In only a couple of days there will once more be the opportunity to hear the “Godfathers of Lounge” themselves — De-Phazz. Although they’ve played on stages in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia countless times, each of their shows is unique and with a concert for their newest album “Black White Mono” they will be getting on stage at Compensa Concert Hall in Vilnius on the 18th of December. If you still haven’t seen/heard them live then now is your chance. If you have — then you know it’s worth it and there certainly will be something new and special for you as well.
Who’s De-Phazz
The project is mostly the brainchild of a German DJ Pit Baumgartner who came up with it back in 1997 when in the city of Heidelberg he met with Karl Frierson and invited him to do the vocals on a personal project. It was named “Sounds From Home” but they’re collaboration soon morphed in what would later be known as De-Phazz.
The meaning behind the name of it is “Destination, Future and Jazz”. It’s a name that Baumgartner didn’t really like in the beginning and thought no-one would take serious but it stuck so he had to go along with it.
Even though the project has a cast of shifting collaborators, apart from Baumgartner, it’s Karl Frierson and Pat Appleton who have been integral members and collaborators to the project since its conception. They are flexible in their styles of music and through the years, one could categorise the music they’ve made as Lounge, Latino, Electronica, Soul, Downtempo, Jazz, Trip Hop, Electro-Funk.
With more than 20 years of existence they’ve been more than productive and have released 16 studio albums apart from other mixes. They’ve been touring throughout Europe and the whole world since their very beginning thanks to the success of their debut album “Detunized Gravity”.
Music itself is more of a collage than a composition as Baumgartner has himself explained. He samples and remixes music he finds just about anywhere, from the classics to cheap flea market records. He believes that the song will lead itself and all he has to do is mix up the various sounds he has heard all around to help the creation of it. Thus he does prefer being called a sound collector or a sample architect.
The Mambo Craze:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsHY_4RW0_Y
Black White Mono
The album is a celebration of their 20th anniversary and is a colourful, adult birthday bash that remembers the time when an album was meant to be consumed as a whole instead of a compilation of individual songs that are made for certain playlists. When listening to it you should reserve an evening for yourself, pour a glass of wine and let it play in the background from its beginning to the very end. That is the way it was intended and that is how you will get the most out of it.
About the styles of the album they have said it best themselves: “The stylistic palette that diversely ranges from dub, electro-funk, swing over Bossanova and blues to indie pop and French spoken word. Lounge music was yesterday. This album is Uber-Pop with an electro acoustic hybrid drive for the whole family.”
Listening to it you can certainly feel the influence of who they were back in the days of their first albums but along with that there is something so fresh that immediately lets you know of the actual century it is from. But with each of the songs there never is any doubt about what it is — it’s De-Phazz.
Spoiled:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPcW96CkUQ0
The show
As jazz, it’s active and it makes you sway and dance along to the rhythms they produce on stage. During live shows they’ve always been open to improvisation thus making each of their shows feel just a bit more special. They mix things up right in front of your eyes making you wonder of what might come next.
As for the dancing part, Karl Frierson has said that the music, it’s not commercial and it’s not designed to sell. It is designed for the soul and it represents how the artists feel. That might be the reason why people immediately start to dance. That’s their “special sauce”.
On stage you will see 8 people in front of you who will recreate the music Baumgartner had mixed mostly himself. There will be 3 separate vocals, trombone, trumpet, sax, drums and Baumgartner who will be doing the effects. With an ensemble of such size the show is sure to amaze anyone in front of the stage.
Their experience and love for the music can be felt in every show they play. It is a true pleasure to be a part of the adventure called De-Phazz when you are there, in front of them. So better not miss the chance and spend your Wednesday evening in Compensa Concert Hall, Vilnius listening to some fantastic sounds from the “Godfathers of Lounge”.
