Jazz Articles

Ocote Soul Sounds: The Alchemist Manifesto

by James Taylor
June 10, 2008

Ocote Soul Sounds was born of strange conditions--a failed biodiesel-fueled road trip that lead to jam sessions in Austin, TX, that in turn lead to the cross country trade of mp3s and song ideas, that gave birth to a surprising debut, last years' independently released Electric Tides. Masterminded by two of the freshest voices in new music today, Ocote Soul Sounds is in top form on The Alchemist Manifesto, a worldly mix of sounds found “at the intersection of the ...

Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada: El Ni

by Ernest Barteldes
August 6, 2006

In this welcome pseudo-soundtrack, Latin percussion and woodwinds meet electronica, conventional instruments and other sounds to create a unique mix that explores various moods. In one instance, you have '70s-inspired funk with a salsa-ish backbeat that lends itself to a lot of improvised moments on saxophone and flute. In another, you have a dreamy ambient soundscape that leads you to a completely different place. In between, you have a saxophone freely traveling through a semi-psychedelic background formed by guitar, bass, ...

Ursula 1000: Ursadelica

by AAJ Staff
November 15, 2004

If you look back in time at Ursula 1000 album covers , you'll see a host of retro femme fatales in the action. The new one, Ursadelica, reveals just her hands, but the meat sandwiched between the headphones she's holding is fetching just the same. Turn it over and the hand with the plug literally demands an outlet.

This intelligent dancefloor electronic music makes you want to crank the stereo and twitch to each new groove, twisting happily ...

Thievery Corporation: The Outernational Sound

by AAJ Staff
July 2, 2004

In the ideal world, a collection of mixed tracks on disc should resemble something a DJ would put together on air or at a party. It needs flow, it needs balance, and it needs variety. Having spent time doing radio, I can speak for the importance of the big picture when assembling material from diverse sources.

The Outernational Sound comes in the form of a twenty-track set representing nineteen artists. It's been officially dubbed a DJ set by ...

Federico Aubele: Gran Hotel Buenos Aires

by AAJ Staff
February 21, 2004

Argentinian electronic musician Federico Aubele made a wise choice when he first approached Rob Garza and Eric Hilton with a demo. The twin heads of Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, also collectively known as Thievery Corporation, saw something of themselves in his work. It's a fusion of music without boundaries, beat-driven without once falling into cliche, carried by gentle, reverberant vocals. So what if the words are in Spanish. That's all the more appropriate given Aubele's origins, both musical and personal. ...

The Karminsky Experience: The Power of Suggestion

by AAJ Staff
October 8, 2003

For those who need boxes to check for their music, The Power of Suggestion is somewhere between downtempo, lounge, and soundtrack. With those trivialities dispensed with, here's the scoop on the music. Producers Martin Dingle and James Nunns have released two EPs since they teamed up as the Karminsky Experience in 1991 and formed their own record label in 1997. This is their first record, and an auspicious debut.

There's nothing particularly experimental or difficult about The Power ...