dj magazine  
New Music

r

Search DJzone


DJ Magazine


Home
This Issue
Daily News
Features
MP3
Mobile
Club
Radio
Karaoke
Reviews


Calender


Chat
Issue Archives
DJ Games
DJ Musiclists
DJ Book Store
Gear Mall
DJ Software

 

 

 

  

WUNDERBAR 3


Recording under the ensemble name Rubin Steiner, French electronica wizard Fred Landier became a huge critical and commercial sensation in his home country and throughout Europe with his debut album Lo-fi nu jazz vol. 2. Performing live with sampler, effects and custom mikes tuned to the music of a double bass player, a trombonist, flutist and Francois Pirault's original video mixes, Rubin Steiner has played three major festivals in France this summer (15-20,000 people per show), along with dates in Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany (at POPKOMM, the equivalent of MIDEM at Cannes). The group also recently opened for Alicia Keys in Japan, resulting in another resounding success.

RCA's Bluebird imprint is pleased to announce the October 8 U.S. release of Rubin Steiner's second recording Wunderbar 3, following the global phenomenon of its BMG France predecessor. Blending ambient vibes, electronic grooves and effects, heavy atmospheres, classic old school soul, trio jazz stylings and quirky sound bytes, the recording is a clever and extremely elegant raw pearl whose rich and cozy jazz structures find their soul mates in improbable, insistent beats.

Selected quotes from French musical press help further define Rubin Steiner's highly original fusion of all those elements with just the right touch of exotica. The Virgin Megapresse said, "Fred Landier is one of the most creative and touching artists of the French electro-jazz scene." Coda exclaimed, "He makes us share his taste for iconoclastic collages and vaporous atmospheres. His second studio album takes us for a visit into his imaginary world where creation is more important than the unrestrained search for success." Recording Musician adds, "What strikes you immediately about Rubin is his talent as an arranger. First a technician, he's a past master in the art of sampling and while doing it, he composes his own orchestration from acoustic sounds."

The experience of this recording takes the listener from the clever robotic spoken introduction explaining the concept of the recording ("Please Listen to This Record," we are urged), through the shuffle groove-based, acoustic guitar-driven ambient exotica of "Guitarlandia." It moves on to wild adventures in "Espagnolade" (featuring an hypnotic urban vocal patois, bold brass and a thumping dance groove) and "Wonderlande," a realm whose trippy vibe feels like an old orchestral film score. Along the way, we're invited to "Tango" (dig those synth vibraphone effects and symphonic qualities), engage in the "New Bossa" (mixing jazz with a hip-hop beat), explore "Midi Jazz" (avante garde meets Latin) and go fully experimental with the mystical "Minellos (Part 2)." Landier pays homage to two strong jazz influences on the brief "An Interlude for Charles Mingus" and the closing track, "Some Strings for John Coltrane."

Fred Landier's discovery at age 13 of the first recording by sampling pioneers De La Soul in England left him with a burning passion for quirky music. He began his musical education by listening avidly to the punk sounds of Black Flag, Sonic Youth and Fugazi, moved on to take a keen interest in improvised and electronic experimental music, then discovered his taste for jazz, preferably hard bop.

In the years before launching Rubin Steiner as a recording entity, Landier presented a program on Radio Beton in Tours for seven years, offering a blend of free jazz, musique concrete and disco. He also organized bar concerts featuring artists like Pram, Kreidler, Spaceheads and Purr, edited photocopied fanzines with trash layouts and played electric guitar with Merz, an experimental group who made a number of memorable appearances.

After some initial, self-produced computer experiments, Landier started to write music for a number of projects, including work by contemporary choreographers Fabrice Ramalingom and Daniel Larrieu, and Street Contact, a hip hop dance company. After the release of Lo-fi nu jazz vol. 2," he got together in June 2001 with Sylvestre Perrusson (bass, double bass), Benoit Louette (trombone, flute) and Francois Purault (video mix) to form the Rubin Steiner Quartet. They began touring and Landier expanded his reach further by playing DJ sets in clubs all over France.

Many Ninja Tune artists are currently re-mixing his songs.

 

 
powered by

 

r

web hosting | how to advertise | submit an article  

  about DJzone


DJzone network:
DJzone.com | Partypros.com | DJchat.com | DJ-mall.com | DJgearbid.com | MDJU.com | DJTalk.com | DiscJockeydirectory.com | 411dj.com


   DJzone | letters to the editor | features | reviews | daily music news | classifieds | resources


Copyright © 2001 DJzone, Inc. All rights reserved.