bossa:nova

The RCRD LBL interview of Jason Bentley + free download of West Indian Girl's "All My Friends" (Jason Bentley remix)

(republished courtesy of RCRD LBL)

RCRD LBL: Give us some quick and colorful background on who you are and where you've been.

Jason Bentley: Growing up in Boston and Los Angeles, I always had a fascination with music and culture and a special interest in radio. In 1988, while back-packing across Europe, I fell hard for Acid House and what was termed New Beat at the time. Once settled at college (and realizing House music was an American art form), I got involved at the campus radio station and made my new found interest in underground dance music a focus. The LA rave scene was kicking off in a big way in the early '90s, and I was on the front lines. I started writing for URB Magazine, and became their first Managing Editor. In 1992 I scored a regular slot on public radio station KCRW, which I still thoroughly enjoy each weeknight. By '95, I was approached by alternative rock station KROQ, and have produced Afterhours every Saturday night since. Both my KCRW and KROQ programs feature a wide range of alternative and electronic music. In the music business, I have worked at London Records, Island and Maverick, and done quite a bit of Music Supervision for film, advertising, and video games. I have also produced countless music events locally, and hit the studio for a string of remixes.

RCRD LBL: Tell us a bit about your current projects. You seem to have your hand in all sorts of interesting things from being a DJ to a music supervisor to an A and R man to a party promoter. How do you see these things harmonizing with one another from a professional standpoint?

JB: There's definitely a broad continuum that connects my interests in music, from DJing to music consulting, writing and remixing, and from a professional standpoint it's a challenge to make sense out of it all. I think you have to fundamentally trust your instinct for what you love as a starting point. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, "once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen," and you've got to have that kind of confidence when going out on a limb for a career in music. Of course, having the commitment to follow through is no small task either, but it all starts with believing in yourself.

RCRD LBL: Since radio shows have always been a great medium for breaking new talent and DJs have always been responsible for breaking records and artists, I wanted to ask you how you see the role of the tastemaker today as compared to five or ten years ago.

JB: I don't have to tell you guys at RCRD LBL that the model for how people are exposed to new music is changing. I think radio is still a healthy format, but it's not the only outlet in town. I have definitely noticed a shift, both in the ways I acquire new music and produce my program, and how the listener is engaging the show. Innovations in the DJ booth have given me instant access and creative control of vastly more music, and I find more music online than ever before. At KCRW, our online audience has increased significantly, and we've supported this growth with all kinds of web features to personalize the online listening experience. At the same time, I do have some concern for the quickening pace of music consumption, and I notice a lot of bands being elevated to global status before they're quite ready for it. There's a danger of art becoming somewhat disposable when it reaches a critical mass too quickly.

RCRD LBL: Who are some current musicians/artists/producers you see as being innovators today?

JB: I'm enjoying the new M83 record a lot. It's a fresh take on a very familiar feeling having been a teenager in the '80s. The album is an homage to the fragile idealism of youth, and plays like the soundtrack to a classic John Hughes film. Other than that, I've been working with this Director Joseph Kosinski for a while, and I'm always amazed by what he's doing in the advertising and film worlds. To see his process first hand, it's amazing how he imagines an entire world before it exists in any real way, and pieces it together though a process of computer visualization. Once you see the final result, it's pretty stunning.

To wrap things up, we had Jason hand pick some of his favorite tracks from the site and talk a little bit about each one. Here's his top five:

Little Dragon - Fortune
Love how the synth melody works with Yukimi Nagano's vocal on this choice track recorded for the Japanese release of LD's debut.

Jamie Lidell - Figured Me Out (LA Garage mix)
I can't believe what a stone cold funk furnace this kid is. We're seeing a lot of artists return to a vintage production sound these days, but it doesn't feel contrived here. Jamie Lidell just owns it.

Kid Cudi - Day & Night (Crookers remix)
This remix has a sick rave style synth riff that's hard to resist.

Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
Really been getting into Santogold's album, and this song sets off the CD in a fine style. Can't wait to check her out at Coachella.

The Black Ghosts - I Feel Space vs Something New
Touche' from The Wiseguys meets Simon from Simian? I'm down.

Zoot Woman - We Wont Break
I'm definitely looking forward to their third album, especially if this song is any indication of what's to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, simply click here to download Jason Bentley's remix of West Indian Girl's track "All My Friends."

89.9 KCRW & A Soul Thing present Little Dragon @ the Roxy

Little Dragon, blazing out of Gothenburg, Sweden, features a voice familiar to fans of Koop: radiant vocalist Yukimi Nagano. The band also includes her close high school friends Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrick Källgren (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards).

