non019. pepper and bones. one (digital artist album)

tracklist
01 holy o
02 marivin
03 bum bugaboo
04 lona
05 bum bugaboo reprise
06 ginger
07 jacqui
08 bar nun
09 ava
10 barbie
11 brande
 

feedback

per la serie meglio tardi che mai, eccomi qui a recensire altro materiale su nonine e non posso che suggerirvi nuovamente di andarvi a fare un giro sull’etichetta e ad assaggiare i gruppi, soprattutto se l’elettronica di classe e la roba molto melodica non vi lascia insensibili. si tratta nuovamente di un progetto che vede coinvolto me raabenstein, patron dell’etichetta e primo motore di quasi tutti i gruppi della scuderia. a quanto pare di raabenstein non mi sono accorto solo o qualche altro sfigato, infatti è appena uscita una compilation di classica moderna in cui oltre a murcof, alva noto, philip glass, gavin bryars ed altri pezzi da novanta compare anche lui con il suo progetto slowcream che abbiamo recensito su queste stesse pagine.
il taglio vagamente notturno di raabenstein rimane, ma i pepper and bones non sono per nulla immuni da un gusto molto nero, quasi soul-funk per il tipo di impostazione tanto da piacere al nostro bobby soul, il groove quando deve uscire esce e senza troppa vergogna, invece nel caso di altre tracce si tratta comunque di atmosfere raffinate e molto black. dura fare degli accostamenti, dato che certe cose potrebbero ricordare gli ultimissimi telefon tel aviv se fossero stati meno r&b e più jazz, lounge certe cose del giro delle compilation the future sound of jazz della compost per chi se lo ricorda. come è lecito aspettarsi c’è la voce, ma non si tratta di una voce invasiva, come in molta musica elettronica naviga sulla traccia ma non la guida a mo’ di dittatore, si tratta di uno degli elementi che compongono l’immagine del quadro. se l’elettronica da club per voi ha rappresentato una delle migliori alternative per l’evoluzione di un certo jazz-funk melodico, se dj shadow e molti di quelli che abbiamo menzionato non vi hanno lasciato impassibili il catalogo nonine riserva delle chicche notevoli. sorprende pensare che un gusto così pieno di patos soul-lunge provenga da un tedesco di berlino, come a dire che la terra forse non è così rotonda e grande come sembra.
andrea ferraris, sodapop.it, italy 10/09

lentement et en toute sérénité electronica, nous nous sommes habitués á la soyeuse élégance des productions de me raabenstein, sous ses diverses appelations, seul ou en collaboration(s). adepte des liaisons inattendues, le berlinois a déjá mis en scéne le hip-hop face á son laptop (sqaramouche), le classique á l'ére du numérique (slowcream) ou le jazz vs l'électronique (langer & raabenstein).

pour leur premiére version en tant que pepper and bones, raabenstein et son comparse ju bartholomäus dévoilent un gout manifeste pour la folk music, qu'ils dissimulent á l'envi sous des airs souls aux relents - vous l'avez deviné - électroniques. toujours très propres, on aimerait parfois plus de sturm und drang et moins de froideur, les compositions du boss de nonine et de son complice ju dénotent un savoir-faire absolument convaincant. quand il se marie au spoken word de bartholomäus - et son timbre de tom waits - on est meme carrément ravi, gros coups de basse en sus.
fabrice vanoverberg, rifraf, belgium 06/09

really like 'one'
roger mills, furthernoise.org, australia 06/09

op “one” hebben ju bartholomaus en me raabenstein als pepper and bones een wel zeer pakkende electro-jazzy-folk-soul feel te pakken. juist de samenvloeiing van meerdere muziekstijlen levert in het geval van “one” een bijzonder luisterspel op. beide heren hebben een rijk verleden in het club circuit. opmerkelijk waren bijv. de recente 2008 digitaleep uitgaven van me’s “sniper’s delight” en “the whip”. veel van het door ju en me geproduceerde materiaal heeft in het verleden direct de weg gevonden naar de hotspots of dance. maar bij “one” komen er plots andere talenten naar boven druppelen. ten eerste moet gezegd, de heren leveren hiermee een meesterwerkje af, dat menig serieuze muziekliefhebber zal verwennen. “one” heeft namelijk heel weinig met dansmuziek te maken. er wordt op fascinerende wijze gespeeld met muziekgenres als jazz, soul, folk en ambient-techno. de sfeer is laidback. het karakter van de stukken is open en laat veel noten onbespeeld. de stukken sluiten naadloos op elkaar aan waardoor er een erotische flow door het album sliert. de meeste tracks worden gedragen door op piano gespeelde zwoele melodielijnen. heel even bij de vijfde track “bum bugaboo reprise” bewegen ju en me richting dansvloer. maar het is dan ook de enige dance-erfenis die is terug te horen op “one”. bepaalde toonzettingen en zanglijnen roepen herinneringen op aan het betere beatarme werk van a guy called gerald enerzijds en aan het andere uiteinde van de schaal der groten in de muziek frank zappa. zeker niet de minste referenties, maar je hebt hier dan ook te maken met een rijk georchestreerd album. rijp voor heel veel draaibeurten.
hv, gonzo (circus) #92, belgium 05/09

