Review

By Elio Sant’Anna Pedrozo Campos (in Brazilian Portuguese)

Com mais de 10 anos de estrada, esse é um projeto que estreia por aqui com um single-duplo revelado nas plataformas de streaming em Maio e que iremos falar mais sobre abaixo.

Lançado há mais de um trimestre, o single ‘Lazy Day/Standing Back’ mostra a razão de estarem, de maneira merecida, entre as nossas descobertas. Sendo faixa completamente experimentais, eles entregam para o público ouvinte uma instrumentação muito bem executada a riquíssima, com grandiosos instrumentos de sopro e uma bateria cadenciada que é tocada com  maestria durante toda a extensão de cada uma das faixas, com sonoridade que caberia facilmente nos clubes de jazz, funk norte-americano e das big bands.

Com a formação sendo essencialmente do jazz, eles entregam um belíssimo groove que funde com sintetizadores, loopings e efeitos de instrumentos como o trompete ou até mesmo baixo.

«A faixa de abertura é composta pelo baixista Jean-Pierre Schaller, um tema suave que evolui suavemente ao longo de toda a peça,enq enquanto a segunda faixa, composta pelo trompetista Kriz Flueler é um exercício relaxado maior/menor, que é habilmente escondido por uma melodia sofisticada. No estúdio as faixas básicas foram enriquecidas por um Kriz multiplicado tocando trompetes adicionais, flugelhorns, trombones de válvula e até uma tuba», comenta o release oficial.

https://www.osgarotosdeliverpool.com.br/2022/08/muso-soup-singles-32-venustra-belz.html

Our first review in russian:

Шикарная джазовая музыка в очень минималистичном, но при этом выразительном коктейле из приглушённого света, блеклых лучах прожекторов и дыхания живого оркестра. Чистое наслаждение в мелодичном антураже шикарной музыки.

«Gorgeous jazz music in a very minimalist yet expressive cocktail of dim lights, faded spotlights and the breath of a live orchestra. A pure pleasure in a melodic ambience of chic music.» (Automatically translated with Deepl)

The title track «Lazy Day» is composed by bass player Jean-Pierre Schaller, a smoothly rolling theme which evolves smoothly thoughout the whole piece passing a dialogue like solo by bass and trumpet and culminating towards the end in looping cascades over the main theme.

https://www.nagamag.com/the-latest/wolkenpark-lazy-day/

‘Move on for Real’ slowly rises from silence with a slight ambient tone that leads you into some rapid jazz beats. The interplay between the drums and the ambient tones is wonderful and creates this great space for the trumpet to make an appearance. The drumming is really amazing as it shuffles and tumbles through the melody bringing a slightly groovy vibe. The trumpet has you swaying to its flow as it speaks out over the drums. As the single progresses, there are other instrumental elements that sneak between the drums, trumpet and ambient tones. This adds a fantastic texture to the single while retaining a rather chilled vibe. There is an infectious energy to the melody that bubbles through your veins as the keys murmur and lead you to a big band blast of horns. This is a melody that really showcases the infectious vibes of Wolkenpark and the masterful way they combine organic instruments and electronic tones.

While the melody catches you in its fusion flow, Rootwords’ vocals infuse a new depth into the single. His spoken-word rap brings a political hip-hop touch to the track while strangely complementing the melodic movement of the music. After the lead-up of the band, his performance changes the vibe of the track in the best possible way. The lyrics of his rap have you searching for something to fill the void in your life while considering the world around you. His performance is wonderfully smooth and it is this smoothness that effortlessly draws you into the consciousness of his words.

After teaming up with Rootwords, Wolkenpark combines spoken-word rap with their fusion big band sound for the thought-provoking yet highly infectious single ‘Move on for Real’. The interplay between the jazzy vibes of the melody and the spoken-word rap brings a unique texture to the single that makes it highly enjoyable. The artists have taken the best elements of their sounds and fused them perfectly.

We’d like to share the overwhelmingly nice feedback from the Submithub community on «Standing Back»:

• Great production, love this jazz fusion vibe, felt like I was in the 70s, listening to Weather Report mixed with Ibrahim Maalouf. Awesome!
• Hi there! This is DELECTABLY dark and vibey! I’m not sure how long your band’s been together, but it feels like forever. Super tight playing. It’s just waves on waves of textures.
• I like the melodies and the production quality. Smooth bass line!
• This is awesome, love the brass part, great drums and overall superb ensemble ! Would love to see you live if I ever come soon to Switzerland.
• Sounds great! Production is ace…
• You guys are really, really solid. This was beautiful and chill. Everything you want jazz to be.
• Nice job, lovely melodies and sound textures, very jazzy
• This is that big boy stuff, the music sounds very rich… Like billionaire stuff!
• Nice! Enjoyed it a lot. Very reasonable melody and chord progression for this genre. Keep it up. 
• Drums sound awesome for shure 😄 love the slowness of the beat here 🙂
• Красивая музыка, плавное развитие, мощная кульминация и мастерское владение инструментами.
• Great song with relaxing feel and nice jazzy chords
• пространственная оркестровка композиции с позитивным звуковымдизайном
• Красивый и качественный саунд, мне понравилось. Всё весьма креативно и со вкусом.
• Nice playing and writing, gents!
• A spotless gem, perfect for a lazy Sunday, with this on repeat by the Swiss quartet Wolkenpark…. And that trumpet is pretty awesome!
• Hi there! This is DELECTABLY dark and vibey! I’m not sure how long your band’s been together, but it feels like forever. Super tight playing. It’s just waves on waves of textures.
• Nothing like some amazing jazz! Loving the drums and bass really standing out forreal!
• Awesome performance and composition! I love the muted trumpet.
• 素敵なバランス 心地良ビート バランスもとても良いです。 ありがとう 最高です
• Y’all is fire as hell!

