The Dining Rooms

This week the spotlight is on a Milan-based duo called: The Dining Rooms. The duo is made up of Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti. Both were originally members of the punk/new wave scene, having played in underground bands. Ghittoni, became the resident DJ at Milan's Maggazzini Generali and would create the original sound that is The Dining Rooms ("The Dining Rooms, n.d.), A sound that contains elements of ambient, electronic and nu jazz ("The Dining Rooms, 2013"). 



LINKS:
"M. Dupont": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLcgB4dHQ2s
"Tunnel" feat. Sean Martin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyaNDq3pqn0
"Dreamy Smiles" feat. Anna Clementi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrBcwoTPOM
"Thin Ice (Paolo Fedreghini and Marco Bianchi remix): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YciNBk9pMeE

REFERENCES:

"The Dining Rooms." last.fm. Retrieved from: http://www.last.fm/music/The+Dining+Rooms

"The Dining Rooms." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2013. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dining_Rooms

Slow Train Soul

Slow Train Soul
Photo Credit: last.fm

Their music has been featured in the US hit series ‘Six Feet Under’ and HBO’s ‘Entourage’ and have been featured on several Nu Jazz compliations including the Saint Germain Des Pres Cafe CD's. Slow Train Soul is a duo with multi-instrumentalist Morten Varano and vocals from Lady Z ("Slow Train Soul"). 

What do they sound like? These quotes sum it up for you....

“If you like Massive Attack, Meshell Ndegeocello or Shirley Bassey’s work with the Propellerheads, you’ll dig their work.” BETTER PROPAGANDA ("Soul Train Soul", n.d.)


“Imagine Sade fronting Portishead and you’re close to the evocative sound these two create. Its luxurious, beautifullly imagined and stellar debut that shows tremendous potential for Slow Train Soul.” ALLMUSIC GUIDE  ("Soul Train Soul", n.d.)



Now have a listen for yourself:


"Trail of Dawn": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zobBNQgXcAw

"Mississippi Freestylin": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4VUFIfrEUQ

"Golddiggah": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvaA8tS6cPI

"Naturally": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JAW3_L_Irw

"Inna City Woman": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGlNYycxg5I


REFERENCES:
"Slow Train Soul." (n.d.) In Facebook. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/SlowTrainSoul/info


"Slow Train Soul." last.fm. Retrieved from: http://www.last.fm/music/Slow+Train+Soul

Yonderboi

Yonderboi
Picture: gigwise.com

It's our first artist in the spotlight from Hungary! Composer, producer and visual artist, Laszlo Fogarasi, known to the music world as Yonderboi was born in September, 1980. In 1998, While still a high school student, he released his first song, it was an instrumental cover of one of the Doors' best known songs, "Riders On The Storm," titled "Pink Solidism." Some of his music was licensed to Western European Compilations which would soon lead to a record deal from a German label. He would record his debut album, "Shallow and Profound" on his own shoestring budget. How small? Well the equivalent of about $300 US Dollars. Released in 2000, That album went on to pioneer the emerging trip hop sub-genre and would score a single "Pabadam" which would go on to be a big hit on Gilles Peterson's BBC Radio show (YONDERBOI, n.d.) 

At the 2009 Berlin Film Festival, Yonderboi notably collaborated with film director, Peter Greenaway for an audio-visual show. (YONDERBOI, n.d.)



LINKS:
"Riders on The Storm (Pink Solidism)": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ea4VDSRaFY
"Pabadam": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukV69Dm6KQw
"Ohne Chanteuse": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=butlFTTcMAc
Clips from Peter Greenaway Collaboration: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCjuCgj-EIE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9YVKH2hbaI

REFERENCES:
"YONDERBOI."(n.d.) In Facebook.
Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/yonderboi/info

Pink Martini

Thomas Lauderdale & China Forbes of Pink Martini

Photo: http://oregonmusicnews.com/2010/01/22/aladdins-songs-for-haiti-featuring-lauderdale-storm-cool-nutz-pcp-more-raises-over-150000/

1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was in politics, with a long-term plan to be mayor. Attending political fundraisers, something bothered him, no it wasn't the people, it wasn't the subject of the fundraisers, but the music that played at these events. He considered it lackluster, and un-neighbourly. Lauderdale wanted to create an alternative soundtrack to political fundraisers: He wanted a beautiful and more inclusive soundtrack. So he founded the group Pink Martini and would be the pianist ("Pink Martini - Biography").

