After the critical acclaim of the series of leftfield compilations ‘Formation 60’, ‘Polish Jazz’ and ‘Forum West’, the boys at Sonar Kollektiv felt it was time to explore the delicious and diverse mix of sounds found under the folk umbrella.
Jazzanova and Resoul (otherwise known as Rene from Jazzanova’s favourite record shop Soultrade -> www.soultrade.de), have put their heads together and spent many an hour dancing around Rene’s shop and digging deep into their record collections to come up with this lovely album. They’ve taken a view on Folk at its present forms and somehow managed to pare their selection of favourites down to a list of just 15 heavenly tracks. Each one is a perfect illustration of a different nuance within the genre. Highlights include Nicola Kramer’s sexy, southern states sounding “Help Me”, 4 Hero’s re-working of sublime all-time classic “Les Fleurs” and Jolly Music’s prefuse 73 unplugged in Catalonia remix of “Talko Uno”.
Sonar Kollektiv’s new discovery called Thief gives us glimpse on his forthcoming longplayer with the track “If There Was A Love”. Thief is produced by Stefan Leisering and Axel Reinemer, 2/6 of Jazzanova. Husky Rescue contribute an ultra modern-day folk sound with their track “New Light of Tomorrow” lifted from their just released ‘County Falls ‘ album (on Catskills), in contrast to the classic Crosby Stills and Nash influenced “Gone” by The Beta Band which contrasts in turn with the epic, cinematic tone of Marden Hill’s domineering tune, named, aptly enough “Bardot”. Household names nestle comfortably beside more obscure treasures as if that’s the way it’s always been.
Secret Love is yet another example of Sonar Kollektiv’s diverse output, Jazzanova strive to keep us all guessing what will be next. Highlights of 2004 include Âme’s release of their debut album “Âme” (SK044CD), Jazzanova’s release of their first mix CD “Mixing…” (SK033CD) and Umod’s critically acclaimed album “Enter the Umod” (SK030CD/LP) along with an impressive cannon of other debut albums and a stunning collection of dance floor 12″s. If you feel you may have missed out, check www.sonarkollektiv.de for the complete catalogue.