…and here’s what they say about «Lazy Day»:

• Great instrumentation in this track. The bass player is just ripping it up. Very well done!
• I love the laid back soulful tone of the track. The chords are rich and satisfying. Great sounding group, awesome trumpet performance
• I love the trumpet. Every other instruments plays nice work.
• Mega schöne Posaunen-Sounds, ich will mehr davon.
• Great sounding mix, playing is very tasteful – overall a little too clean IMO. ESP love the bass playing.
• A great chill vibe, I enjoy the performance very much
• Great groove and progression. Lovely trumpet.
• I just need some tequila to sip while listening to this ~
• Was an easy 100 (points) for me
• Awesome jazz, also I like the Lauryn Hill drum sounds
• Really feels like it huh 😄 love the title to this 🙂
• This is a very very solid and good track, lovely work
• Mi è piaciuto molto il mood di questo pezzo…
• Turn it up, this is a good one!
• Another super great jazz track from y’all!! Really love that trumpet and the drums are amazing! Y’all all are great. Downloaded this on Spotify and added to my jazz playlist!
• Love it guys – Really sick vibe and the production quality is insane, awesome track – saved this one on my Apple music playlist.
• Nice tone and very crisp clean production. Well made track and definitely a soothing sound.
• Solid stuff, very well produced and great sound!
• This is awesome, love the brass part, great drums and overall superb ensemble ! Would love to see you live if I ever come soon to Switzerland!
• Buen trabajo! Me gusto la tranquilidad de la cancion y el buen gusto en algunos de los arreglos, suena misterioso, sexy y atrapante, me gusta escuchar una banda tocando instrumentos reales, gracias por compartir, saludos!!
• Relaxing lounge jazz track. Good mix and sound.
• Nice vibes and atmosphere. Great instrumentals.
• A produção disso aqui está realmente surpreendente!
• The whole way thru🔥🔥🔥

… and finally «Move on for Real»:

• ♫ Fantastic beat, has a very soulful energy and the rhythm is 🔥. Captivating melody and clever storytelling. Definitely feels like an underground classic! ♫
• Good chill song, nice swing feel
• A nice and original sounding song
• Me gustó mucho, muy beastie boys, lindo
• Not really a big fan of jazz but this one got me
• I like this beat for real!
• Cool jazz/reggae fusion. Some nice sonorities/sound design at 2:00. Mellow brass melody. Rootwords kind of takes me out of the vibe – mostly because I wasn’t expecting the rap vocals. A little tired of rap everywhere, but that’s just me! Well produced, strong ensemble.
• The best Swiss Zambian combo i’ve ever heard!
• Good combination of tensioned jazz with rap singing and double time drums. Good production!
• Nice experimental track! Great bass and use of orchestration! Clear sound! Great mix of rap vocals and jazz vibes.
• It’s a good song for lonely nights
• Interesting mix of styles, backing band is sick!
• Una completa fiesta de sonidos
• Love the drumming! Cool sounds, would like to hear more solos on top of it.
• I like the combination of the rap and jazz.
• Very nice groove, I dig the bass
• Interesting Jazz vibe, good work
• Great production great feel and bars!
• Loved the drum/bass groove – it’s crispy AF. Wasn’t a huge fan of the melodic/harmonic material – (It’s a little to open fifth-ish, which takes away from the harmonic content). Like the modern fusion with the vocals! Cool concept!
• The sound is crisp and clear; the instruments are very gentle. The lyrics are delivered in a very distinctive style, and it is very fitting. Good work!
• The percussive elements really grab your attention right away and the horn parts that come in really build suspense for the track. I really like the combination of more hip hop influenced vocals with jazz instrumentals.
• Very great collbab! your drummer is absolutely amazing!! STiCKS OUT!
• Interesting mix of styles, backing band is sick!
• Good combination of tensioned jazz with rap singing and double time drums. Good production!
• That sounds good guys! Love the jazz fusion intro, that keep this natural and orignal, great skills for compose! You built a really interesting composition, natural in all the waves, the jazzy melody give so special harmony blended with psychedelic jazzy fusion and the kind of singin to the melody really surprise us, you have skills bro! So difficult make something like this!
• Nice experimental track! Great bass and use of orchestration! Clear sound! Great mix of rap vocals and jazz vibes!
• Hey. I think you have a really good track here, original and great arrangement!
• The percussive elements really grab your attention right away and the worn parts that come in really build suspense for the track. I really like the combination of more hip hop influenced vocals with jazz instrumentals.
• I loved this a lot. Unique and very, very cool. Memorable and impressive. Can’t say enough positive.
• The sound is crisp and clear; the instruments are very gentle. The lyrics are delivered in a very distinctive style, and it is very fitting. Good work!
• Nice rhymes with cool and complexe beats with cool non conventional effects, like it!
• Loved that sound of the bass!
• I like the drum rhythms and variation!
• Esa bateria suena un poco a light drum and bass. Buen trabajo!
• Love the drumming! Cool sounds, would like to hear more solos on top of it.
• Très bonne rythmique, j’apprécie la progression du morceau.
• Very nice groove, I dig the bass!
• Nice groove, a little madness everywhere but it is a vibe! Good!!
• Those drums are fire af!
• Me gusta mucho el tema. Muy bueno!