Label: Phazz-a-Delic
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2010.04.09

The prolific De-Phazz was a jazzy, lounge-oriented downtempo project led by German-Austrian producer Peter “Pit” Baumgartner, who surrounded himself with a shifting cast of collaborators that featured vocalists Barbara Lahr, Karl Frierson, and Pat Appleton, as well as drummer Oli Rubow. Albums like Detunized Gravity (1997), Godsdog (1999), Death by Chocolate (2001), Daily Lama (2002), Days of Twang (2007), and Big (2009) explored various terrains of 21st century lounge music, much of it balancing samples with live instrumentation, with innumerable cross-sections of jazz, soul, easy listening, and Latin music.
“LaLa 2.0” is the 8th De-Phazz album to date, showcasing a vast amount of international vocalists stemming from the ever expanding musical universe of one of the best selling lounge outfits out there.

Label: ChinChin Records
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2010.03.01

Music is the only realised Utopia. Here utopia is realized by Martin Strathausen, the brain of the German, French & Russian project: Tape Five, the retro-neobossa-swing-latin-jazzy-pop-flavoured-happening! Are you a Tango-dancing spy, that is searching suitcase No.347 with very suspicious contents in Nice, Havanna or Moscow in 1972? Are you wearing your best white linen suite doing the cha-cha-cha in Rico’s Bar or would you recognize the legendary ‘rat pack’ in a 60ies nightclub in Las Vegas creating a “swingfood mood”? No, this is not a James Bond movie, not even a Humphrey Bogart classic in Casablanca, neither a cotton plant in the Southern States in the ‘Summertime’, nor is it “Avenue du Gare” where you smoke your last cigar… Keep cool – it’s just the film in your head! Or maybe just simply wallpaper your home bar on the South Cape or your Westend chillout-lounge with the right sound? A retro-modern “Cocktail d’Amour” of swing, bossanova, lounge-latin and ambient jazz elements.

Label: ChinChin Records
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2009.11.23

Club des Belugas is one of the leading lounge & nujazz projects in Germany, perhaps in Europe. They combine Contemporary European Lounge & Nujazz Styles with Brazilian Beats and American Black Soul of the fifties, sixties and seventies, using their unique creativity and intensity.
Main members are Maxim Illion & Kitty the Bill, with such exquisite guests as the Californian Jazz Lady Brenda Boykin, trumpeter Reiner Winterschladen (Nighthawks), Swedish singer anna.luca, London based Jazz singer Iain Mackenzie, Anne Schnell from Jojo Effect, Dean Bowman from New York and trumpet player Thomas Siffling. (by chinchin)

Label: Defusion Records
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2009.03.31

Señor Torpedo established as young brand for an unconventional mix of grating electro bass, danceable beats, catching modern sounds and a jazzy lead voice that touches, overwhelmes and drives you … The new Señor Torpedo full album release „we wanna be from sweden“ is published on the Vienna based Label Defusion Records and sounds as the glamorous synthesis of natural recording and electronic producing for the dancefloor. And it comes in a new form, with great sound spectrum, articulated beats and does not fit in any genre box. What if „we wanna be from sweden“ would be the name if a young and cocky fashion design label. The 13 pieces of the new collection would be each made out of different textiles with different colors and shapes, but at the same time there is a binding element, a thin red line clearly representing the handwriting of the designer. And soon the collection would be presented on the great fashion shows in Paris, London and New York. A straight „4 to the floor“ Club House track pushes next to bold electro pop, followed by pure popsongs. The 13 tracks fully convince as common artwork, while every song strongly stands on its own legs. The mighty opener “Control” with its lead vocals reduced to the max partly reminds on Groove Armada and the faster tracks of Thievery Corporation, and then again NOT … because it is impressivly unique with its own style. …and the sun! is purest electropop with clashy ingredients. With Q Señor Torpedo give proof of their powerful song writing abilities, the tracks Le Monde and Electrisé are lascivious French Pop, lightweighted and decorated only with few electronic sound bits. Melt Me 99 and Bugs´n horns are constantly pushing and constitute the electronic revival of the end 90s, with old school house beats and impulsive sounds. High* 2008 on the other hand is the future, electronic swing that simply gives you a smile. Not only with sounds and beats Señor Torpedo proof the right choices. The dance hommage to bits& bytes with the name Digital Dirt grows with the voice of Mr. Lofi to its full and impressive size. And then furthermore the record comes with a surprise. The easy electro French Pop track Electrisé has been remixed by Karl Moestl and adds a massive club track to the album. Produced by Karl Moestl, one half of well-known Vienna producer Duo Walkner&Moestl, former part for famous G-stone label by Kruder, Dorfmeister and colleagues, the band Señor Torpedo presents the second full record with its unique sound between Electro and Pop, full volume vintage amps and delicate producing, right between man and machine … Señor Torpedo have been working together in the same line up since spring 2001. With their fresh mix of creaking electro bass, danceable beats, warm and modern sounds and a jazzy lead voice the five musicians convince with their combination of electronic production and live instrumentation. The sound of Señor Torpedo spans from pushing club house tracks and electro rock to genuine pop songs. (press release)