Together, they bring to bear influences ranging from R&B, jazz, early hiphop, electronic, and even Swedish folk music. What unites these disparate influences into a dynamic, organically soulful pop sound is an undeniable swing and lightness of touch, braced with bass heaviness, borne from the intuitive connection between the band members that epitomises Little Dragon's music. Unwilling to stick to definitions or reasons for why Little Dragon is what it is, Yukimi offers effusive and illustrative impressions, which is as good a way as any to understand this very special band.

"Maybe Little Dragon is a city," she muses. "Blue traffic-lights, fast food-signs, neon, love, loneliness, technology – a city reflected in the middle of a vast ocean. The music juxtaposes tradition and intense knowledge of musical tools, with destruction, invention... blazing a new trail. I like to think of our music as dreamy, but not always in a pleasant way. Some songs are emotional and some more free and naive."

Little Dragon takes tired musical traces and styles and gives them a shot in the arm to leave us with something fresh and positive. It is a debut full of subtle touches, capturing fleeting emotional moments, twinned with gnawingly memorable pop flourishes and hooks. Oh, and it reminds us of endless summer possibilities…

This is Little Dragon's debut performance in Los Angeles, so don't sleep on it! The show also featrues an opening set by DJ KCRW's Garth Trinidad + after-show DJ set by KCRW's Jason Bentley.   Tickets are available here and now.  To learn more about the band (and to check out their music) check their Myspace page here. The Roxy is at 9009 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles 90069. Doors for the show are at 9pm, Friday, April 4.

Thursday March 20: 89.9KCRW presents Kraak & Smaak @ the Echoplex

bossa:nova is pleased to welcome back to LA those Dutch magicians of electronic funkiness, Kraak & Smaak, for an exclusive DJ session at the Echoplex (underneath the Echo).  With new tracks breaking out of the gate soon (stay tuned to KCRW 89.9 for the latest), the K&S crew are spreading the word once more about the gospel.

Kraak and Smaak formed in 2003 through a series of friendships and chance meetings. Mark and Wim already knew each other from DJ'ing together and were introduced to Oscar by a mutual friend who told them about the keyboard prodigy that was studying at the conservatoire. The trio started working together and sent one of their earliest efforts into the outside world to see if anyone was interested. That track 'Money in the Bag' was picked up by Jalapeno Records who offered the band an album deal. It also landed the K&S crew with a mix on Radio 1 (London) courtesy of early supporter Annie Nightingale. They repaid the courtesy with another DJ mix for Annie in '05 which was voted mix of the year and re-run in Radio 1's best of the year round up.

Not that Annie was the only supporter in the UK - nearly every specialist on UK National Radio 1 from Pete Tong to Zane Lowe and Annie Mac to the Blue Room have all featured Kraak & Smaak tracks in their shows. IDJ magazine made "Boogie Angst" (the Kraakers' debut album) their album of the month and devoted a spread to the super strength Dutch funk crew declaring Boogie Angst "One of the year's best albums."

Respected scene magazine Blues and Soul described them as "The funkiest thing to come out of Holland. Ever." whilst the BBC Online described it as "Like a lost master from the Stax vaults. It's that good." High praise indeed.
 

The band split their time between live gigs, studio work and DJ'ing - don't miss this rare Stateside appearance.  Rounding out the night are bossa:nova's own DJs in a reunion-style throwdown!

Details: Thursday March 20 | Doors at 9pm | Tickets available now through Ticketweb. | 21+  The Echoplex: 1154 Glendale Blvd. LA 90026  - underneath the Echo. Enter from the alley off Glendale Blvd. Map here. For more information, click on The Echoplex.

And to catch up with the wizards themselves, click over to their own site or to Jalapeno Records.

89.9KCRW presents Koop live @ the Barker Block, Saturday Nov 10

89.9KCRW presents a bossa:nova and Learn About Wine production: Sweden's KOOP, back in LA for a triumphant encore performance. 

They're taking over downtown LA, with custom one-night-only set design, turning it into a place where the sweetest melody ever swings easy on a faraway beach where Santa Claus handles the steel drums. The night also includes live performances by guest artists Mocean Worker and Alice Russell. Ages 21+ only. Tickets are available now through Ticketweb.

FOR SPECIAL PREMIUM and VIP TICKET PACKAGES, please visit Learn About Wine. The Premium Food & Wine Lounge opens at 5pm; the show starts at 7pm.

The Barker Block (in the Artist District of Downtown Los Angeles) is at 510-530 Hewitt Street (between 4th and Palmetto) LA 90013.

Everyone who attended the Koop concert back in August experienced a truly magical night - don't miss them enchant in this unique setting!

