CIRCUS COMPANY

CCPodcast.021 Aquarius Heaven

mathias — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:30:50 +0000

APPARAT – Lighton
HANNES FISCHER – Deep Field
JOHN DOE Someone – Special
TALES OF US – Obscure Promises
&ME – Everless (Original Mix)
12 Tones – Kosmos (Original Mix)
Bora feat. Alain Damasio – Vocal Mix (Rone)
Siobhan Donaghy – Don’t Give It Up (Carl Craig Dub)
Walker & Royce – You’re Not Welcome (Francesca Lombardo Remix)
KON1 Krause Duo – Rework

CCCD013 – Ezechiel Pailhès – Divine

mathias — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:13:38 +0000

Divine : The immobile odyssey.
For a long time before the success of Noze led him to discover the rest of the world, Ezechiel Pailhès remained a prophet in: his country. For a long time as well, he worked on creating what became his first solo album, waiting for the right moment when he could no longer contain all the melodies that populate this 14-leg epic.
A voyage in a free world, where creation knows no formal constraints, where everything mutates according to the determined inspiration of the moment. Transforming the original pieces without knowing in advance how they will end up, disguising the instruments so that they are mistaken for others, nothing frightens this intrepid sailor whose ship is nevertheless securely moored at home, Ezechiel composes and plays at home in Paris.
Sole master on board, the tinkerer illusionist prepares his piano with mechanic’s tools (scotch tape, rubber, percussion, wooden claves adrift over the strings), obtaining instruments that do not sound where we expect them. This adventure is, he says, a fiction he wants to believe in. The result is equal to the creator and his character.
14 captivating melodies like siren songs, sometimes dressed in a simple lala or lyrics by David Lafore, 14 ports of call offering a sweetness that is at times extremely melancholy, 14 pieces whose implacable refrains take root the first time you listen to them.
This is indeed a divine crossing people with wide-ranging references (Serge Regianni, D Angelo, Bernard Hermann, Timber Timbre, Stevie Wonder but also Henri Duparc, Moondog, Keith Jarett or Tony Benett ) that we are invited to share with Ezechiel whose career as a pianist has evolved on the stages where he has been performing for years as a duo with Nicolas Sfintescu ( Nôze ).
A succession of landscapes, of cinematographic images, some of the pieces were composed for movies and remained at the dock when others made their way to the silver screen (Bancs Publics co-written with David Lafore for Denis Podalydès )… A voyage that successively makes you want to dance, to dream, simply to listen the way you gaze at the horizon seated on the deck of a sailboat.
There is the heady sailors’ nostalgic longing (Quiétude, inspired by a sonnet of W. Shakespeare ) but also their cheerfulness, their lightness, the festive nature of the ports where things swing and the emotion of the infinite contemplated, the heart stirred by the swell.
Divine is the companion for all trips, the disk you take to the deserted island and to the loft in Berlin, the disk that you play constantly without tiring of it because each listening reveals places you were unaware of, sounds that had not yet been discovered, because it thrills music lovers.
Divine is the road songs that you want to share with your pals, but whose story you keep to yourself, this song reminds me of this, another takes me there. With the top up or down. And you embark without resistance, Ezechiel is at the helm, you can travel calmly. On a crowded dance floor here or elsewhere, or like him returned safe and sound: perfectly immobile.

Ezechiel Pailhès

mathias — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:07:26 +0000

“It’s more funny for me to walk beside the road than straight on.” So says Ezechiel Pailhes, a musician with an accomplished track record in taking the unconventional approach to his craft. Best known as one half of flamboyant raconteurs Noze, Ezechiel has spent the past ten years toying with the fundamentals of house music, jazz and classical to present four albums, countless singles and a raucous live show to the world. Prior to embarking on this salubrious venture with Nicolas Sfintescu, he had already spent years training in highly regarded schools and conservatories in Paris and Marseille, acclimatizing himself with the rules of music, only so that he may display flagrant disregard for them in his own work.
Both in Noze, and now in his own solo project, Ezechiel has never been drawn to making a particular ‘style’ of music, instead feeding on a myriad of influences with which to capture a more abstract mood somewhere in between genres. When he wants to be seductive, he can, and when he wants to be outrageous, so it shall be, but he’ll never be too much of any single thing at any one time.
He will readily tell you about the spirits that guide him in composing his music, counting Moondog, Toumani Diabaté, Bernard Hermann and Keith Jarrett amongst many other sources of inspiration. From his home studio near Paris, he has spent many years slowly researching, nurturing ideas and collating together songs, recording every single piece by hand on his piano. By using various treatments from tape to wood to his own fingers on the strings, Ezechiel is exploring how much further an instrument as traditional as the piano can be taken in a continuation of the ‘prepared piano’ work undertaken by pioneers such as John Cage in the early 20th century.
Combining this learned appreciation of the academic heritage of music with a desire to explore new territory, it’s a minor miracle that Ezechiel comes out with heartfelt songs instead of chin-stroking studies. As is apparent in his work with Noze as well, he harbours a devilish flame that flickers for a raunchy tale sung with guts and passion.

