Founded by Europeans Michele Locatelli, Ralf Schmid and Tobias Tanner, ObliqSound is an independent record label/production company whose primary mission is to create commercially viable, fiercely unique "music without boundaries". "What we want to do is create a label of crossover music for all genres", says Schmid. "But we want to put it on a higher level." To that, Locatelli adds, "Not just crossover music in the sense of putting a rock band with symphony orchestra or blending techno with world music samples, but something more rooted in a conceptual idea."

Graduates of the New School University's (New York City) prestigious jazz program, Locatelli (guitarist-composer-producer) and Schmid (pianist-composer-arranger-conductor) are qualified to make their vision quest a fulfilled reality. It was also while at the New School that Locatelli and Schmid met their third partner, internet tech wiz, Tobias Tanner. Headquarters in New York City and Munich have given ObliqSound rare entre into the respective underground scenes. Cherry-picking the most cutting edge crews, Locatelli and Schmid have re-modeled their individual ciphers into a unified sound.

The six-track ObliqSound Sampler is a tantalizing taste of the company's developing Instrumental Series and Vocal Series albums and proves that eclecticism is it's own reward. The sampler includes Tama's jazz infused R&B-madrigal bop "Felise" (the Sampler's debut single), which ObliqSound plans to release dance remixes from with the help of U.S. wunderkind Chris Brann. Brann's pedigree has successfully taken him to the worlds of television music, dance, eletronica, jazz and soul. He has created lush and sublime sonic remix panoramas tempered with eclectic musical influences for the likes of k.d. lang, Boney James, Bebel Gilberto, Mondo Grosso, Everything But The Girl, HBO's Sex In The City and Six Feet Under, MTV's Undressed and Showtime's Queer As Folk.

The Sampler's eclecticism continues with Flgelschlag!'s wiggy African chant/choir/three-piano ostinato frission "Mendiani" followed by Aisha Duo's sublime vibes and marimba duet "Beneath an Evening Sky" The disc also highlights Renovation Unlimited's brilliant approach to George Gershwin's "Summertime" _ infusing trip-hop with lush string, harmonicas provided by Gregoire Maret (Meshell Ndegeocello) and the blues vocals of Valerie Troutt. "

You can listen at different levels," comments Locatelli. "It's alternative and sophisticated but yet the magic is that the music remains quite easy to access and enjoy."