lukrecia 22 Posted February 10, 2011 The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble / The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation OHP MYSPACE The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble is a mutant mix of what has inspired us musically, and especially visually.TKDE started off as an audiovisual project back in 2000, influenced by old silent movie directors such as Murnau and Lang, but also the animations of Jan Svankmeijer or the films of the Quay Brothers. Jason Köhnen and Gideon Kiers, started creating soundtracks to old silent movies (Nosferatu, Metropolis) and progressively composed new music inspired by these images which eventually became TKDE. Trombonist Hilary Jeffery (originally from the UK, residing in Amsterdam) joined in 2004 and introduced Swiss born Nina Hitz The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble started as the project of Gideon Kiers and Jason Köhnen (also known as Bong-Ra) in order to make soundtracks for the films of Fritz Lang, or F. W. Murnau (Nosferatua, Metropolis, and so on). Later, as the project started, more and more people joined to the duo, until it's reached it's current form, the form of a real jazz band. And as the number of the members continued to grow, their style also changed - more and more acoustic elements were added to the original, more electro-influenced jazz, and they also found a singer, Charlotte Cegarra. But other elements haven't changed - the dark/doomjazz, inspired by the silent films of Murnau, Fritz Lang, the pictures of Goya, the animations of an Švankmajer. One of Kilimanjaro's best ability is that they can build and keep up an atmosphere, which is beyond words - like a walk in the land of Hades, like a dark and narcotic travel to a silent, black and white film. Cinematic atmosphere, with slow-burning jazz which sometimes assimilates post-rock, IDM, trip-hop and other styles, making it a real 'mutant jazz' combination. Not a surprise, that TKDE is signed to Planet Mu, one of the best labels, when it comes to IDM or to breakcore. Charlotte Cegarra's haunting vocals are just the icing on the cake, taking TKDE's emotional punch to a higher level - I've seen her performing live, and she is just incredible, I was shivering from the beauty and from the unearthliness of her voice. Not to mention, that during their live performances, their VJ is the duo of the Quay brothers, taking their gigs to a whole new level, and perfectly reflecting how a film to the group's music would look like. Also, we should talk about The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, the heavier, darker, dronier alterego of TKDE, with a bit folk addicted to it. Drone jazz, someone could say, but I have to tell, this side of TKDE is not so appreciated by me, simply because it is sometimes a bit too static for me - but they get better from album to album, integrating the listed styles into their darker-TKDE style. But not only their darker and dronier sound makes them different from the 'mother band', but they also a real improv band, in the sense, that they really gather to a studio, and improv to that film. If you ask me, I advise you to start with 'Anthropomorphic', their latest release. It's just out of this world, and adding a cello and a violin to their style is a great idea. And also, just lie down, and let the music take over you. So, to sum up things, if you like Bohren & der Club of Gore (mainly their album 'Black Earth'), the later, more experimental Talk Talk, kammerflimmer kollektief (mainly their album 'Cicadidae'), give them a try. Some of my favourite song from these two bands: The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble: , The MacGuffin, Horns Of King David, .The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation: the two snippets here will give you a perfect taste of their sound. Also, good news for the fans, that TKDE will release their longly-awaited new album, titled 'From The Stairwell' in April. Two tracks are out from the album, I close my post with them. TwO28nlSG4s ICE7kFwmNdk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lokicola 0 Posted February 10, 2011 nothing changes and pearls for swine are perfect songs, you can try JACASZEK from poland if you want Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fitear1590 2414 Posted February 10, 2011 Great post. I will DEFINITELY be checking this stuff out. Such great atmosphere! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lukrecia 22 Posted February 27, 2011 The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - From The Stairwell Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaleidoscope 195 Posted March 6, 2011 Denovali Records sent me their debut and "From The Stairwell" to review them and I have to say they are pretty awesome! I only listened to Bohren & Der Club of Gore before and although I'm into experimental music, I could not really get into them - The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble got me at the first listen, I love both the debut and their recent album. Guess I prefer the new one though, the IDM-like feeling of their selftitled was kind of cool, but I think the laid-back style fits them better. Have you listened to The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation's new album too? Just epic, although really hard to get into. /edit: Ah, just saw that you mentioned "Anthropomorphic" in your first post too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted March 18, 2011 Downloaded the new Mount Fuji album out of curiosity...pretty nice stuff! *downloading everything by both bands* xD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
