Amalgamation of Soundz
June 29th, 2007 by sparky
Jean-Claude Thompson and Mark Harbottle met each other in 1990. But it wasnt until 1995 that they bought a Roland W30, that their musical alignment was cemented, and they started working together under the name The Amalgamation Of Soundz (TAOS). Since then they have rightfully earned their place amongst the most respected producers in the London underground scene, and they have deejayed all over the planet. They may be mostly known for their residency in London superclub, Fabric, but these boyz have rocked the best underground clubs from Los Angeles to Thailand and they are regular guests in Portugal, Prague, Greece and Turkey, including taking Glastonbury 2005 by storm with their headling set on Saturday night in the Dance village.
To fully unveil their musical talent one has to explore their productions. In fact TAOS are not claiming to do anything that different. "My grandfather always used to say, Jean-Claude vividly narrates, "that you can give the same tube of red paint to a group of artists, but it’s what they do with it, that’s important!. It is their multicultural background, their bringing up to jazz music and their musicality, that give their dance music a unique edge.
"We’re interested in the music conveying an emotion, telling a story, the orchestration, the beat is the last thing we’re concerned with. But for those who were fortunate enough to listen to these guys, blasting Fabrics Room 3, and who are familiar with the crisp, ear catching, head nodding, hip swaying beat of their tech house sound, this comment might just sound as an understatement.
They have released plenty 12 on several labels including Compost, Filter, Airtight, Ubiquity, Moving Shadow, and Earth Project. But its not all about 12. They had made quite an impression with their first two albums entitled The Amalgamation Of Soundz Part I and Part II. Ambient sounds floating above soft drum & bass patterns and hypnotic orchestrations a downtempo nirvana!
Their compilations A Room with a View and the follow-up A room with a view too for X-treme Records, were the means of propagating their musical tastes across Europe. Both instalments are an exceptional mix of modern leftfield tracks blended with some rare jazz classics, and reflect the diversity of the TAOS boyz.
The first moment of wide acclaim from press and DJs came with Enchant me (1999) which was included in numerous compilations, including Café del Mars 20th Anniversary compilation and received a classic status since. Another crossover moment for TAOS was the Compost release Alone (2001), a track that can easily please many people’s tastes – uplifting beats, subtle harmony, melodic Spanish guitar, and captivating vocals. It was included in Jon Sa Trinchas, Ibiza classic compilation, Salinas Sessions, and recently in the classy compilation Everyday a Story by Klik records. TAOS have never felt the need to be attached to the dance scene in any shape or form. Their latest compilation, Fabric ..12, inspired by their DJ sets in Fabric, is a living proof of the unique, uncompromising, TAOS philosophy in music: Music should be free from rules and boundaries. HMV describes the TAOS Fabric sets as voyages of discovery with four hands on decks that explore the ocean of generic nametags and expand the notion of nightclub soundtracks.
Upcoming shows…
18 Aug 2007 FABRIC LONDON
