Search - Electro Deluxe :: Stardawn

A hybrid of the best in a lot of modern music

C. Rocklein | 07/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Electro jazz funk fusion, with a good dose of hip-hop, urban sound, and remix - no surprises that it's on the French Naive label known for quality world music, beat-laced downtempo electro jazz, and other high quality music ventures. Would appeal to fans of both jazz and chillout sounds such as those coming out from Wagram (Kruder and Dorfmeister, etc), although while the beat is smoothe and ripe, the jazz edge adds a level of sophistication that goes beyond trip-hop elements and dub remixes, though those are to be found here in plenty as well. I'm surprised this hasn't gained more appreciation than it has. Fans of Stardown might also enjoy Maceo Parker's recent jazz/funk fusion foray, "School's In".



In "Stardown" by Electro Deluxe, the following write-up by Thomas Faure gives a pretty fair indication of what's here:



"The album features 13 guest musicians, underlining the group's varied influences and their desire to translate their passion for groove into an array of different forms. Included are the enlightening presence of master jazzmen Didier Lockwood and Flavio Boltro, the brass section of Nojazz (Guillaume Poncelet and Philippe Sellam), the crazy decks of DJ Gump, the flow of American rapper IMO and the richly-hued soul voice of Cynthia Saint-Ville. "Our world is the sum of the experiences of each of our four musicians. Arnaud is the jazz drummer who loves every kind of music and Gaël is a jazz pianist who soaks up new influences, while Jérémy and I come from more of a funk-acid jazz background. The glue that holds this mix together is our desire to pour our pooled inspirations into a mould made of current sounds, where machines hold pride of place." - Thomas Faure."