Gran Riserva - dZihan & Kamien

Written by Alessandro on Saturday, 17 October 2009 22:12

Gran Riserva is usually referred to a Spanish wine that have been aged two years in oak barrels and for another three years in the bottle. In this case I don’t want to talk about wines but about the music of dZihan & Kamien.The dynamic duo met in Vienna in the 90s and thanks their common passion for Arabic music and trip-hop they produced their first album “Freaks & Icons” in 1996 released by Six Degrees Records.

With their following work they decided to take a different approach. “Gran Riserva” has a more sofisticato sound with a clear jazzy influence and Brazilian and reggae rhythms. I particularly love the atmospheres of “Basmati” and “Deep Kitsch.”
But there is not only chillout music in their repertoire. In 2004 they recorded a live album with an orchestra formed by twenty musicians. For “Live in Vienna” they were able to invite some very important names in the music industry: Miles Davis percussionist Sammy Figueroa, the darbuka master Ahmet Misirli, the drummer for Moloko and Massive Attack, Andre Small and last but not least the beautiful voice of Ma.Dita. There is not new material on this live album, in fact most of the songs are from “Gran Riserva” with a few singles from “Freaks & Icons”. Recording with the orchestra gave another opportunity to dZihan & Kamien to expand and explore their music boundaries. So they created this live album with their previously recorded material. The highlights of the album are: “Thrill” thanks to the silky and persuasive voice of Ma.Dita, and “Homebase” (from the first album Freaks and Icons) the live horn and piano take the song to the next level.
dZihan & Kamien

“Music Matters,” the latest studio album of the Viennese duo released last spring by Couch Records, has a more pop character that makes it enjoyable to listen to. It is important to emphasize that all the instruments are played by dZihan and Kamien, and they also collaborated with vocalist Helgi Jonsson. For sure “Busted” is the hit single of the album, in fact this tune has a very catching sound but in a way the only song that resembles their previous efforts is “Bazooka.” I miss the Gran Riserva downtempo harmony that made me fall in love with dZihan and Kamien music.

dZihan & Kamien - Deep Kitsch (Gran Riserva 2002)

dZihan & Kamien - Busted (Music Matters 2009)

For more info visit: www.dzihankamien.com/

-- By Alessandro Gambaro

Tags: