Dig into Jazz Grooves and Multitracks from Jakarta Records

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Dig into Jazz Grooves and Multitracks from Jakarta Records

Big fish aside—including early works by Anderson .Paak, Kaytranada, and Mura Masa—Jakarta Records continuously finds the sweet spot between organic grooves ranging from soul to jazz to hip-hop. The record label from Berlin-via-Cologne was founded in 2005 by Jannis Stürtz and Malte Kraus. The latter of whom here talks about their label’s distinctive sound, the art of sampling, and the moody jazz compositions on Gianni Brezzo’s ‘The Awakening.’

By

Tracklib

·

April 6, 2022

Jakarta Records is heavily grounded in hip-hop and beats. What's it like to now come ‘full-circle’ by offering music on Tracklib for producers to sample?

This gives the art form of sampling a new ‘legal’ basis. As we’re not so much a fan of sampling beats that already contain samples, we’ll focus our Tracklib output on our non-hip-hop releases mostly, such as The Awakening by producer and multi-instrumentalist Gianni Brezzo.

What makes Gianni Brezzo’s ‘The Awakening’ such a valuable source for sampling?

The Awakening is a beautiful, groovy, jazz-forward release that has a certain warmth to it. There are so many golden-era hip-hop tracks that find their basis in jazz/funk records. Gianni Brezzo’s The Awakening fits that mold perfectly. To have access to the multitracks especially is a real sampler's dream!

All-new is "Rising Of My Mind" off Gianni Brezzo's upcoming EP, Tutto Passa. That song was made available on Tracklib this week, actually. Including multitracks for brass, guitars, Rhodes, harp, and more. Gianni Brezzo's music is a natural direction for the more “organic” and “sustainable” sound that we’re after.

Can you please elaborate on the 'organic and sustainable' sound you just mentioned?

Jakarta Records is not so much about hype, but about a form of organic growth. Much of the sound of Jakarta is derived from the tastes of the founders; Jannis and I. The releases are often not overly manufactured beats. It’s a sound that comes from the ground up that we can align ourselves with. Then we let the music speak for itself.

Let's dig into 'The Awakening.' What are some of your personal favorites?

First of all, the title track. Think of the flute and saxophone loops you can make out of this! With Tracklib’s new Beat Player, it’s super easy and fun to try out a new spin on the multitracks:

Then there's "Hold Tight," which already is beautiful on its own. But with the multitracks it’s on another level. Separating out the soothing vocals of Otis Junior, the warbly warmth of the Rhodes keys and the sweet-as-dates guitar riffs allows for all kinds of creative flips. The track has actually already been remixed super well by FloFilz—so maybe a challenge to beatmakers out there is to make the newest flip...

Last but not least, "Beirut": to be able to isolate the stunning vocals of J.Lamotta is a joy by itself! The guitar licks are great for chopping up, too.

Marvin Horsch a.k.a. Gianni Brezzo

What can producers expect from the vocal features by J.Lamotta and Otis Junior?

It’s great to have different vocal stylings by J.Lamotta and Otis Junior in one release as that allows for more breadth and diversity when producers sample. To have a broad brush when getting inspired—then the multitracks come in and allow producers to get a fine brush to get creative.

The solo work of flute player Jamichael Frazier is very intriguing and unorthodox. What does he add to the sound of ‘The Awakening’?

While the entire EP is focused on simplicity and a mellower, downtempo mood, Jamichael brings a lot of agility and movement to the sound, which just gave the record the right resonances. His amazing musicianship and the tone of his playing created the perfect balance.

What does sampling mean to you personally?

Sampling is an art form, but it was a grey area from the “golden age” to today. We really like the idea of making sampling legal and accessible—if not more accessible—than it's ever been.

Why have you decided to add music from Jakarta Records’ catalog to Tracklib?

We’re interested to see how and where the community takes these songs. Tracklib is like crowdsourcing creativity in the best possible way. Up next, is sharing Gianni Brezzo's upcoming EP, Tutto Passa, in full on Tracklib. There are currently already three songs available on Tracklib for early sampling: "Il Sole," "Rising Of My Mind," and "Capture This," all three with multitracks such as brass, percussion, Rhodes, and strings.

How do you think Tracklib can change the way people sample?

Tracklib takes out the sometimes very difficult licensing process of sampling. This allows people to not think about the bureaucratic legal issues that are so associated with sampled-based works. Instead, Tracklib allows people to work on their music and focus on creativity instead of on cumbersome legal bills and copyright infringements.

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