Capturing what I do live has always been a goal of mine for some time now and I am over the moon that it has finally come to life. To do it this way exceeds my imagination and I am truly honoured to have created this with all these exceptional musicians”

“Live at Philharmonie Luxembourg” features ten songs with orchestral arrangements by Gast Waltzing and Peter Hinderthür. It includes all the favourites such as “Come On Home” or “High On You” and classics like “Just Being Me” and “Forever Dreaming”. It will be available on 12″ vinyl LP, compact CD and digital formats. After the release of his third full studio album “Memories Of Love” in 2021, “Live At Philharmonie Luxembourg” preserves the magic of Sanko’s concerts for home listening.

This new offering will instantly remind fans of the unique combination of raw talent and sophistication with which he captures his audience so effortlessly.

 

„Live at Philharmonie Luxembourg“ will be released on 3rd March 2023

 

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PHILIPPE COHEN SOLAL & GUSTAVO BEYTELMANN

01/02/2023

„The Human Seasons” is an album of musical improvisation by the Argentinian pianist Gustavo Beytelmann, produced with Philippe Cohen Solal. The title comes from a poem by John Keats and is a metaphor for the four seasons of our existence. It is also about the life that we improvise from day to day.

Here the acoustics and electronics interact in a unique musical ping-pong. The 2 musicians cross over between the human seasons, between “field recording” and “spoken word”, to deliver an instrumental performance that is sometimes serene and sometimes powerful.Philippe Cohen Solal started collaborating with Gustavo Beytelmann in 1999. He is the pianist that features in Gotan Project. The maestro also accompanied the group on their world tour of “La Revancha del Tango”, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. One evening, in the middle of a concert, the two computers with all the rhythmic sequences broke down. But the show must go on: Gustavo and Philippe then start to improvise, in a long suspended and magical moment. From this technical incident a beautiful artistic surprise was born.

It took almost 20 years for them to find themselves, both in the studio, with the firm intention of putting themselves in danger and recreating that magic.Sound landscapes, pianistic melodies, poetic interventions and solid rhythms are summoned to take us, during 45 minutes of electro and acoustic improvisation, to an incredible musical elsewhere.”

Summer – Official Video

New album from Emanuel Harrold

26/01/2023

We are excited to announce the new album titled „We Da People“ from the multi-GRAMMY Award nominated and winning drummer, producer and educator Emanuel Harrold.

The album folows his recent EP „Funk La Soul“

 

℗ 2022 Gearbox Records

 

Video – We Da People