专辑简介

This, the brand new DE PHAZZ album, is yet another „big shot“ crafted by the vivid outfit all headed up by mastermind Pit Baumgartner... but surely it is not their first. At the same time, „big“ means something like „back to the future“ for the band and its unique sonic world of sound. Although a lot of the track titles might sound familiar to most of you, this album is everything else but your everyday „greatest hits“ sampler though. Instead, DE PHAZZ rise to the occasion... and reinterprete their best and most successful songs with a bit of an ironic smile on their faces and „a little help“ from a real, full blown big band... courtesy of german public radio station HESSISCHER RUNDFUNK and led by Mr. Jörg Achim Keller. Big tunes, big band, big expectations... big things going on for real! Ever since the release of their first longplayer „Detunized Gravity“ in 1997 and the Top 50 single excerpt „Hero dead & gone“, DE PHAZZ (aka „the godfathers of lounge“ as some folks in-the-know like to call them with an ironic smile) managed to install both an unmatched band- and sales history. While the second longplay effort „Godsdog“ (alongside the intriguing single „The Mambo craze“) stirred up a lot of dust on the international „TripHop“ underground scene, both follow up albums – „Death by chocolate“ and „Daily Lama“ – went straight into the german Top 20 album charts ... crowned by a nomination for Germany’s most important music business award, the ECHO. At the same time, constantly growing sales figures and prestigeous concerts in many countries around the world resulted in quite an unusual success story on a global scale. DE PHAZZ had finally arrived right in the center of mainstream... and they did so without any sort of loss of identity. Simultaneously, their very own label imprint „Phazzadelic“ helped to keep things under internal control at all times... and at the same time became a playground for likeminded musical relatives and friends. With the release of last years’ „Days of twang“, DE PHAZZ maintained their excellent status globally... so now, with „big“, it is about time to showcase more of that thing (that in Italy people call „grandezza“). „Driven by originality, this album much rather means holding still and looking back,“ band leader Pit Baumgartner says and smiles. „And the big band arrangements surely grace and ennoble our music!“ Even more than on any other production before, long term DE PHAZZ vocalists Pat Appleton and Karl Frierson contribute their individual skills and styles to the overall magic. Also, trademarksound-causing trombone player (and founding band member) Otto Engelhard joins in „big“ time as well. This time around, producer Pit Baumgartner leaves the safe shores of electronic soundscapes to follow the path layed by the analogue sonics of the impeccable Radio Bigband Frankfurt... hats off! And so it comes as no surprise that all songs on „big“ organically develop quite a stylish and tasty life of their own, extending the huge potential of the original compositions in many exciting directions. This way, the ironic, yet self fulfilling new DE PHAZZ claim „Hit happens“ sort of says it all... because it’s nothing but the simple truth! The appearance of those huge grey animals with their superb stamina and big ears on the „big“ cover artwork surely is no coincidence whatsoever: BIG animals are casting long shadows!