JAW

mathias — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:06:17 +0000

There’s no escaping the draw of JAW once he has you in his sights. Across the world he has seduced the hearts and minds of dancefloor dwellers, holding them captive with his voice as he douses them in vodka. As the vocalist for madcap house wayfarers dOP, Jaw has blossomed into one of the most distinctive performers in a scene where few dare to cross the barrier of the DJ booth.
A fearsome touring schedule since first emerging in 2007 has undoubtedly honed JAW’s skills, but it comes naturally to him to be working hard. From selling popcorn at Euro Disney to manning a sex shop, grafting in a kitchen to fronting a hotel reception, Jaw has served his time in unforgiving jobs and unsociable hours.
From the age of 13 he was experimenting with music, playing in bands before being accidentally thrust in front of a microphone, developing as a singer ever since and ultimately morphing into the crooning prince of the party we know and love today. As dOP has taken him ever further around the globe, Jaw has seen the opportunity to develop his own project, grand in scale and wild in style, reflecting his work ethic and a desire to connect with and understand the world around him.
Working with a host of different producers across 28 tracks, “Midtown” is proof that JAW doesn’t do things in half measures. His intention is to make the perfect introductory statement, identifying himself in every shade of music to allow listeners the full picture. Forcing producers to go outside their comfort zone to meet his musical vision, whilst adopting a unique singing style for each track, Jaw has sought to craft the ultimate compilation to represent who he is.
It’s an open move, laying his soul bare before he moves on to explore more mysterious ways of making music, but Jaw is on a constant mission to take in human contact. His website, an online collection of his photographs from around the world, is addressed with his telephone number, positively inviting the world to call up for a chat.
It’s this affinity for making connections that makes Jaw such a good story-teller, fuelling his imagination and leading him astray, and like the pied piper when he starts singing we can’t help but follow.

CCS077 – Jaw & Kevork Keshishian – Hazihi Laylaty

mathias — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:47:05 +0000

As if our recent releases hadn’t already been spreading the sound of Circus Company into new and exciting places, now our very own silver-tongued enchanter JAW emerges with the first details of his own autonomous project.

Somewhere in between the electronic drive of his day job in dOP and the folky, organic instrumentation of Les Fils Du Calvaire, JAW shares with us a new venture that has thrust him into the studio with Lebanese musician Kevork Keshishian. After a chance meeting on the streets of Beirut, the pair struck upon a creative buzz and so “Hazihi Laylaty” was born. Translated as “this is my night”, the title references one of the most famous pieces sung by the celebrated Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum in the early part of the twentieth century.

The dusty crackles and haunting strings that begin “Hazihi Laylaty” instantly call to mind the mystery and allure of traditional Arabic music, and the track as a whole fuses this spirit with a subtle wielding of modern electronics to create a thoroughly moody piece of pop-noir.

Paying full respect to the complexity and consideration of the original version, both The Sorry Entertainers and Soul Clap embark upon unusual approaches for their remixes, managing to enhance the electronic elements in the track through more prominent production without losing the core ambience of Jaw and Keshishian’s creation.

JAW has been quietly working on a solo project for 2 years whilst also engaged with the relentless demand of his life in dOP, and now finally the time has come for people to hear the first snapshot of this venture. Bringing together a vast array of people, singers and producers from all corners of music, JAW’s voice provides the glue with which a brave and boundary-less entitled Midtown will hold together. The common goal with which to fuse this wild fusion of different music.

CCPodast.020 Andrey Pushkarev

mathias — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:41:59 +0000

Download – Les Fils du Calvaire

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:14:28 +0000

TEST

Franck Roger – Extensions of Yesterday – Release party @ Watergate, Berlin 12.04.2013

mathias — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:36:41 +0000

CCPodast.019 Alex Katapult

mathias — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:38:38 +0000

Aquarius Heaven – Parallela Mundi – CCS076

mathias — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:05:18 +0000

“Everyone wants the Aquarius to do business.”

So says Brian Brewster on his latest record, and he’s not wrong. It has been a long time since the “7 Days” EP back in 2011, and finally the collaboration with dOP’s resident beatsmiths Damien and Clement is reignited, sending Brian’s gravelly vocals in a myriad of directions that make for one of the most ambitious singles we have ever shared with you, dear listeners, here at Circus Company.

As if there was not already enough madcap talent in this project, “Slow Love” welcomes the legendary princess of electro, Miss Kittin, to inject her icy, new-wave vocals into a brooding, sensual repartee with Brian over the simmering, late-night stomp of the 4/4 beat.

While “Slow Love” might share a familiarity with the nocturnal world Circus Company occupies, “Up & Down” instantly heads for uncharted territory with an atmospheric backdrop of synthesised orchestrations for Brian’s introspective lyrics to meander over. “Early Brid” is similarly surprising, creating a skipping drum machine groove and mixing it with cosmic arpeggios and funk guitar licks, while “Caloni” captures the low-riding energy of trap in its crisp, linear groove.

What is most important with this EP is that the music is produced as a vessel for Brian’s vocals, seeing dOP return to their hip hop production roots and giving Brian a chance to truly show off his skills as a poet, a singer, a rapper, and most importantly a performer. At times painfully raw, at others wonderfully mischevious, this is the record to confirm Aquarius Heaven as a project that transcends the formulas of electronic music to become something that reaches beyond the dancefloor.