un disco perfecto para escuchar a estas horas de la noche este "one" de pepper and bones que despliegan en este trabajo toda una suerte de ingredientes nada comunes en la música electrónica por un lado y por el otro poseen tanta experiencia en otros géneros musicales que a muchos puede parecerles que este trabajo no es un álbum de electrónica extrictamente.
aunque la mayoria de los sonidos de este "one" están creados en un ordenador apreciamos claros strings de guitarra acústica, arpegios y sonidos que de alguna manera nos remiten al folk de vanguardia.
un disco que encierra gratas sorpresas para el oyente, como esos samples vocales, o ese solitario saxo que aparece de repente.
algunos han encasillado el estilo de pepper & bones como "electro-folk-soul" aunque yo prefiero situarlo dentro de una mixtura de ideas que te vienen a la mente en las horas nocturnas cuando la ciudad duerme y el otro lado de la consciencia despierta.
radio nacional de espana, atmosfera 05/09

a bad idea to put this cd on early in the morning, because it has definitely been made for late at night. what is more remarkable, though, is the fact that it marks a clear departure from the old “electronic label” or even “ambient label” moniker nonine had put on itself. also by me, i admit. pepper and bones peruse a range of ingredients that are on the one hand so uncommon in electronic music and on the other hand have such a long history rooted in other musical genres that there is but one thing to say: this is not an electronic album per se. and i guess it was never meant to be one. i am currently under the effect of a typical symptom that people writing about music have a lot: stupidity. meaning, taking my own expectations of something as more important than the thing itself. so what is it?

next to being still based a lot on music made on the computer, it is mostly clear guitar picking on acoustic strings, including appreggios and bended notes and the whole array of other folk techniques worked out by a string of folk guitar avantgardists, that is new to the universe of nonine. (or rather, not new, but undiscovered as of yet.) but as soon as the ringing keboard notes and layers of electronic atmospheres overlay the guitar and a deep singing / speaking voice sets in, that is somewhere between the narrator of a fifties horror movie and barry white in “marivin”, the second song on “one”, you feel to be pushed into the late night, dark city, rainy street, dinghy bar world of barry adamson. as soon as that happens, the singer starts to sing for real and the whole thing turns into something different again. after some more electronic music that changes into a modern piece of classical composition for horns the next track (“lona”) will surprise you with a damn heavy funk beat and a whining electric guitar, and the singer changing between a frank zappa style of imitating voices and the nasal tone of the guy who sang one of the most energetic and probably cheesiest funk songs ever recorded, ie. “play that funky music (white boy”). or was it “word up?”. damn, if i can remember?

anyway, up ahead there are more and more suprises waiting for the listener. like speeded vocal samples, a lonely sax left over from the eighties and more. and i guess after all this is what pepper & bones is about: crashing expectations, questioning the status quo and giving relief to a troubled musicians mind searching for new channels and means of expression. though, it has to be mentioned, that “one” does not sound like something on the move or as the result of an artist not exactly sure about what he does. i think, what they are doing is completely clear to the (former) electronic artists ju bartholomäus and me raabenstein (the latter also running nonine recordings), still nothing is fixed and there are no definite rules to anything. in other words: anything is possible. they call it “electro-folk-soul” and they just as well do so, though i would call it an intriguing mix of whatever ideas come up to you late at night, when the city has gone to sleep. (and praise cities that do go to sleep, because they have a lot of advantages to cities that don’t, one of them is offering moments of silence, self-reflexion and self-assertion when everybody else is asleep and the mind is able to wander.)

on a final note: i do hope that the title of the album “one” hints to the plan for more of this. it is always more interesting to watch people on the move than those sitting down without a plan to go anywhere.
georg gartlgruber, monochrom.at, austria 03/09

checking it out now and enjoying it on the whole, especially liking marivin and brande...
james barrie, global souljah & bbe records radioshow, barcelona, spain

nice stuff...
roger mills, furthernoise.com, australia

good stuff. will support it on my radioshow...
toshio matsuura, 711 radio show, tokyo, japan

pepper and bones is great. you just churn those lovely tunes out!
how do you do it??? ...and they are all great.
dov waterman, london, uk

simply wonderful stuff! think it's my favourite of the nonine productions so far. all the usual sonic brilliance plus some really warm instrument sounds and interesting yet unexpected compositions. best wishes for its success!
chris bestwick, helsinki, finland

klasse musik... kommt zum einsatz!
olaf gutbrod, ibiza, spain

pepper and bones gefällt mir sehr gut! total schöne indie mucke!
freue mich schon den release im radio vorzustellen!
ephraim wegner, radio dreyeckland, germany

really lovely stuff! congratz!
emanuele errante, naples, italy

WOWWW!!!........ f****n hell dudes 'bum bugaboo' is phat shizz...
subsequent, rotterdam, the netherlands

astrein - gefällt mir wirklich sehr gut !!!
helmut neugebauer, vienna, austria

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