{"id":2369,"date":"2012-02-07T19:56:05","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T18:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/?p=2369"},"modified":"2015-01-08T09:02:20","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T08:02:20","slug":"xantone-blacq-%e2%80%9erevelation%e2%80%9c-xantone-blacq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/2012\/02\/07\/xantone-blacq-%e2%80%9erevelation%e2%80%9c-xantone-blacq\/","title":{"rendered":"XANTON\u00c9 BLACQ \u201eRevelation\u201c (Xanton\u00e9 Blacq)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Die besondere Platte. Gibt\u00b4s zwar aktuell nur als Download \u2013 ein bedauerlicher Umstand, der allerdings an der \u00fcbergreifenden Qualit\u00e4t der neuen Angebote des Xanton\u00e9 Blacq trotz der unwirtlichen Umst\u00e4nde keinerlei Zweifel l\u00e4sst. \u00dcbrigens das zweite Werk eines Mannes, der in j\u00fcngster Zeit als musikalisch tragende S\u00e4ule im Background einer Amy Winehouse oder eines Nigel Kennedy ausharren durfte. Nun befreit von jeglichem Regelwerk geht Herr Blacq frisch ans Werk und l\u00e4sst so keinen Stil-Baustein auf dem anderen. Es gesellen sich muntere Gute-Laune-Tunes mit Stevie Wonder Finish neben Andeutungen orientalischer Umtriebe, netten US-Redneck Freuden, diffizilen Jazz-Fusion Operationen, Erinnerungen an die britische Art-Rock Tradition zwischen King Crimson und Quantum Jump – all das, und noch viel mehr, wird garniert mit einer ganz speziellen Note Soul, Funk und Pop. Dazu Arrangements, so tief, so komplex, so spannend, wie weibliche Psyche. Hier ist Selbsterfahrung dringend angeraten \u2013 zur Einstimmung bietet uns Xanton\u00e9 eine kurzweilige Anleitung \u2013 die \u201e7 Steps to Revelation\u201c, die ich hiermit sehr gern zur Nachahmung empfehle:
\n\u201cStep 1: Shut out the world
\nYou are about to hear Xan Blacq\u2019s new album, Revelation for the first time, an album of radiant sunshine soul. Insert the CD into your player. Get rid of the other people in your office\/living room\/car\/bathtub. Don\u2019t pretend you can properly listen to it while you make phone calls, read the papers or clean out the fridge\u2026 And no, this is not music for making babies to, so behave please, this is not the time for that. To get the full experience, you\u2019re going to shut out the world and concentrate on this record from start to finish. So take a deep breath, and press play.
\nStep 2: Enter the eternal
\n\u201cI want to write music that is lasting, even if this album has more of a leaning towards pop music. That said, I\u2019m not doing Lady Gaga or Kylie. While recording this album, I didn\u2019t listen to a lot of records, but I did listen to Thriller and Off The Wall. On those records, there are lots of jazz-funk elements, yet it still appeals to your average listener who might not know about Weather Report. My album is equally approachable\u2026 I was never interested in writing clever stuff that no one understands. I want people to hear my music in 20 years and still think it’s great.\u201d
\nStep 3: Emotional cleansing
\nXan\u2019s music is going to wash all your troubles away \u2013 think Stevie Wonder, think Steely Dan, think of a thick duvet on a cold night. In fact don\u2019t think at all \u2013 this music is about feeling. The true notes will actuate those nerve endings that have been deadened by dross, maimed by the mediocre. Xan has coined a term for his craft \u2013 he calls it Free Range Sunshine Music. Why? \u201cBecause it puts people in particular moods, brings something positive to the world,\u201d says Xan. \u201cI respect artists who are coming from darker emotional spaces but that’s not who I am as a person.\u201d Speaking of emotional spaces, did we mention that Xan is the keyboard player in Amy Winehouse’s band? Well, now we have.
\nStep 4: Are you ready to be Revealed?
\nNow you\u2019re ready for Revelation, it\u2019s going to come so don\u2019t fight it. Hear the rumbling bass, feel the angular drums licks on \u2018What You Talkin Bout\u2019 \u2013 this isn\u2019t some synthetic soul created by stealing old drum breaks and raiding old records, this is Xan\u2019s rocket-fuelled band reaching for higher ground. Your heartbeat will lock with the rhythm section, the horns will massage your liver, Xan\u2019s lightening-speed keys will send a starburst of electricity up your spine and your pineal gland will swell. You can pout, you can grimace if you want, you can howl like a wolf. Aw-wow-wow-wow. Your soul will be permeated by a profound sense of joy. The world around you will have new meaning.
\nStep 5: Perfection is the key
\n\u201cI’ve put all I’ve got into this record, all my abilities, everything I’ve learnt. It\u2019s been over two years since my last album. I took time away from the recording studio to strengthen my craft \u2013 improving my keyboard skills, my ear, my vocal skills. This album has a wider palette of harmonic ideas, more complex rhythmic elements and arrangements. I\u2019m also now a more experienced band leader. I’ve got more maturity. Some of the songs I’ve written on the album are a challenge to perform live. I wanted to push myself, set the bar at the limits of what I am able to do. That way I am always stretching and growing
\nStep 6: Attainment
\nThe mystics are said to achieve fresh perspective on the world. Xan\u2019s album Revelation journeys through the seven ages and the six continents to reach this goal. The Eastern trappings of \u2018Wrapped Up\u2019 recall a Persian palace filled with luxurious objects. \u2018African Rain\u2019 traverses the ancestral savannahs and the sacred flood plains of Egypt. The Jamaican funk of \u2018It\u2019s Wrong\u2019 takes to the streets of New York in protest at the inequalities we all suffer. And on the country & western \u2018Nigerian Hilly Billy\u2019, we discover that in whatever time and place we find ourselves, deep down we\u2019re all the same.
\nStep 7: The Circle Is Complete
\nThe city lights are coming into view, the journey is nearing its final destination. Please prepare for landing. You will have experienced the transformative powers of music. Free Range Sunshine Music is an elixir for your soul, it turns the grey city into a secret playground and makes gods and goddesses out of shopkeepers, van drivers and regional sales managers. You can go back to what you were doing \u2013 writing emails, cleaning out the fridge, having a bath \u2013 safe in the knowledge that the keys to the universe are at your fingertips. Just pop the CD in your player, and you can find them again.\u201d
\nWertung: 9\/10
\nInfo: www.xanblacq.com<\/a>
\nKaufen: itunes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Die besondere Platte. Gibt\u00b4s zwar aktuell nur als Download \u2013 ein bedauerlicher Umstand, der allerdings an der \u00fcbergreifenden Qualit\u00e4t der neuen Angebote des Xanton\u00e9 Blacq trotz der unwirtlichen Umst\u00e4nde keinerlei Zweifel l\u00e4sst. \u00dcbrigens das zweite Werk eines Mannes, der in … Weiterlesen →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grooves-beatz","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2369"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9308,"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369\/revisions\/9308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sonicsoulreviews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}