What have I been up to since we last spoke? Well, quite a lot! Securing the next six releases for the WONDERFSULSOUND Singles Club, DJ’ing at my residency on Soho Radio (every fortnight on Sunday 12-2pm) rescheduling plane flights for recording sessions with Dr Robert in Spain and getting back to some of my favourite London eateries!
Sven Wunder - Natura Morta (Piano Piano records)
Sven Wunder first came to my attention when I read a blog that featured a song that was an interpretation of a piece of music commonly played at crosswalks in Japan when it is safe to walk.
With releases on his own imprint Piano Piano Records, along with the legendary Mr Bongo imprint, his new record delves deep into the world of Library and Italian Soundtrack music focusing on that amazing period around the late 60s and early 70s. Composers such as Ennio Morricone, Alessandro Alessandroni, along with the library music of John Cameron and Barry Forgie, scored hundreds of soundtracks around this time, using the very best session musicians and made music that makes you cry, makes you dance or just makes you feel good about life! The actual vinyl releases of the recordings were obscure and sometimes never saw a release beyond Italy or even made public. In the world of record collecting some are in the ‘holy grail’ bracket of collecting. Jazz heads dig them, Hip-hop collectors want them and DJs need them!
Natura Morta paints a cinematic soundscape with the help of a 26-piece band! Well, I say ‘band’ in the loosest form as there seems to be a mini orchestra involved here. From running an independent record label myself, I know that’s an expensive outlay, but it turns out that the whole project is supported by the Swedish Arts Council and it is good to see this kind of support happening for such a niche recording! Maybe I should move to Sweden for the next WONDERFULSOUND project...
So, with this entirely instrumental work we have lush moments of pure reflectiveness, piano and orchestral soundscapes creating scenes of beauty, funk driven Lalo Schifrin chase scene grooves for the dancefloor and orchestrated jazz moments for a Sunday morning. Considering the territory we are in, Sven masterfully manages to avoid pastiche and envelops himself in the genre to create a holy grail record all of his own!Sven Wunder’s ’Natura Morta’ should be the soundtrack to your summer, an album to lose yourself to while on a drive through the winding coastal roads on the Amalfi coast. Hit the road with the roof down with the sun on your skin and the wind in your hair. Natura Morta is a wunderful sound indeed.