Koop November 29, 2007

KOOP

Live at the Jazz Cafe

Thursday 29th & Friday 30th November

doors 7pm

£18.50 advance

Swedish groundbreaking Nu- Jazz duo championed by Gilles Peterson.

It has been several years since we last heard from the Stockholm based duo of Oscar Simonsson and Magnus Zingmark. Their album Waltz for Koop slowly but surely found its way into the hearts of more than 160.000 record buyers across the globe. Then followed the world tours, the two sets a night at the Blue Note in Tokyo and lots of remixes, until finally last year they found themselves back in Stockholm able to begin work on what was to become Koop Islands.

Where Waltz for Koop was steeped in a modern - and modernist - take on 60s jazz and swedish songstressess from the time (Monica Zetterlunds name was mentioned more times than the group thought was fair), Koop Islands has - despite its name - very little to do with romanticising the Stockholm archipelago. Rather, it goes much, much further south west, all the way down the caribbean for inspiration. That is where you will find Koop Islands on their imaginary world map.

Also, Magnus and Oscar realised that sometimes the only way forward is to go as far back in history as possible.

'I think we can do that', says Magnus. 'Our music is created in a post-sampling world where everything is possible. Even time travel. That’ s why we just laugh if someone calls what we do retro.'

So back they went. Back to the swing of the 1930s, the exoticism of forgotten orchestras and entertainers performing on late 40s yacht cruises to Jamaica. The characteristic Koop vibes now joined by marimbas, furious gene krupaesque jungle drums (just listen to them rip on ForcesOe Darling) and an ever present Cape Verdean Blues with just a hint of Mento that would have made islanders in european exile, like the recently salvaged Lord Kitchener.

http://www.meanfiddler.com/displayPage.asp?ArticleID=3314&URLID=19

Official Website: http://www.meanfiddler.com/displayPage.asp?ArticleID=3314&URLID=19