DJ Righteous
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We welcome Ed Longo and his studio project The Applied Arts Ensemble debut on Early Sounds with “The Other Fantasy”, the result of many recording sessions that took place in different places around Europe with an array of musicians from a predominantly jazz background.Conceived with a strong jazz-funk, fusion and boogie approach, the record is conceptualized around the quest for Otherness in the schizophrenia of the digital age, and the resulting exotic dystopias which we are confronted with every day.

RESILIENT VESSELS LIVE AT THE CELL by James Brandon Lewis, Patrick Holmes, Ches Smith & Josh WernerNew York city based bassist and visual artist Josh Werner was awarded an artist in residence from The Cell Gallery located in New York NY. As a part of this residency which occurred in the month of July 2020, Josh presented various works in different mediums from visual art to music. In lue of the 2020 pandemic Josh was unable to present music to a live audience and instead offered a pre-recorded live performance to be aired at a later date. Werner was able to put together an ensemble of some of the leading improvisors on the New York City scene in that of James Brandon Lewis, Ches Smith and Patrick Holmes. One of the leading jazz pioneers Ornette Coleman once expressed himself by saying " you know more, but i feel more ". During these turbulent times this statement resonates with this ensemble; it's one that embodies the acknowledgement of feelings within your being to then pour into the music being presented. This ensemble draws from proceeding generations of musicians such as Don Cherry, Roy Ayers, John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, Tribe Called Quest and the energy of the downtown art rock movement.Personnel:JAMES BRANDON LEWIS saxophonePATRICK HOLMES clarinetCHES SMITH drumsJOSH WERNER bassProduced by Josh Werner and James Brandon LewisRecorded and engineered by Ricardo Romaneiro at The Cell TheaterMixed by Daniel Schlett at Strange WeatherMastered by Louis Henry Sarmiento II, Sonic Vista Studios, Ibiza, SpainLacquer Cut by Jukka Sarapää, Timmion CuttingDesign by Ilja TulitReleased and distributed by RR GEMS Records © 2021 RRGEMS10

Three Things by Elizabeth Shepherd

After the recent reissue of their first eponymous album, Favorite Recordings proudly presents Vegas, the second LP from Venezuelan band Esperanto. Rare and sought-after for many collectors, it was recorded in between Las Vegas and Caracas and originally released in 1981. Following bandleader Jorge Aguilar in his musical trip to the infamous American city bathing into flashing lights and vivid colors, we're invited to an excursion in Disco, Boogie and Jazz-Funk territories. Finally reissued, fully remastered, Vegas will be available as Gatefold Tip-On Vinyl LP.

There is a parallel, submerged dimension in which musicians meet when they improvise. Sound microcosms emerge in those moments, and this is precisely the magic that BOTTAZZ! wanted to photograph in their first album: BOTTAZZ! VOL.1.A "live" album, capable of transmitting spontaneity, sonic truths, empathy, feelings; ingredients that are difficult to transmit by recording the instruments individually or with other techniques.Recorded in the historic "Auditorium 900" studios, a true time machine, as well as an institution for music in Naples. Auditorium 900 took up the challenge in the figure of sound engineer Fabrizio Piccolo and from here the sound of BOTTAZZ was born!A sound made up of lysergic Funk trips, 70's influences in all possible nuances: from progressive funk to Santana's Hispanic rock, up to touching its darkest and most hidden latitudes; audio waves influenced by the soundtracks of the cinematography linked to those times, organs, synths, percussion and wah wah guitars, which generate a melting pot in which nothing is taken for granted.BOTTAZZ! VOL.1 is a ship's diary, a journey into which each sailor has inserted its own emotions accumulated over the years, thus giving us a sincere and genuine record.