He called up Harvard classmate, China Forbes and together they began composing songs. In 1997 Sympathique, ("Je ne veux pas travailler") would become their signature anthem. "Pink Martini - Biography").

Pink Martini is very very hard to pigeonhole, as their music crosses a variety of genres and lead vocalist Forbes sings in at least 12 different languages ("Pink Martini - China Forbes"). 



LINKS:
Music Video for "Sympathique": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLaY4aksfRo\
Fun tune!, "Donde Estas, Yolanda": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOWqQsOwzjw
"Brazil": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pn5SpcZWeI


Thomas Lauderdale himself tells "The Story of Pink Martini": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lu15HkoHWM

Pink Martini Interview on The Paul O' Grady Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3xpHaCjxpc



REFERENCES:
"Pink Martini - Biography." 2014. Retrieved from: http://pinkmartini.com/about/

"Pink Martini - China Forbes." 2014. Retrieved from: http://pinkmartini.com/member/china-forbes/

DJ Kormac

Hailing from Dublin, DJ Kormac has always been fascinated with the music of a bygone era. As posted on his website, " The origins of DJ Kormac’s recorded output can be found in dusty second-hand stores and junk shops where he spent countless hours unearthing archaic and forgotten music ("All About DJ Kormac")."

Kormac would breathe new life into these forgotten records through sampling and adding an infectious, irresistible beat to carry the tune ("All About DJ Kormac")."




Photo: http://www.djkormac.com/

Just listen below for evidence, and a shout-out if you can identify the muppet in 
"Scratch Marchin": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwO-76itH8k 

Comment below.


LINKS:
Listen at 0:20 and identify the muppet! in "Scratch Marchin'": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwO-76itH8k
"Show Time": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s33UYXCO3dc
"Wash My Hands": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVgehLqwNUc
"Big Bad Trumpet Player": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZbR6w0Y7xU


REFERENCES:
"All About DJ Kormac." 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.djkormac.com/about/

Dimitri From Paris

Yes, after a week's hiatus the spotlight returns! Oh and this week's artist is sure to satisfy that musical appetite of yours. He was born in Istanbul, Turkey, but would grow up in France (hence the "From Paris"). As a 70s child, he would "cut and paste" samples from disco songs heard on the radio and would create tapes ("Dimitri From Paris: BBE"). A decade later, he'd be the DJ, working for popular radio stations in France. Then, in the 90s he would record soundtracks, remixes, and finally in 1996 his debut album, "Sacrebleu." "Sacrebleu" achieved international success selling several hundred thousand copies and was named "Album of The Year" by UK Magazine, Mixmag. Sacrebleu is actually a french curse by the way. Recalling his childhood, his music caries a strong disco and funk influence, mixed with contemporary electronic styles like downtempo and house, he is sometimes referred to as "The French Ambassador of House Music (Dimitri From Paris Discography)." But, some of his tracks carry a heavy influence from 50s/60s jazz, just listen to the links below...

LINKS:

I think you'll get a kick out of this tune: "Une Very Stylish Fille": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWdr-ohVmOc

"Live Jazz": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HDWXdU9M0o

REFERENCES:
Photo: www.contactmusic.com
"Dimitri From Paris Discography." 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.discogs.com/artist/1060-Dimitri-From-Paris

"Dimitri From Paris: BBE." 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.bbemusic.com/artists/666/Dimitri%20From%20Paris#.VC8wOildVbw

Staying local this time: Afternoons In Stereo

Looking at an artist from my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario this week. Greg Vickers, a Canadian musician, graphic designer and radio host is behind the project Afternoons In Stereo. Listening to Afternoons In Stereo, you can expect a modern electronic sound that is grounded in jazz and funk. Afternoons In Stereo has released five albums to date, two of which won at the Hamilton Music Awards. Vickers' radio show, called Urban Modernists mixes nu with classic jazz, fusion and funk. It airs on McMaster University's 93.3 CFMU Thursdays at 10:30 pm EST.

LINKS:

With over 125,000 hits, "Soul Sugar": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fGxmSfjD7k

Has a TV theme sound to it, "Tinto Brass": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4DDb48SbX8

"Ocean Floor" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJYTxozTn-8

"Turtleneck" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyrKmhhPFfg

93.3 CFMU: http://cfmu.msumcmaster.ca/

Artist Website: http://www.afternoonsinstereo.com/

REFERENCES:

"Afternoons In Stereo." 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.discogs.com/artist/143089-Afternoons-In-Stereo