Compost Records: Glücklich V

Over the last few years and up to present times a new wave of DJs, musicians and producers are reshaping Brazilian modern music for the contemporaries. From bossa nova to MPB, from jazz samba to 70's samba fusion and batucadas; the rhythms and the music can be heard in techno, drum'n bass and more over in the nu jazz movement. Compost Records is and has been at the forefront of it and often, from Jazzanova to Moonstarr, a little ahead of it. Rainer Trüby is a key figure of the movement and the "Glücklich" compilation series is just his view of the state of art.
From the very few bars of the delayed organ chords that open "Eh Luande" by Racoon you feel that a very creative and stylish music will fill the air. There are some new discoveries here from yesterday and today's sounds.
Rachael Calladine has a strong jazz feel to her voice and with some elegant harmonies she carries the Joyce, Ana Mazzotti kinda feel with great charm. She's a name to watch!
Same to say for Wagon Cookin' who recorded "Lua" especially and exclusively for this compilation. They came from Spain and play with witty, intense swing showing a taste for the 70's jazz-fusion sambas but with a touch of today.
I really like the cool tenor sax loop from Blissom's remix of the Rise Ashen track "Torn". It sounds like Zoot Simms, but could it be Nick Ayoub? As they are from Canada.
Two very hip cats from Strasbourg, Luc and Jazzamar aka Nu Tropic use the same kind of early 70's psychedelic jazz samba beats with sparse trumpet and a great scat sample. Very groovy. Their "Moonlight" is also exclusive for Volume 5 and has more than a glance at one of the rare 70's Brazilian tunes included here.
"Comanche" taken from a '71 album is one of those great Jorge Ben trance-like, breeze fast sambas - a real gem.
Two years later in Spain Luiz Antonio and his group Aquarius recorded a way out, almost hippy version of the blue bossa "Agua De Beber". Nice vocals and hip vibraphone lines underlines this very fine tune discovered by the guys from Hi-Top (Spain) and heavily played by Rainer. He surely likes Edu Lobo a lot, I guess. An early 80's version of his "Casa Forte" by R.E.Q. is also included here as is a new version of "Fica Mal Com Deus" a song written by Geraldo Vandre in 1964. He was a very intellectual composer and shortly anticipated the post-bossa sound of Lobo.
Rosalia's voice sounds like a velvet cloud carried by a flute breeze and movin' brushes. It does sound very Sixties.
I see Ben Human like a kind of Lalo Schifrin meets DJ Shadow both on ... a trip?
The suave Montefiori brothers cover "Gypsy Woman" with humour, gentle organs and warm tenor sax - their distinctive sound.
I find Les Gammas always trés chic and the voice of Nina Miranda seems like a flower floatin' on a quiet wave. Eddie and Dus, I just hope that they will do an album soon...
Their arrangement of "Outra Vida" is a gas starting with broken downtempo beats, then turns bossa and then shifts into the new drum'bossa.
The Bah Samba version of Muro "Bohemian" - it's a great club tune with some very good live players.
The Os Ipanemas returns courtesy of Far Out Recordings into a recording studio after some 35 years. Their first album was recorded in 1965. Wilson Da Neves and Ruben Bassini, top ritmistas of the Brazilian scene then, created one of the first afro-jazz-samba experiments. Music full of mystery and deepness - very deep. This new tune retains that unsurpassed atmosphere, as the music ends and lingers from my window.
I think I should say few more words about Rainer Trüby... Oh, he's an unpredictable, inspired DJ and a producer of groundbreaking new music and eventually he could even tell you which wine goes with each track.

Nicola Conte, Bari, July 2002

Nicola Conte is one of Italian"s most respected DJs and producers, having a deep knowledge in Brazilian music.

Biographies

1. Racoon
The ‘Racoon" project was born from the fusion of two veterans DJ"s and the hands of a travelling weirdo with a lot of hair. Once they decided that the place was comfortable and sunny enough for all three of them, they started to do music together. Totally aware of their strong and unerasable passion for downtempo and lounge music, they bravely began this wonderful journey into the magic world of house music -always bringing a lot of respect to the people who paved the way-. Without forgetting, as the Racoon never does, to leave an unmistakable mark on each of the tracks they happily played together.

2. Rise Ashen / Blissom
The infatuation with sampling began when Eric Vani aka Rise Ashen started Breakdancing to the early hip-hop in the streets of Montreal in the eighties. "Looped grooves were the sounds that I grew up with... my Rolling Stones were The Furious Five." A multi-instrumental artist-producer based in Ottawa, Ontario, he has worked with dozens of artists as a producer, engineer and re-mixer, was a classical music recording engineer at the famed Banff Centre for the Arts, and is a graduate of Fanshawe College's Recording Engineering program.
The remixer Stephane Lefrancois aka Blissom is a favourite deejay in Toronto and a respected producer worldwide. His first single was charted in both hemispheres, getting airplay in Holland, Japan, Germany, UK, USA, Canada and other metros all over the world. Blissom"s remixes of Rise Ashen"s "Torn" were being charted by Gilles Peterson in the August 2001 Straight No Chaser issue.

