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LP
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KOMMERZ 003LP
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If music can take our mind to any imaginable place, on endless individual journeys, Noa Erni's The Mental Traveller is the infinite soundtrack. A soundtrack for mental wandering and soul searching, a blend of rap, jazz, and hip-hop beats. The Mental Traveller, an album assembled like a literary anthology, offers musical arrangements and unique narratives where epilogue and prologue of each track merge seamlessly. Far beyond the horizon of compiling single tracks, The Mental Traveller is a journey of sound and unity. Inspired by David Axelrod and William Blake, Ahmad Jamal and Flying Lotus -- just to name a few -- this work aims to be a tribute to these legends' legacies of past, present and future, detached from trends, norms and classical narrative structure. Swiss-born producer and computer conductor Noa Erni has been crafting obscure jazz and hip-hop behind closed curtains (aka his flat in Berlin, Germany) for years -- free from external pressure and as an adjunct to his day jobs as sommelier and co-owner of local fine wine store, Friedenauer Weinhandlung. The Mental Traveller features internationally renowned artists such as Count Bass D (alternative rap pioneer, who worked with Snoop Dogg, MF Doom (RIP) and Retrogott), Miles Bonny (New Mexico-based singer and trumpeter), S. Fidelity (hip-hop producer signed to German tastemaker label Jakarta Records), and more. Erni's guests meld seemingly with this unapologetic and experimental album showcasing stand out performances on vocals, instruments and production. While the album sounds like it was played by a jazz outfit with years of stage experience, the truth surprises and is even more exciting: Noa crafted the songs in countless hours of experimenting with a midi keyboard, various instrument plugins and perfected reverb settings. It was not one and the same band but one and the same person. Just a few tracks include actual live instruments: drums by Max von der Goltz on "The Mental Traveller Theme" and "Uncertainty", bass by Roman Klobe on "Longitude" and flugelhorn by Miles Bonny on "Train Ride". Also features Nardo Says, Shamir of WOLM, and Robot Orchestra.
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