October 24: Jazzanova celebrates 10 years of Sonar Kollektiv @ Falcon

Alex Barck of Jazzanova and Roland Appel of Trüby Trio, Fauna Flash, and Voom Voom celebrate 10 years of Sonar Kollektiv, the Berlin label responsible for releasing records by Âme, Clara Hill, Outlines, Dimlite, Dixon, Seiji, Trickski, Fat Freddy's Drop, Benny Sings and a roster of other ground-breaking artists along with the imprint's founding members, Jazzanova.

Whether it's broken-beat, folk, nu-jazz, house, or singer/songwriter based music, Sonar Kollektiv set the bar high for quality from the start and never looked back.

Both DJs number amongst the foremost proponents of the nu-jazz and house styles of music, gaining recognition as innovative remixers for a vast number of acts.

Expect a superb mix of soulful deep house, drum & bass, boogie, hip-hop, latin and soul!

Tickets for this exclusive engagement are available now through Ticketweb. The show is Wednesday, October 24, at the elegant lounge/club/restaurant Falcon in Hollywood.

Wed., Aug. 15: 89.9 KCRW presents a bossa:nova production: Koop (live)

bossa:nova is pleased to welcome Koop back to Los Angeles after a too-long absence on Wednesday, August 15, at the El Rey Theatre. 

They're touring in support of their latest release, Koop Islands, which will transport you to a place where music and life swing to a slightly different drum.

It´s been four years since we last heard from the Stockholm-based duo of Oscar Simonsson and Magnus Zingmark. Their album Waltz for Koop slowly but surely found its way into the hearts of more than 160,000 record buyers across the globe. Then followed the world tours, the two sets a night at the Blue Note and hundreds of remixes, until finally they found themselves back in Stockholm able to begin work on what was to become Koop Islands.

Where Waltz For Koop was steeped in a modern – and modernist - take on 60s jazz and Swedish songstressess from the time, Koop Islands has – despite its name - very little to do with romanticising the Stockholm archipelago. Rather, it goes much, much further southwest, all the way down the Caribbean for inspiration. That´s where you´ll find Koop Islands on their imaginary world map. Also, Magnus and Oscar realised that sometimes the only way forwards is to go as far back in history as possible. "I think we can do that," says Magnus. "Our music is created in a post-sampling world where everything is possible. Even time travel. That´s why we just laugh if somone calls what we do retro."

So back they went. Back to the swing of the 1930s, the exoticism of forgotten orchestras and entertainers performing on late 40s yacht cruises to Jamaica. The characteristic Koop vibes now joined by marimbas, furious Gene Krupaesque jungle drums (just listen to them rip on 'Forces… Darling') and an ever present Cape Verdean Blues with just a hint of Mento that would have made islanders in European exile, like the recently salvaged Lord Kitchener & His Friends, nod in approval.

This journey in time and music is what forms the foundation Koop Islands was built on. Ex-Galliano main man Rob Gallagher tells a heartbreaking tale that weaves together tennis ace Björn Borg with the sad story of the passing of a mother. And, last but no way least, on the album´s title track the Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun heads out on her virgin tour of the Islands.

Even though Magnus' and Oscar's hearts and souls are filled with exotic and eclectically swinging sounds, the whole album was produced and recorded in their own tiny studio on Stockholm's Södermalm.

If you listen very carefully you can hear the number 4 bus go by on the snowy street outside...

When playing live Koop transforms into a 7-9 piece orchestra including one or two singers.  And on the night of August 15, the El Rey will transform into a place where the sweetest melody ever swings easy on a faraway beach where Santa Claus handles the steel drums.

Tickets are on sale now through Ticketweb. (Click this link to purchase your tickets now.)

KRAAK & SMAAK 3.31.07

KRAAK & SMAAK live band performance plus MARK RAE (Rae & Christian) dj set The El Rey 5515 Wilshire Blvd (between Fairfax & La Brea) advance tickets are avilable now at ticketweb.com $20 advance | $25 at the door Kraak & Smaak formed in 2003 through a series of chance meetings, and have been winning over audiences all over Europe with their powerful debut album and energy-charged live shows. In 2005, they won the Best Newcomer Award in their native country, Holland, and garnered praise from the likes of Radio 1's Annie Nightingale, Pete Tong and IDJ. Citing Jazz, Hip Hop, Funk, New Wave and Breakbeat, as well as all experimental music as their main inspirations, their debut album "Boogie Angst" is unabashedly awash with funked up breaks and soul jumping grooves. The band however simply likes to call it, "Dance music to listen to." Coming soon is a bottled-lightning collection of "Boogie Angst" remixes (on Quango Records). quango.com kraaksmaak.nl jalapenorecords.com