artist: sqaramouche
title: first raw
cat. no. non011
format: digital artist album
release date: march 25, 2008
distributed by nonine recordings
nominee for the german record critics' award 2009
tracklist
01 saucy rhodenbarr
02 cincinnatti phoenix (featuring colonel red)
03 give some get some
04 cat baloo
05 suck the monkey (featuring festa)
06 white insidious milk
07 clean the pipe
08 avana lub
09 bare chalet row
10 the butcher (featuring major major)
11 saturday sigh (featuring laura braun)
all tracks written and produced by sqaramouche
mixed by me raabenstein, mastered by stefan betke at scape mastering
sqaramouche are
cone, programming, live drums, keyboards
subsequent, programming and balooisms
me raabenstein, programming and keyboards
guest musicians
laura braun, vocals on track 11
colonel red, vocals on track 02
festa, vocals on track 05
major major, vocals on track 10
volker meitz, keyboards on track 04, 05 & 07
dirk leupolz, guitars on track 06
jazzheadchronic, programming on track 01 & 08
www.myspace.com/sqaramouche
hip hop is not dead. it has transcended itself, infusing with its long desired cousins. the potentials of hip hop, minimal, dub-samba-coustics and an endless array of unclassifiable styles have been begging at each other‘s door steps since the very beginning of their creation. finally somebody brings the family together. like romeo and juliet, the threads of different worlds interweave with one another to fall into endless love, but without the tragedy...
the album is a bridge that, seemingly by happen stance, is perfectly shaped to charm those once unaware of these styles‘ capacities; to lead them into its knowingness. fusion with a timeless quality, attracting (music) lovers of every age and genre.
it contains what we‘ve all been seeking between the empty spaces of our other favorite albums. each listen offers a new meaning to carry away in day dreams. sounds before their time. it hits deep and from unknown directions, with so many things tenderly packed into it which nobody else uses, which you can cry, chill or move to.
cat baloo serenades your soul into the belief that it‘s another. saturday sigh hits your head like the raindrops of a thousand poets. the ethereal voice of laura braun will haunt your hours. it is matched by sqaramouche‘s textured breaths that leave us humbled and dumbfounded, redefining what we know as hip hop and its tributaries.
this must be a musical compilation of aliens. the producers and each artist featured on this album carry their own unmatched uniqueness, not of this world. a cadence of the future...
liner notes by david minor
feedback
la musique du trio berlinois sqaramouche est foisonnante dans ses inspirations planétaires. quand elle ne revisite pas le sao paulo de tom ze au son de claviers vintage eighties aux tempi saccadés tout en se foutant allègrement des tics de prodigy ("saucy rhodenbarr", le très dancefloor "white insidious milk"), elle déglingue le new york d’ursula rucker de ses rythmes – faussement – décadents ("cinicinatti phoenix", featuring l’anglais colonel red) et prend une tangente dub qui enterre définitivement le trip hop anglais ("give some get some"). trois minutes d’un mortel ennui plus tard (ce sont bien les seules), c’est le rap du bronx qui en prend plein la tronche en nous invitant à sucer le singe ("suck the monkey") en dézinguant à toute berzingue un jazz casio déjoué par stevie wonder. a d’autres instants, c’est la bossa qui passe à la rape à fromage jazzy, la samba ne se reconnaît plus dans le miroir ("bare chalet row"), entre mille fricassées désaxées du bulbe. plus globalement, on se dit que me raabenstein (le patron du tout jeune label berlinois nonine) et ses potes core et subsequent ont dû se prendre un sacré pied en la compagnie de tous les invités peuplant ce first raw aussi irrévérencieux que réussi.
fabrice vanoverberg, octopus-enligne.com, 07/08
really enjoyed sqaramouche's album, especially the track cincinnatti phoenix with colonel red...
simon harrison, the basic soul show, london, 07/08, uk
"hiphop ist nicht tot. er hat sich gewandelt, vermischt mit seinen lang vermissten verwandten.", heisst es im infoblatt zum debütalbum des holländisch-deutschen projektes sqaramouche. dennoch wäre es schon eine ziemliche mutprobe, wollte man mit dieser musik bewaffnet in sido's block aufkreuzen. denn was cone, subsequent und me raabenstein (nonine-labelchef und eine hälfte des duo's langer & raabenstein) hier kredenzen, hat mit konventionellen vorstellungen von hiphop herzlich wenig zu tun. am ehesten noch ist man an experimentierfreudige aussenseiter wie dabrye oder slicker erinnert:
elektroide sounds und verschrobene broken beats anstelle von staubigen rare grooves, kreative neugierde statt freiwilliger selbstkontrolle, anschluss statt ausschluss, stil statt pose. das artet nie in selbstgenügsames nerdfrickeltum aus, sondern ist auf kommunikation mit dem hörer bedacht: forsche future-funk-tracks wie "cat baloo", "white insidious milk" und "cincinnatti phoenix" mit colonel red könnten sogar ambitioniertere tanzflächen rocken, das elegische "avana lub" hat das zeug zum klassiker eines noch namenlosen genres zu werden, und songs wie "saturday sigh" featuring laura braun sind den ohren ein schmaus. wie alle neuen veröffentlichungen auf dem unlängst ge-relaunchten nonine - label ist "first raw" zunächst nur als download erhältlich.
guido halfmann, jazzthing 04/08, germany
definitely one of the best releases this year...
menno jager, sound of swoud, djbroadcast.fm, 05/08, netherlands
music with a twist, i am enjoying it definitely. would perfectly suit some tripping out consicousness. i like saturday sigh, hope she made it to sunday...
valique, freestyle records, moscow, russian federation
nice album ...me likes. very eclectic and forward-moving that way.
keep on...will fit in more tracks soon.
urban landscapes radioshow, california, usa
i like these beats. definitely got a good vibe thing going on here!!
travis blaque, unique records, london, uk
uuuummmmm, nice, quirky, smooth n funky. nice one for sure.
dee banse, canada
the wobbly funk of 'suck the monkey' gets 50% of my ass shakin', which is quite a funny sight.... 'the butcher' reminds me of burnt friedman, check out this stuff! i love the little horn stabs, the naughty cuts; nice one! the sound here is more varied. 'give some get some' is probably my favourite: funky in a broken way, lots of space between events, room to breathe. if you want me to do a remix on this one i'm your man! 'saturday sigh' is the perfect closer for this. smooth without being mellow. exactly the way i think you guys are in the flesh...
kreng, miasmah, bruxelles
seriously cool sounds here.
ben parsons, seattle, usa
that´s big stuff! "different approach" gets me high.
andré lodemann, simple records, berlin, germany
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