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artist : ski oakenfull
album : fifths
year : 2000
genre : house
label : sony music entertainment
website : www.skimusik.com
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ripper : karmacoma
rls-date : 08.25.2000
encoder : fhg radium mp3 codec v1.263
quality : 192k/44100
source : vinyl
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a fifths (original mix) 4:36
b fifths (jazzanova 6 sickht mix) 7:49
2 tracks (00h 12m 25s)
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in the early 90's - "needless to say, ages ago now" - a few english
dj's decided to drag "dozing jazz" music onto the dancefloors via
the air traffic lanes of groove and the undergrounds of house
music.
for a season or two, acid-jazz became a very hip trend in "a london
that seemed quite mundane", as well as an innocuous background
music played in "four star hotels' cocktail" bars where jet-setters
and top models were buzzing.
time flied and all the famous people of that period have been
swallowed in the trap of our memories.
only a batch of names remains today, some artists or djs who still
play a role or have an influence on contemporary musical trends.
it's the case with gilles peterson, the father of "this scene" and
a visionary dj who quickly managed to move on to something else and
to break new boundaries. it's also the case with ski oakenfull, who
discreetly played a major role for ten years and is now coming out
in the open. his name is in fact credited on "many records of this
period".
at that time, he played the quiet and patient support act, lendind
his wizard talents of producer and keyboard player, fluterring from
sessions to gigs without begging for stardom. time was on his side
but he was the only one to know it. after a first attempt under the
name of "the k-creative", a high school band signed for one album
on talkin'loud (q.e.d. in 91), he intermittently joined raw stylus
and regularly played with galliano, becoming their official
keyboard player in 1994. in between exhausting tours and ambitious
recordings for the acid-jazz leading band, undergoing a major soul
mutation, ski played a key role in the making of galliano's "new
sound", co-writing and co-producing their album 4.
from 97 onwards, he was free again but continued to leave his
imprint in the shade of some international singers (valΦrie
etienne, chereze) and some side-projects (sunsun), while one of the
ultimate "survivors of the scene", bluey and his band incognito,
hired him to produce new tracks and to remix the mighty source of
inspiration : herbie hancock. he also produced some radio ids
(especially for gilles perterson 's radio show, broadcast on radio
one in england and radio nova in france) and in 1999 he finally
took time to selfishly produce his solo project. as ski never
looked backwards but on the contrary always tended to be at the
forefront, his debut solo album is groundbreaking. obviously, we
are not dealing with acid-jazz anymore, though ski pays a short but
nonetheless moving tribute to jazz-funk with "fifths", the first
single of the album "reminiscent" of ronnie foster's profusion of
organs in the 70's. through the 12 tracks of life changes, ski who
is far away from the ever beaten tracks of house music and devoid
of any techno mannerism, shows his burning desire to act more as a
landscape gardener than a musician bringing definition and weight
to today's music.
while most composers limit themselves to adding a little touch to
the general picture, ski reshapes forms, alters perspectives,
builds his own constructions just to stand aloof. alternatively
active or contemplative, climatic or eruptive, electronic or
organic, the kaleidoscopic music of ski oakenfull successfully
combines domestic pleasure and dancefloors 'ecstasies. how can one
resists to the high-energy tinged "where did the love go?"
(featuring marc anthony) or the aptly titled "soul vibration"
(featuring earl zinger), which are true firing bombs for the clubs,
while the smooth harmonies of "drop it" and the french-english "on
my way" will be perfect for chill-outs. all the way through the
last track "take off", you will experience twelve different moods
and tempos, without ever getting bored. from then on, you will have
one sweet but persistent obsession : to come back to it, whether to
enjoy it on your own or to share it with your best friends.
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greetings to sweetbeats, quadrophenia, sour, mindscape, emission
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