Lovers Rock, and other healing music

It is a very good blog, and Stephan Kunze’s „Zen Sounds“ delivers in the same way as we deliver when something hits us deep. You just have to pay. Being hit deep, that happened lately, when Stephan listened to the new album „Soft Power“ by Ezra Feinberg, a Jewish psychoanalyst, living in Brooklyn. Like Stephan and me, Ezra, too, fell in love withe Steve McQueen’s fabulous film Lovers Rock. Mr. Feinberg sees one scene particularly before his eyes that inspired the musician and composer. A quote from Stephan Kunze‘s text:

“It’s at this London soundsystem party in the late 70s, an incredible long shot of people dancing and singing at the top of their lungs, just this ecstatic release. We would have these reggae dance parties in our apartment, just my wife and I and our two little kids, listening to the song ‘Silly Games’ from that scene in the film. It was a way to keep joy alive.” While those living-room parties inspired the vibe of Feinberg‘s  Soft Power, it’s clearly not a reggae or dub record. “The influence is not on the musical surface”, he nods, “but the spirit is very much there.” While those living-room parties inspired the vibe of Feinberg‘s  Soft Power, it’s clearly not a reggae or dub record. “The influence is not on the musical surface”, Ezra nods, “but the spirit is very much there.” Soft Power is an irresistibly joyous album but difficult to categorize – somewhere between ambient, jazz, minimal music, krautrock and outsider pop, its rich sound palette mainly derived from analog synths, organs, acoustic guitars and wind instruments.“

(Meanwhile I do have the audio files at my place, and a quiet hour soon will decide, if Ezra‘s music is just nice or interesting, or if it hits me that deep, that it will find its place into the Klanghorizonte at the end of July.)