3. Os Ipanemas
The label Far Out Recordings celebrated its 50th release in 2001 with The Return of Os Ipanemas. A homage and follow up to the seminal afro-samba album of the 60"s featuring the original band members, very much a Buena Vista Social Club of Brazil. The legendary bossa nova group Os Ipanemas reformed with a new line-up that includes two remaining members from the early days: drummer Wilson das Neves and guitarist Neco (percussionist Rubens Bassini and the arranger Astor Silva have passed away). Along with musicians like Jorge Helder (bass) and Mamão (from the band Azimuth, on drums), they made a new album, from which Rainer chose the track "Icarai" for this compilation.

4. Muro / Bah Samba
DJ Muro is one of Japan's most popular and well-respected Hip Hop Producer / DJ's. In the past DJ Muro worked with several highly regarded U.S. Hip Hop musicians as for example Lord Finesse or A.G. He also did great remixes for U.F.O., Trüby Trio, amongst others. Furthermore he has established himself as an untouchable crate digger, owning what must be one of the largest collections of jazz, funk and soul records in the world and he is compiler of several compilations.
The remixer team ala music collective Bah Samba is a critically acclaimed outfit from the UK that makes house music with a latin edge. Their classic track "Reach Inside" became one of the most-played anthems and a personal favourite of Dimitri From Paris, who included it on one of his mixed compilations. Bah Samba just released their debut album on CD (Estereo) including all hits from the past and some new tunes.

5. Jorge Ben
Jorge Ben represented the Rio wing of Brazil's tropicalia movement. Born to an African mother, Ben embraced African and African-American music -- especially funk and soul -- far more successfully than other tropicalia stars. This, along with the insistent presence of his melodic guitar lines, makes his music readily accessible to many listeners all over the world. In the early 1960s, Jorge Ben recorded as a samba artist, gaining international renown as a songwriter when Sergio Mendes covered his song, "Mas Que Nada." Later, along with contemporaries such as Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Gal Costa, he pioneered the revolutionary "tropicalia" movement, which blended American blues, rock and roll and pop kitsch into the already potent musical stew of Brazilian pop. Later still, Ben became known as the driving force behind Brazil's homegrown funk/soul scene, and was an inspiration for the Black Rio soul scene. Ben's intimate, playful vocals and alluring acoustic guitar give him a unique, seductive sound.

6. Nu Tropic
Nu Tropic is a Strasbourg based duo of musicians / producers, which contributes an exclusive track to this compilation. Deeply influenced by the German nu-jazz scene but also firmly dedicated to the great bossa masters, Nu Tropic consists of Luc Tharin, DJ/producer rooted in hip-hop who is in charge of the beats, and Jazzamar, flute player and famous brazilian music collector (check his Brasil Jazz Pulsation1 compilation), who takes care of the arrangements as well as the bossa inspirations. Their first 12''-Hybrid Tempoz EP- out on their former label FTP received great support from worldwide jazz & related DJs. For their second 12'', the mind-blowing Mental Appetizer, they signed to Comet; the release was a huge success and showcased what Nu Tropic's first album should sound like.

7. R. E. Q.
R.E.Q. were a UK band that had their moment in the early 80ies with their rather progressive and unique Jazz-Funk style. One can easily say that they were far ahead of their time – R.E.Q. were probably the first to cover an old 60ies classic from a musical field to which Edu Lobo can be count, something that only became popular in the mid 90ies by many brasil dance and nu jazz acts.

8. Nicola Conte
Over the last decade Nicola "Fez" Conte and Schema introduced a new model for modern sounds out of Italy. It was mainly connected with a retro aesthetic restyled for the contemporary. The inclusion of visual and musical references of 60's and 70's Italian productions was introduced for the first time nation-wide and therefore internationally. With a sophisticated almost intellectual approach the man from Bari gained a world-wide recognition for his music and concepts. Also it never was just a one-man thing but rather a collective output yet the mind behind all that was the one of Nicola Conte. He became involved in the international new jazz scene first as a DJ and later as a record producer as well. He assembled and designed a sound for the Paolo Achenza Trio, Quintetto X, Fez Combo, Intensive Jazz Sextet, and Balanco among others; he gave a name and an identity to Schema label, possibly the Italian label with the highest profile out of Italy nowadays. The Fez was the first to put Bossa Nova back to the public eye in Italy, and putting jazz elements into club culture was another achievement as well as the crafty cover arts which created the strong image of bands and DJs. Sometimes regarded as an elitist set the Fez movement is now getting into an experimental stage again. The Italian retro sounds from jazz to soundtracks are reconstructed to a new perspective.

