0 MUSIC, ART & PHILOSOPHY

We are delighted to announce the release of our new single – CHICKEN AND EGG. It’s a great collaboration of art, music and philosophy.

Philosophy

This track is the musical expression of an ongoing question we each face every day when we try to understand the causes and effects behind what’s going on in our lives and in the universe as a whole: what comes first and what follows? The universal timeless dilemma of the chicken and egg.

Art

The cover art was drawn by our dear friend Alexander Voitsekhovsky and by happy coincidence, his exhibition in London coincides with our release. Like Dmitry’s music, Alexander’s art is ‘full of humour and mischief; it intrigues the soul.’ Or as one critic put it: “you can’t stop wondering how these small, childly naive pictures can shine with so much artistic and human sincerity and light.”

Here is a link to a review of Alexander’s art @ Randomstein https://goo.gl/teM0ju

If you are in London, you can visit his exhibition @
6 Pall Mall East, SW1Y 5BF (corner of Whitcomb street and Pall Mall East, entrance in Whitcomb street via black double doors) 27 Oct. – 6 Nov. 2016.

chicken-egg-event_banner-for-petrovich_eng

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selfie-w-petrovich_dunstanborough_25-516 — Dmitry and Alexander by the sea near Dunstanborough Castle, Northumberland, UK.

Music

The rhythmic track is a meld of various styles: jazz-rock, funk, prog & electronica, great polyrhythmic drum breaks from Koos; and a fusion of mixing techniques. The result? The unmistakable sound of Meld music, pioneered by MetaQuorum.

For the story behind the track and some improvisation on theme, watch the short video below – it was our first attempt at a live Facebook video, so apologies for all the glitches, poor lighting etc.

Listen and Enjoy

You can listen, download, buy the track on Bandcamp or following any of the links in the Liner Notes below:

CHICKEN & EGG

A new single from the forthcoming album Witchcraft Jazz by MetaQuorum

Release Date: 27/10/2016

Dmitry Ermakov scribbled the sketch for this track as fragments of a score many years ago in a very different time and place: St. Petersburg, in a crumbling Soviet Union. The fragments rose from the ashes in 2016 while MetaQuorum were recording their second album, Witchcraft Jazz, in MQ’s recording studio in Weardale, North Pennines.

Genres (iTunes): Main Genre: Rock: Prog-Rock; Alternate Genre: Jazz: Fusion
Genres (MQ definition): Meld: Funk/Prog-Rock/Jazz/Electronica/Hip-Hop – Fusion

Time: 3:45
Written and arranged by Dmitry Ermakov.
Keyboards, synth and key bass – Dmitry Ermakov.
Drums, audio-engineering – Koos van der Velde.
Recorded, produced and mixed by Dmitry Ermakov & Koos van der Velde @ Low Bishopley Studio & Market Place Studio, Weardale, UK.
Mastered by Chris Longwood @ SugarHill Recording Studios, Houston, TX, USA.
Cover art by Alexander Voitsekhovsky.
Cover design by Dmitry Ermakov.
© Dmitry Ermakov, 2016.
℗ Dmitry Ermakov & Koos van der Velde, 2016.
UPC: 5056052738489
ISRC: UK-682-16-24116
CAT N.: MQN011

STREAM:
Spotify: https://goo.gl/pjFvTu
Tidal: https://listen.tidal.com/album/65157460
YouTube: https://goo.gl/jMeVuR
Napster: https://goo.gl/ooKwxn
Deezer: http://www.deezer.com/album/14093368

DOWNLOAD:
iTunes: https://goo.gl/sWw6Vw
GooglePlay: https://goo.gl/z0XQtE
Bandcamp: https://goo.gl/ZrIiBH
Amazon: https://goo.gl/JsWNsI
Digital Tunes: https://goo.gl/Q6eMSM
Juke: https://goo.gl/QwRfIW
Junodownload: https://goo.gl/bhRX4O
Medianet: https://goo.gl/Gpp81K
Qobuz: https://goo.gl/Gpp81K

Till next time 😉

MetaQuorum Team

2 Loads of Good News ;)

Hi folks

Lots of good news, where shall we start?

