Armed with an EP of demos, including a blazing vocal cut of John Coltrane's 'Equinox' and an impressive self-penned song aptly entitled "The Dreamer," José James met up with Blacktronica's Charlie Dark and at Cargo managed to slip a copy of the EP to Gilles Peterson.
Now there's an album for Brownswood in the bag alongside new remixes from IG Culture and Yam Who, a collaboration with label mate Ben Westbeech and, rumor has it, Basement Jaxx. At twenty eight, José has pursued the jazz grail and is currently on the Brownswood Loves Jazz tour in Europe before returning to the US for the Brownswood Sessions.
A towering if as yet little-known talent, pianist Elan has a compositional touch and style that has seen his work declared reminiscent of greats from Bill Evans to Claude Debussy. Now signed to Brownswood Recordings, Elan recently released his
Scheme for Thought LP, a lullaby-like, intimate and elevated affair.
DJ Moni began collecting vinyl at the age of nine - once her parents bought her a turntable after moving to the US from Colombia. The Caribbean and African rhythms she grew up with were met with the bass-heavy electro, hip hop and new wave sounds of the early eighties. In April 2007, Moni was part of the Giant Step roster at the Winter Music Conference with acts like Gilles Peterson, Jazzanova, Simbad and Kruder & Dorfmeister. She has been impressing music lovers and filling dancefloors as part of the all-female DJ crew, Ubiquita.
José James MySpace
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Elan Mehler
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Elan Mehler's MySpace
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DJ Moni's MySpace