9. Rachael Calladine
Rachael has been making regular appearances at the 606 club for many years and has appeared in Germany, Italy, Holland and Spain as well as at numerous prominent venues in the UK. Recently she worked with The Crissy Lee Orchestra and The National Youth Orchestra (NYJO), as well as fronting her own Jazz quartet. She has just completed her debut jazz album - 10 songs with Pianist Geoff Castle. Away from Jazz her credits are numerous including backing vocals with The Spice Girls, during their Christmas 1999 tour and Brit Awards 2000, as well as backing vocals with Melanie C, resulting in numerous TV appearances including The Frank Skinner Christmas Special with Kylie Minogue…

10. Les Gammas / Eddy & Dus
Les Gammas" fantastic contribution to the Compost 100 compilation, the track "Outra Vida" featuring the vocals of Nina Miranda (Smoke City) is featured on this compilation in the Eddy & Dus remix version, which is here exclusively available on CD format.
Their remix is a long journey into the realms of offbeats, wonderfully arranged. Starting off as smooth downbeat the track slowly evolves into a perfect groover for the dancefloor. Eddy & Dus from Croatia are remarkable deep-house and jazz producers who represent the next generation of music producers strongly influenced by variety of dance genres. Their sound has the uniqueness of the continental freestyle jazz wave as well as the freshness of the south-east. They recently released their debut album "High Life", well worth checking out – also watch out for their forthcoming Sun Ra remix.

11. Ben Human
Ben Addison aka Ben Human is the former singer and songwriter of UK Acid Jazz band Corduroy. His recent album 'Go Human Not Ape' is an electronic masterpiece, again with excellent songwriting depth, combining sounds from Alex Gopher with John Barry with lots of jazzy elements. He's also an incredible graphic design talent as he's drawn his own video clip in the state of the art Gorillaz style, a flash animated, cartoon video in about 6 weeks in total production time. Amazing. He's also a t-shirt designer for UK red Dot label, he writes games soundtracks like for Rock Star Games and Austin Powers Playstation game and now draws Ben Human comic strips for several German magazines on a monthly basis.

12. Montefiori Cocktail
Montefiori Cocktail is surely the most important act on the Cocktail Lounge scene in Italy and one of the best-known Worldwide. Their project is to recreate the warm easy listening dreamy atmophere passed down by the father and friends of the family, by taking cult score"s from the 60"s, music from TV spots and giving them a "Jungle", "Noise" vibe playing with the past -future with disturbing and ironic malinconia, such as star ship Enterprise from Star Trek sailing into an ocean of de-ja vu" & easy dancing. Music to "forget not to forget".

13. Aquarius Y Luiz Antonio
Luiz Antonio and his musicians the Brasil Aquarius covered the old Antonio Carlos Jobim classic "Aqua De Beber" and they interpreted the original quite differently in adding some psychedelic elements. This very rare number – the song is highly desired amongst record collectors - was recorded in the early 70ies in Spain.

14. Wagon Cookin"
The name Wagon Cookin" comes from a genuine railway wagon which once ran on the great Trans-Europe-Express at the beginning of the century is now situated in the foothills of the Sierra de Gredos, near Madrid. Javi and Luis, the two brothers who record as Wagon Cookin", have been as they say cookin" up music together since they were kids. Both are extradordinarily gifted musicians of known prestige that are searching for that special and differentiating sound that has made them a consolidated group within the circle of international nu jazz. In their studio, in Madrid, they work with other musicians with the intention to prepare, or as they prefer to say, to cook only the finest dishes. Most tracks Wagon Cookin" have so far produced were collaborations with studio musicians and the finished result has the depth and the feelings associated with a live, working band. The track "Lua" is an exclusive contribution to this compilation.

RAINER TRÜBY, the man behind the compilation

Rainer is founding member of the Trüby Trio, together with Fauna Flash"s Roland and Christian. He digs deep in his amazing record collection and so far compiled "Glücklich" (Vol. 1, 2, 3 and 4) and "Nitrogen" for Compost. He also helped Gilles Peterson to compile the "Talkin" Jazz III"-compilation and he compiled "Root Down 99" for Nuphonic Records.
The Trüby Trio so far had three 12" releases (debut album scheduled for 2003) and they established themselves as highly successful remixers. Their remix for Kim Saunders was one of the best selling club tunes in 2001, in addition to it they made remixes for Turntablerockers, Peace Orchestra, Nitin Sawhney, Frederic Galliano and many others. The Trüby Trio were also selected to do a Mix-CD for the famous DJ-Kicks series (K7).
Gilles Peterson chose Rainer as one of his favourite DJs 1998 in his Top 3 DJ-Chart in DJ-Magazine. Rainer is a well-known DJ all over the world (he played at Blue Note and Bar Rumba in London, Brighton Jazz Festival, Phönix Festival, Sheffield, Manchester, Bristol, Dublin, Big Chill Festival…) - he has built up a stunning reputation and although his style is not really something ‘you might call mainstream dance music", he is now booked on a top-level basis next to names like Sven Väth, DJ Hell or Phil Fuldner, as for example at this year"s street parade in Zürich, Switzerland.
Furthermore Rainer runs his own monthly club "Root Down", a freestyle place for retro & future jazz, brazil, house, boogie-tunes and drum & bass, in Freiburg. There he invited guest-DJs like Gilles Peterson, Patrick Forge, DJ Die, Kruder & Dorfmeister, 4 Hero, Simon Lee, Jazzanova amongst many others. Today Rainer Trüby is one of the most respected and pioneering DJs around.