Deep digging DJ Nicola Conte excavates MPS spiritual jazz

Nicola Conte's new archival collection Cosmic Forest: The Spiritual Sounds of MPS will be out September 21. 

"Cosmic Forest" takes us on a spiritual journey through the musical universe of Musik Produktion Schwarzwald aka MPS, the most important German jazz label of the 1960's and 70's. Alongside such younger firms as ECM, Enja, and ACT, its catalogue of around 500 albums remains to this day one of the most interesting, comprehensive, multi-textured collections of "jazz made in Germany". German businessman Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer (HGBS), owner of the German electronics company SABA in Villingen/ Schwenningen, founded a record company in 1965 under the same name and equipped it with its own recording studio. Three years later he renamed the company MPS. The exceptional recording equipment and premium-quality record pressings, which were usually made in editions of 500 to 1000 LPs, are to this day regarded as "state of the art". Consequently, SABA/MPS remains one of the most important jazz labels for both vinyl collectors and fans.

There are still little-known gems to discover within the MPS catalogue. For instance, Cosmic Forest curated by DJ deluxe Nicola Conte. Cosmic Forest is a compilation that highlights some of the most compelling "spiritual jazz" recordings from 1965 to 1975. Conte, a world-renowned Italian musician and producer, as well as a passionate DJ and record collector, is a connoisseur of European jazz with an astounding ability to dig a little deeper when it comes to arranging such a compilation. In this case, he concentrated on the spiritual highpoints of the MPS catalogue, highlighting both well-known and obscure musical treasures, while connecting disparate pieces through a personal common thread. The choice of individual titles and the flowing character of their arrangement lend the album a quality of timelessness, while showcasing the breadth of the entire "cosmic jazz collection" within the MPS archives. Watch the preview clip below followed by MPS classics recorded by Michael Naura, Nathan Davis and George Gruntz.

Tom Wieland & Niko Schabel launch new Sound Voyage starting in Thailand

Following in the footsteps of German World Jazz visionary Joachim-Ernst Berendt and his acclaimed "Jazz Meets The World" series on the collectible SABA Records label, Niko Schabel (Radio Citizen, Express Brass Band & part time member of the world jazz pioneers Embryo) and Tom Wieland (7 Samurai, Panoptikum Arkestra etc.) travel the world in search of new rhythm and sound inspirations. First Sound Voyage stop: SE Asia. Thailand. Imagine Kraftwerk jammin' with the locals in a Thai temple with Moritz von Oswald at the controls and you´re almost there. Have a listen.





"During the 1960´s German jazz pope, journalist, writer & producer Joachim-Ernst Bernendt stepped across the Jazz border to extend European post bop jazz. A festival series in Berlin and nowadays highly in demand vinyl LP releases under the "Jazz meets the world" series name on the mythical black forrest label SABA records marked the arrival of proto-world music: Japan, Tunisia, Bali, Spain, Brazil, Africa, Switzerland went jazz ala Kraut.

"The testing ground for Berendt was a project involving German jazz trombonist Albert Mangesdorff who went on tour to Asia in 1964 and recorded the landmark modal album Now Jazz Ramwong based on Asian folk songs.

"Searching for new sounds arround the world (and working together with musicians from all arround the globe) almost became a mantra for the more open minded German musicians in the following decades from Krautrock to new wave and this is what Sound Voyage, my new project with Niko Schabel, is all about.

"So what happened to Berendt? In the late 80´s he donated his heavy weight jazz collection to the Jazz Institute Darmstadt and relocated to the island of Gomera where he went esoteric and became one of the most prolific writers of the scene with his book Nada Brama - The World Is Sound. He died tragically in February 2000 on the way to a new book presentation in Hamburg while crossing a red light."  Tom Wieland

Check out Tom Weiland's new 7 Samurai mix Spirits High Above IV: Jazz Meets The World