Koko_Lastiko
Would I be able to explain how much I love the music of Mop Mop ? That variety of sounds, that blend of jazz, soul and so many other kinds, so briliantly merged to produce that unique vibe. Thank you Andrea, your work is magnificent.
Favorite track: Kamakumba.
Carsten Pieper
Fantastic sounding vinyl - I would say easily among the best in my collection! And great music, too, although of the categorization defying kind. To quote "13 tracks of pure Voodoo Jazz, Caribbean flavours, Afro-Funk, Exotic rhythms and Soul music", yes, I agree, but I would add a touch of Trip-Hop (Bristol classics, early to mid-nineties) to the mix. Kamakumba! ;-)
Favorite track: Kamakumba.
AR029CD
Mop Mop "Isle Of Magic"
Release: 04.03.2013
EAN 4260130540296
Agogo Records - LC 15656
credits
released March 3, 2013
...
*The Sunday Times*
“Breathtaking, simply breathtaking. The most exhilarating cross-border raid since the Ethiopian composer Mulatu Astatke teamed up with that wayward London collective the Heliocentrics.Hallucinogenic.”
*The Financial Times*
“Mop Mop conjure an impeccably retro island retreat for themselves and for an array of friends. 4/5 stars”
*Mojo Magazine*
“Martial rhythms, spooky grooves and out-there atmosphere make this a spirited, spellbinding set. Put that in your gris-gris. 4/4 stars”
*The Crack Magazine*
(Album Of The Month)
“An organic, percussion-led contemporary world jazz masterpiece”
*Monocle – On Record*
“An inspired suite of voodoo-jazz, Afro-funk and soul that sounds like a lost masterpiece from 1960s Addis Ababa.”
*KCRW Radio*
(Kamakumba Today’s Top Tune)
“Their use of cool vibes and warm marimba is what has captured our hearts. Today’s Top Tune is “Kamakumba”
*Nova Planet*
(Phantom Of The Panther “Le Son Du Jour”)
*Splinters & Candy*
“Mop Mop’s wide variety of instruments create a musical world unlike anything you’ve heard before.”
*Gozamos*
“This is the first truly trans-tropical album to make me smile from start to finish.”
*World Music Central*
“Mop Mop takes you on a wonderful international trip full of irresistible rhythms from Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.”
*The Pop*
“Isle of Magic is a gorgeous record that has so many kinds of instrumentation and so many styles at play here the whole thing is somewhere south of mesmerizing”
*Nonobot Rock*
“Mop Mop proves that the evolution of music does not mean antiquating styles; but rather, infusing them and giving them a haven for which they can continue to be heard.”
Anyone familiar with Mop Mop will already know that their refined style has already lend them a unique place somewhere between the worlds of jazz, funk, latin and the Italian Postmodern style allowed the band to achieve the International film business as part of Woody Allen's 'To Rome With Love' movie soundtrack. But with this latest LP 'Isle Of Magic', Mop Mop digs even deeper to bring us one of their most engaging and organic records yet.
Mop Mop's fourth studio album has come together over the course of a couple of years where producer Andrea Benini has been searching for new directions with the band.
Collaborations in the album include Funk legend Fred Wesley, Trinidad-born poet/singer Anthony Joseph and Finnish-Egyptian vocalist Sara Sayed. Over fifteen musicians were involved during the production of the album including Andrea Benini’s co-arranger Alex Trebo on piano, Pasquale Mirra on vibraphone and marimba, Guglielmo Pagnozzi on clarinette and flute, Johannes Schleiermacher (Bajka, Radio Citizen, Woima Collective) on baritone sax, Lorenzo Ternelli and Salvatore Lauriola on bass and Danilo Mineo on percussions-- just to name a few.
'Isle Of Magic' contains 13 tracks of pure Voodoo Jazz, Caribbean flavours, Afro-Funk, Exotic rhythms and Soul music. The album has been recorded between Germany and Italy with the use of vintage analog equipment to achieve a sound with all the “warm” qualities of vintage analog tape recordings; sessions have been recorded during the period March/August 2011. Isle Of Magic is an imaginary land populated by musicians who spend their time fishing, cooking, playing and practicing Voodoo rites at night. The whole album represents the soundtrack of this imaginary life.
Personnel :
Andrea Benini - drums, percussions, vocals
Alex Trebo - piano, prepared piano, electric piano, clavinet, moog
Pasquale Mirra - vibraphone, marimba
Guglielmo Pagnozzi - clarinet, flute
Salvatore Lauriola - electric bass
Lorenzo Ternelli - electric bass
Danilo Mineo - congas, surdo, karkabou, bendir, udu drums, cowbells, shakers
-- With --
Fred Wesley - trombone
Anthony Joseph - vocals
Sara Sayed - vocals
Bruno Briscik - double bass, electric cello
Johannes Schleiermacher - baritone sax
Lutz Schlosser - acoustic guitar
Simon Rainer - electric guitar
Lorenzo Gasperoni - congas, bongos, talking drum, djembe, kenkeni, dununbà, shakers
Max Castlunger - steel pan, kalimba, shakers
Emanuel Valentin - hang
Andrea Benini, also known as Mop Mop is a musician, music producer and composer from , Cesena, Italy. He has worked in jazz, funk and club music.
Benini is actually living and producing his new works in Berlin.
This collaboration is a perfect example of the innovation that can happen when electro and roots music serve, rather than fight, one another. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 22, 2020