Label: Agogo Records
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2009.04.24

The Una Mas Trio has a vision. Based on a blend of traditional south American styles meeting contemporary club music they construct their very own, crystal-clear „Ritmo Del Futura“ and release it as their debut full length album. Una Mas Trio are Christian Schilgen, multi-faceted intrumentalist on guitar and keyboards, composer and engineer as well as producer in his own studio, and Fab DJ Sammy, musical mastermind, discjockey and record collector extraordinaire. Sammy founded The Juju Orchestra and when they broke up it was time to find a new home for his ideas. In Christian he found the partner he was looking for: „We started working on the album towards the end of 2006 and the spirits were flowing smoothly. We soon had to think of a name, but wouldn’t want to call us a duo as that sounds pretty uncool. There are much cooler trios around in jazz and latin, so we decided there must be space for one more trio.“ Hence, the Una Mas Trio was born.

The first single „Son Montuno“ was released in late 2007 as a 7“ vinyl and proved to be a sure shot. Remixes for Mo Horizons and the Dining Rooms followed and established the Una Mas Trio among global followers of the electro latino scene. „Son Montuno“ now re-appears on „Ritmo Del Futura“ alongside 10 other true latin, boogaloo and brasil funk tracks. The variety is stunning: „Latin Brother“ hits the right spot. Sitting perfectly somewhere between Mongo Santamaria and Ramsey Lewis’ latin soul workouts, this is the perfect opener. „Nova Do Brasil“ takes us to a world where brazilian music and electro live in close harmony. „Que Pasara“ featuring the vocals of Eduardo Flores is a showcase for the trio’s authentic talents. „You won’t believe it, Eduardo actually is a bus driver from our hometown Braunschweig. He was recommended to us by a friend, so we got on this local bus and while buying a ticket from him we asked if he would like to sing a tune on our album,“ Christian Schilgen recollects. „He is the real thing rooted deep in the sonero tradition, so we took the chance and cut a second track with him called „Margarita“.“ Toni Lorenzo is the second male vocal guest on „Ritmo Del Futura“. „Sammy heard this amazing voice by accident on a tape and we started researching who it could be. We found out that he is called Toni Lorenzo, bass singer in the legendary Golden Gate Quartet and – believe it or not – lives in Mainz in the southwest of Germany. When he came down to our studio he recited a part from Mozart’s „Zauberflöte“ to warm-up. We were stunned by his originality.“ His track called „Back To Sand“ sees the Una Mas Trio moving around comfortably in a blaxploitation and poetry surrounding.

With „Mas Y Mas“, „Ritmo Del Futura“ and „Balkumbia“ the Una Mas boys return to the roots of south American music. „We never get tired of these rhythms,“ Christian Schilgen explains. „They give us so much space and freedom to explore new muscial grounds.“ The album is full of examples for these explorations. „Move My Feet“ sung by Malaika, a long-time friend of the band, is a definite floorfiller while „Clear As Water“, featuring the unmistakable voice Bajka, is the perfect closing track for the album as well as the new single, coming in remixes by Mo Horizons and the Hidden Jazz Quartet. With „Ritmo Del Futura“ Una Mas Trio release a treasure trove of hitting rhythms that are fresh and modern, keeping the spirit of original Latin and Brazilian music alive while placing it on firm grounds in the present and, of course, for the future. (press release)

Label: ChinChin Records
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2009.02.23

Two years and three months after this huge success ChinChin Records presents Jojo Effect’s second album “Ordinary Madness”. Filled with almost 70 minutes of high quality music the album contains Anne Schnell singing in German “Ein kleines Wackeln mit dem Po”. Well known London singer Iain Mackenzie contributed “The Swing Ding Song” and “Mambo Tonight”. Further supporting artists are renowned trumpeter Reiner Winterschladen (Night Hawks / NDR Big Band) and exceptional trombonist Phillip Schug (Club des Belugas). Album tracklist is completed by 3 remixes of songs from the Andrew Sisters, Les Baxter and Brenda Boykin.