Well, Koos and Dmitry have managed to snatch time in their busy schedules to finish mixing two tracks for the new album: Socket Swing, and Swagger. We’ve just got the masters back from Chris Longwood of SugarHill Recording Studios – he’s worked his magic – great results!

So that means we’re one step nearer to our NEW ALBUM – WITCHCRAFT JAZZ. It’s going to be another great album, and we’re especially pleased that Victor Mikheyev is joining us again on bass, for three tracks.

mikheich-dima_bulgaria_byala_2013_web — Victor and Dmitry working on tracks in Bulgaria, Byala, 2013.

And last but not least, to give you a taster of the album, new single CHICKEN & EGG will be released on October 27.

This video footage is from the first Low Bishopley Sessions, February 2015, when Dmitry and Koos were selecting tracks for recording and production. Here, Dmitry improvises around the main theme from Chicken & Egg and discusses how it could be developed. Actually, it took quite a different turn in the end…

Above is some early archive VIDEO material for CHICKEN & EGG, new single from MetaQuorum’s forthcoming album WITCHCRAFT JAZZ.

Cover art by Dmitry’s old and dear friend Petrovich, known in the West as Alexander Voitsekhovsky.

You can join us for an on-line event @ https://www.facebook.com/events/336231016728740/

Cheers, folks! Have a great weekend everyone!

MetaQuorum Team

0 SONG FOR THE SUMMER

We’ve just released the last in our series of summer songs: City Folk – Folk/Prog/World Beat Fusion track inspired by the pulse of urban life.
This track is quite different from our other pieces, a more lilting tune with plenty of space, punchy shuffle drums and oriental percussion opening out into soaring rock organ harmonies.

THE BEGINNING
Actually, the basic theme for this track was the very first thing Dmitry played on his Yamaha Motif when it came out of the box back in 2004 when he was living in London.

Carol doing yoga stretch by Motif. Barnes, 2004.

So City Folk reflects the rhythm of urban life, and we’ve dedicated it to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a city where arts meet business, Georgian architecture blends with super-modern structures, and the River Tyne flows through it all.

THE MIDDLE
Koos and Dmitry ran into serious technical trouble with this track – we won’t bore you with the details, suffice to say, we had to take the hard drive apart with a drill…

THE END
But we managed to salvage it all in the end, and Chris Longwood did a great job on the master, so we’re proud to present: CITY FOLK.

You can stream and download the track on all the usual channels:

STREAM:
Spotify: https://goo.gl/dCSyCv
Tidal: https://listen.tidal.com/album/62190575
Microsoft Groove: https://goo.gl/z5MypA
YouTube: https://youtu.be/sae_zbBnlqA
Rhapsody: http://goo.gl/P3edTl
Deezer: http://www.deezer.com/album/13395567

DOWNLOAD:
MQ Shop: https://metaquorum.greedbag.com/buy/city-folk-3/
iTunes: https://goo.gl/BzCQyX
Google Play: https://goo.gl/Dwucxp
Bandcamp: http://metaquorum.bandcamp.com/album/city-folk
Amazon: https://goo.gl/QxjAoL
Juke: http://goo.gl/snLgex
Medianet: http://goo.gl/37VvGa
Gobuz: http://goo.gl/l4L1sb

Release Date: 10/07/2016
Time: 3:53
Written and arranged by Dmitry Ermakov.
Keyboards, synth and key bass, vocals – Dmitry Ermakov.
Drums, audio-engineering – Koos van der Velde.
Recorded, produced and mixed by Dmitry Ermakov & Koos van der Velde @ Low Bishopley Studio & Market Place Studio, Weardale, UK.
Mastered by Chris Longwood @ SugarHill Recording Studios, Houston, TX, USA.
Cover art by Dmitry Ermakov.
© Dmitry Ermakov, 2016.
℗ Dmitry Ermakov & Koos van der Velde, 2016.
UPC: 5056052738465
ISRC: UK-682-16-24115
CAT N.: MQN009

WHAT NEXT?
We’ve got one more single ready to release in September and are working on a couple of EPs, so we’ll have lots of new stuff for you in the Autumn.
Meantime, have a relaxing summer!

