Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ens [Import]

The minute I threw this one, I was totally captivated. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble are a gloriously creepy crawly mutant jazz combo, equal parts DJ Shadow's Endtroducing, seventies horror movie soundtracks, late night jazz and super sluggish blown out trip hop. The KDJE originally formed to create live soundtracks for films by FM Murnau, Fritz Lang and the like, taking their inspiration from such unlikely sources as animators the Quay Brothers and artists Bosch, Picasso and Goya and boy does it show.

A full on group, not one dude and his laptop, the KDJE unfurl haunting imaginary soundtracks, dark and dense, smoky and noir, everything in rich lustrous shades of black and grey, shuffling jazzy skitter underpins melancholy moaning horns bathed in reverb, pizzicato strings and minor key guitars hover and dart furtively, a drizzly rainy day jazz dirge, so creepy and mysterious and lovely, and that's just the first song. The rest of the record wanders similarly rainslicked streets, hat pulled down low, collar pulled way up, face obscured by shadows, the wet streets reflecting the orange grey glow of the streetlights, the buildings like totem poles of shadowy ghosts, the sky a blackish grey, turning the vibrant city into a lonely monochrome.

This record is just so ominous and foreboding, so emotionally charged, so haunting and murky, imagine DJ Shadow collaborating with Tricky, mix in plenty of Raymond Chandler, some dingy bars, some laid back jazz, some doomy dark ambience, some muted Boards Of Canada shuffle and thump, the whole thing drenched in late night ambience and warm warped M83 style whir and you'll have a rough idea. The ultimate soundtrack for late night lonely walks through the city.

The duo of Jason Kohnen and Gideon Kiers originally formed The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble around the turn of the century and started out by creating soundtracks to moody silent films such as Murnau's Nosferatu and Lang's Metropolis. In the meantime, they've added several new members and have said that their debut album is particularly inspired by the work of the Brothers Quay, and their dark forms of electronic jazz seem to provide a pretty good backdrop to the creepy short films of the elusive pair.

As one might expect, this is some dark, slinky jazz music that mixes lots of organic instrumentation (including guitar and some particularly effective trombone and cello) with mostly subtle programming. The opening track of "The Nothing Changes" is particularly effective, as a skeletal rhythm consisting of sparse upright bass strums and simple percussion provide a shakey backbone while tendril-like horns and strings wisp around repetitive and eerie guitar.

"Pearls For Swine" brings the electronic element much higher into the mix as overdriven drum programming slams away over double bass and filtered strings. "Lobby" is easily one of the most effective tracks on the entire album, building from swirls of cello and muffled beats into a rumbling midsection that keeps pulling the tension tighter and tighter until the track unleashes a wall of filtered horror-film strings that gives me a rush every time I hear it.

Showing off quite a bit of range, the group even manages to pull of tracks like the more fleet-footed "Parallel Corners," where deft guitar player dances around a slithering rhythm section and more drowsy horns. It's one of the lighter tracks on the disc, and coming halfway through, is a nice breath of fresh air. In spots, such as the completely spacey "Amygdhala" and overlong "March Of The Swine," the disc loses a little bit of focus and sags some, but otherwise the release is a nice walk through mutant jazz territory (somewhat akin to Amon Tobin, with far less breaks or Cinematic Orchestra gone creepy) that should appeal to any fan of cinematic soundscapes.

(from almost cool music reviews)

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