Jazzanova

Entering their tenth year of existence, the Berlin-based formation JAZZANOVA has already broadcasted through various ethers- let it be their label Sonar Kollektiv, their high acclaimed DJ-Sets or their radio show, which has been transmitted through the terrestrial radio wave for the past 5 years.

There are enough reasons to celebrate this with a compilation that combines highlights from the most recent back catalogue with exclusives from long time Sonar Kollektiv affiliates, rookies and brand new talents. The number of so-called freestyle compilations currently floating the market seems endless but the past has shown that a wide network of music lovers next to touring the globe relentlessly in search for new rhythms and sounds has given the JAZZANOVA boys an advantage when it comes to adventurous new music. The genre debate has become a little tiring of late therefore it’s nuff said that everything is welcome as long as it’s got that certain edge or spine shivering effect.

They kick off with Candlelight by WAHOO while we are still waiting for the debut album from Mr Innervisions DIXON and GEORG LEVIN. Known for their dance floor devastation through Make ?Em Shake It or the lovely Holding You they provide a little preview and show great song writing talent that raises our expectations for a diverse album that is scheduled for the end of the year. In a similar vein but still in a completely different hemisphere acts Swiss man of the moment DIMLITE with his more acoustic project THE SLAPPED EYEBALLERS. Standout cut Or At Least is a pure love song in its truest sense that doesn’t wear off even after the 100th listen.

As the biggest newcomers of 2005, headlining the years Top Ten in both Debug and Groove mag with their mighty Rej, ÂME reduce the tempo for the exclusive Excelsior and prove that they have more than peak time qualities. With an excerpt from CLARA HILL?s last Album, the two sympathetic guys from Karlsruhe, Germany fuse different ingredients to an astonishing hypnotic journey.

Another super group but mostly in their home country New Zealand where they have been leading the national charts for months are FAT FREDDYS DROP. In the JAZZANOVA Mashed Bag Mix, Flashback transmits a vintage feel, which secures its place in the future classics section. On their constant quest, the Berlin boys bumped into Boogie Man NORMAN WEEKS who released one of those forgotten anthems some decades ago. Luckily it will be reborn along with the beauty of I Just Wanna Sing For You later this year.

Numerous songs on this compilation already received their proper attention but not in the versions included here. Omnipresent MC CAPITOL A reinterpreted two songs he was originally featured in, with his STARSHIP moniker. EVA BE delivers a reggae version for her collaboration with FAT FREDDYS DROP singer JOE DUKIE followed by the golden voices of OVASOUL7 with SLOPE in the previously unreleased 115 bpm Mix by CHARLES WEBSTER and SHAUN ESCOFFEREY on Boom Clicky Boom Klack in the mighty MR SCRUFF Remix. MARTIN “ATJAZZ” IVESON as the producer of CLARA HILL?s Nowhere (I Can Go) presents his Astro Black Remix as a broken alternative to the more or less straight original.

Tokyo-based duo AGORA RHYTHM already received big props from Innervisions artists ALEX FROM TOKYO and DJ DIXON who immediately created one of his famous edits that usually never leave his cd booklet but in this case he decided to share it. PHAROAH ROCHE are the two Londoners Ergin and Glen who are both obviously influenced by the West London broken beat sound. Their first tune Sun Of A Beach has been a substantial part in most JAZZANOVA DJ Sets for the past months so it was obvious that it needed to be featured in this package.

It seems like SLOPE and TRICKSKI also love tunes that build bridges between different tempos therefore they teamed up with their bosses to produce the practical tool Beatzeps. The two Swedish fellas Elias Raam and Martin Hallberg better known as ARKEN had a surprise success with their 12” on Sonar Kollektiv last year. Here they are featured with a twisted downbeat stomper followed by DOMU produced singer NICOLA KRAMER who already sang the phenomenal cover version of JONI MITCHELL?s Help Me on the first volume of the Secret Love Series (SK042CD/LP) as well as JAZZANOVA?s Let Your Heart Be Free.