Koos, Carol, Dmitry

0 The Piper & The Frog – NUMBER 3 IS HERE!!

OUR THIRD TRACK IS OUT NOW!

An electrifying track with a hip hop beat, some snazzy effects and a funky vibe, The Piper and The Frog takes us from Celtic pipes through tropical frogs to a soaring crescendo as guest artist Markus ‘Bluesharp’ Bossert from Basel,Switzerland, carries us away with his bluesy solo on the harmonica. The Piper and The Frog – an IDM/Hip-Hop/Funk/Prog crossover with a sense humour.

Markus Bluesharp_2 — Markus ‘Bluesharp’ Bossert (Photo courtesy AndreaA-rt)

BEHIND THE SCENES

Koos and Dmitry worked on producing the track in the Low Bishopley Home Studio last spring. The biggest challenge was trying to fit the original recording – an MP3 recorded on a stereo mike from the speakers, made back in 2000 – to the new grid to even out the rhythm.

Koos pondering sound-engineering techniques. (Photo by Carol Ermakova)

We’d not worked with a guest musician before – Markus sent several versions of his solo over from Switzerland so we had to pick the best and join them together to make a smooth, seamless track.

THE TRACK

The Piper and The Frog is an electrifying track with a hip hop beat, some snazzy effects and a funky vibe. It takes us from Celtic pipes through tropical frogs to a soaring crescendo as guest artist Markus Bluesharp carries us away with his bluesy solo on the harmonica.

STREAM:
Spotify: https://goo.gl/SGknv9
Tidal: http://listen.tidal.com/album/60135741
Microsfot Groove: https://goo.gl/GnCgPh
Google Play: https://goo.gl/07cosG
Bandcamp: https://goo.gl/phIzM0
YouTube: https://youtu.be/aw90JzNLzA0
Rhapsody: http://goo.gl/IUBJ7F

DOWNLOAD:
MQ Shop: https://goo.gl/2LkUvL
iTunes: https://goo.gl/uBYzB6
Amazon: https://goo.gl/MJdd35
Digital Tunes: https://www.digital-tunes.net/releases/the_piper_the_frog
JUKE: http://goo.gl/iawH9b
Junodownload: http://goo.gl/RcCqpl
Medianet: http://goo.gl/QLQXWa
Gobuz: http://goo.gl/fa8jjv

Genres (iTunes): Main Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap: Hip-Hop; Alternate Genre: Electronic: IDM/Experimental

Genres (MQ definition): Meld: Funk/Prog-Rock/Jazz/Electronica/Hip-Hop – Fusion

Release Date: 12/06/2016
Time: 5:09
Written and arranged by Dmitry Ermakov.
Keyboards, synth and key bass – Dmitry Ermakov.
Drums, audio-engineering – Koos van der Velde.
Featuring Markus ‘Bluesharp’ Bossert – harmonica.
Recorded, produced and mixed by Dmitry Ermakov & Koos van der Velde @ Low Bishopley Studio & Market Place Studio, Weardale, UK.
Mastered by Chris Longwood @ SugarHill Recording Studios, Houston, TX, USA.
Cover art by Dmitry Ermakov.
© Dmitry Ermakov, 2016.
℗ Dmitry Ermakov & Koos van der Velde, 2016.
UPC: 5056052738434
ISRC: UK-682-162-4103
CAT N.: MQN005