Spiral Deluxe - The Love Pretender - Import Vinyl LP Record

Credits:

Spiral Deluxe

Description:

Spiral Deluxe, led by Jeff Mills, will release its second album, The Love Pretender. Driven by the free expression and creativity of improvisation, Spiral Deluxe features electronic music visionary Jeff, legendary keyboardist Gerald Mitchell (Underground Resistance/ Los Hermanos), Japanese rocker (Buffalo Daughter/Cornelius) on Moog synthesizer, and Japanese bassist Kenji "Jino" Hino, son of world-renowned jazz trumpeter Terumasa Hino and a product of New York City. The four key players are a complete jazz fusion project. These four key players take us on a completely improvisational sonic journey. In their freewheeling performances, a sonic "conversation," as Jeff calls it, is created between musicians who have contributed to live and studio sessions over the years. Within the boundless parameters of free-form spontaneity, they understood each other implicitly and found balance and composure in their unplanned performances. The resulting recordings have been used for three releases: two EPs, Kobe Session (2016) and Tathata (2017), and their debut album, Voodoo Magic, in 2018. The Love Pretender" will again showcase a stunning collection of "tracks" extracted from one long improvisation session. The communication between the musicians was almost telepathic, as each is an expert in his or her field and, of course, a great lover of music. Little preparation was required, and their performances flowed naturally and organically.This can be heard and felt throughout The Love Pretender. Tracks like "The Soloist" evolve effortlessly, with each new shift subtly influenced by one of the musicians guiding the conversation into another phase, and the rest of the group responding, or vice versa. It is music that embodies the essence of mindfulness and letting go of fear. In this cocoon of freedom, the artists are dynamic and create musical moments. Jazzy sounds fill the air with electronic bass, synthesizer beats, sparkling keys, and a warm and inviting atmosphere with an edge that only improvisation can bring. It is also significant that the late Sylvain Luc participated in the album. His natural flair adds a new dimension to the album, bringing a laid-back 1980s American California Coast vibe to tracks like "Society's Man." His participation* on this separately recorded LP adds a final sprinkle of humanity to the lively presence of this body of work. Three other musicians contribute their creative energy to the project. TOKU, a Japanese jazz musician specializing in wind instruments, especially cornet, trumpet, and flugelhorn, and Masa Shimizu, who has an extensive background not only as a producer but also on guitar. The theme of the album includes the optimism that comes from trusting the process and believing that everything will work out in the end. Playing together like this, Spiral Deluxe trusts in the mystery of what happens next.Becoming accustomed to not knowing is the key to achieving equanimity about the future, and this energy is essential to their collective musical output. By embracing the concept of the unknown, you become an eternal optimist, living in the present rather than projecting into the future. This fosters excitement, the antidote to anxiety. The title, on the other hand, alludes to the changes and shifts that have occurred in today's society, where success is possible through pretense. The superficiality and falsehoods often presented through social media lead to the question of what is real and what is false: from AI to the false personas that haunt the dominant platforms, "The Love Pretender" speaks to a process that represents the times we live in . Behaviors that might have been unwelcome decades ago have become acceptable today. But this is part of the cycle of life. Jeff's intention with this music is to present it in high fidelity so that it can be listened to over and over again. In post-recording, he spent many hours trying to get the audio quality as high as possible. The goal is to create music that people will stick with for a lifetime, from his solo work to this masterful improvisation. Music that comes to life, music that has a voice we can recreate with our own vocals. Expressive, unconventional, alive.... With The Love Pretender, Jeff Mills continues to experiment outside the boundaries of what is generally expected of music. It is free, vibrant, alive, and uniquely human. As in the past, Jeff's visionary outlook and daring approach to performing and recording has produced a body of work that epitomizes his often revolutionary abilities.There is no pretense here, just pure sound transmission by a wonderfully bold, exciting, and optimistic ensemble.... (Marcus Barnes) *After recording in Tokyo, Sylvain Luc's part was additionally recorded in Paris.