Label: Peacelounge Recordings
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2007.09.21

While working as a professional keyboarder and trumpeter in various bands, Matthias Becker was able to gather inspirations and ideas for songs, to try his hand at various ideas, to discard, re-compose and thus allow his solo project FLAMINGO STAR to mature. It paid off. Thanks to his versatility and his affinity to the most diverse genres from House and Funk, via Dub and Lounge to (Nu) Jazz and Blues. Many years of musical experience between clubs, cocktail lounges and live shows have effortlessly flown into the “one-man-project with a built-in band” that is Flamingo Star. Becker is supported by many skilled musicians such as bass player Bernd “Margot” Gontarski (Spice, Mousse T.), guitarist Chico Wedig (Electric Universe, Vison) and jazz drummer Lars `Soulsurfer´ Heindorf. Vocal support was provided by De:Phazz singer Pat Appleton, Ex- Be singer Gregor Blumenthal and two Sugerhat colleagues, Marko Hauburg and Britta Erchinger. Even mastermind Matthias himself can be heard on one track, namely on the pre-release single “Since I met you”… With the help of an elegant Bossa-guitar and sharp horn sections, the opener “Smoothpipe” provides a swinging introduction to the album. With “Since I met you”, Flamingo Star create an easy-going Disco House-Boogie, a chunky piece of ear candy that will make your arms and legs jiggle with delight. One of the most remarkable characteristics of Flamingo Star’s music is its openness for influences from all parts of the world. Thus it happpens that bandoneon-sounds from Argentina meet Drum & Basslines à la Roni Size/Reprazent in “Tango Malaguena” and cater for a bustling grooving mixture. “Django’s Dub” returns to Tango, but this time it is slowed down to Dub-speed. Care for some Caribbean Flavours? The salsa inspired “No puedo ver” proves that Matthias Becker is a trumpeter to be reckoned with. In “Baboo G”, Indian retro-Flair meets a tight bass and a funky Clavinet. The same energy is transmitted by the album’s title track “I wouldn´t wait no longer”, a driving uptempo number with more a touch of Brown craziness. Don’t be pooped by the title “Unhappy”, because this Blues-tinged groove is anything but sad. If you consider yourself open-minded, here’s a test: listen to the dis-oriental smokey Slow-Funk of “40 Thieves” at full throttle, certainly one of the more bizarre, yet tasteful tracks of the album. But FLAMINGO STAR also understand the more subtle forms of the genre. With tracks like “Timeless”, “Piano” and “Sputnik”, Becker creates some extremely stylish chilled-out tunes, islands of calmness in this multicoloured Beat Boutique.

Label: ChinChin Records
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2008.11.07

Music is the only realised Utopia. Here utopia is realized by Martin Strathausen, the brain of the German, French & Russian project: Tape Five, the retro-neobossa-swing-latin-jazzy-pop-flavoured-happening! Are you a Tango-dancing spy, that is searching suitcase No.347 with very suspicious contents in Nice, Havanna or Moscow in 1972? Are you wearing your best white linen suite doing the cha-cha-cha in Rico’s Bar or would you recognize the legendary ‘rat pack’ in a 60ies nightclub in Las Vegas creating a “swingfood mood”? No, this is not a James Bond movie, not even a Humphrey Bogart classic in Casablanca, neither a cotton plant in the Southern States in the ‘Summertime’, nor is it “Avenue du Gare” where you smoke your last cigar… Keep cool – it’s just the film in your head! Or maybe just simply wallpaper your home bar on the South Cape or your Westend chillout-lounge with the right sound? A retro-modern “Cocktail d’Amour” of swing, bossanova, lounge-latin and ambient jazz elements.

Label: ChinChin Records
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2008.01.28

Club des Belugas is one of the leading lounge & nujazz projects in Germany, perhaps in Europe. They combine Contemporary European Lounge & Nujazz Styles with Brazilian Beats and American Black Soul of the fifties, sixties and seventies, using their unique creativity and intensity.
Main members are Maxim Illion & Kitty the Bill, with such exquisite guests as the Californian Jazz Lady Brenda Boykin, trumpeter Reiner Winterschladen (Nighthawks), Swedish singer anna.luca, London based Jazz singer Iain Mackenzie, Anne Schnell from Jojo Effect, Dean Bowman from New York and trumpet player Thomas Siffling. (by chinchin)

Label: Phazz-a-Delic
Country: Germany
Release Date: 2008.04.21

Tales of Trust is not a De Phazz album! It’s a solo album from their producer and mastermind Pit Baumgartner, who has been an influence on Lounge Pop music like no other producer, and adds another chapter to his “electronic organic music” biography. Tales of Trust ties in his legendary album Detunized Gravity and thus marks a new stroke of genius. Performing world wide, from Lisboa to Moscow, Copenhagen to St. Tropez, Montreal to Tokio, you’d think he belongs to the „music establishment“ and could settle back. But espacially this is the reason why Baumgartner carries on with different music styles, setting music to soundtracks, earbooks, documentaries or „just“ re-mixing the international music jetset (e.g. Ella Fitzgerald, Yello, AHA…), and producing this solo album. (by Amazon)