Jojo Effect was founded in November 2005 by the German producers and multi instrumentalists Jaycay (Color Blind, Expo’s Jazz & Joy, Makoma) and Maxim Illion (Club des Belugas), and the two fantastic vocalists of Anne Schnell and Brenda Boykin....
Parov Stelar aka Marcus Füreder is a musician who lives and works in Linz, Austria. His style is characterized by the freedom of jazz combined with the groove of house and breakbeat. He performs as a DJ worldwide, where his sample-heavy remixes borrow enough from both modern beats and 1930s jazz as to be appropriate for both the dancefloor or the easy chair....
Jazzamor is a German musical duo which consists of Bettina Mischke and Roland Grosch. Their music combines elements of lounge music, jazz and bossanova.
When singer Bettina Mischke and keyboard player Roland Grosch decided to found Jazzamor in 2001 they perhaps did not imagine that their minimalistic lounge arrangements would take off so quickly. Two albums in three years have highlighted their productivity as they firm out their smoothe 60s jazzy sounds in Europe’s main languages. The albums’ commercial success have decided the pair on plunging into the live circuit with the same passion they brought to their recordings....
Nekta are vocalist Nathalie Schaefer and producer Gyso Hilger. They have been friends since the days of their early childhood, affiliated by their love for beautiful music. After having recorded a CD with American Christmas songs as a nice present for family and friends, in 2001 the idea came up to write and produce own songs. After having experimented in the studio for the next couple of months loads of ideas and preferences emerged and became more precise. They work successfully, resulting in the first songs like “Wild Girls” and “Granted” soon the first demo is ready. The electro club jazz duo Nekta is born....
Liner Notes:
I’ve been living here since the move from Montreal, 4 years ago. It’s a harsh neighbourhood – but then again, so is life. In this city that values aesthetic functionality and uniformity over allowing its history to be told through age and decay, Parkdale has largely managed to resist the gentrification that has hit much of Toronto. Some maintain that the tide is inevitable. I believe that as long as there is a place for the stalwart halfway houses and homes for those deemed mentally or emotionally “unstable”, Parkdale won’t see the marginalization of certain members of society, the way so many other neighbourhoods have. And in the end, I hope this is exactly what will allow for its preservation, in all its complexities and myriad stories. Like it or not, beyond the homogenized, picture-perfect bullshit that creeps up everywhere to call itself reality, lies the actual, true core – often harsh and ugly and full of contradictions, yet incredibly beautiful in its realness and resilience. So to me, Parkdale is a window into the soul of a city – complex, fragmented and above all, honest.
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With his unmistakable sound-mix of Jazz- and Swing samples and electronic music, Parov Stelar has secured his own unique position in the world of music. His upcoming fourth album “Coco” is eagerly awaited. The double CD starts off where his successful LP’s “Rough Cuts”, “Seven And Storm” and “Shine” ended. On the other hand he is consequently developing his established jazzy sound, by adding new stylistic elements to his tunes. Also his dancefloor-productions, that up to now have only been published as singles, find a debut to a greater extent on his album. They meet with Stelar’s melancholic-melodious trademark-sound, which is well known from his earlier albums, but now is also spiced up with Hip-Hop beats and synth-pads. Parov Stelar manages to build bridges between his own worlds of sound with these extensive LP as well he as he does with listening- and dance-music in general. An electrifying album to fall for....
German electronic/jazz band: Boris Meinhold (guitar, synth), Tim Kroker (drums), Sebastian “Hagen” Demmin (keyboards; worked as a live keyboarder with Daft Punk), Lisa Bassenge (vocals), Stefan Rogall (programming), and Paul Kleber (kontrabass)....
Ray Charles
Michael Jackson
Ayo
Corinne Bailey Rae
Laura Izibor
