“This is an album that should be heard.”
Lovely surprise earlier this week – our album #witchcraftjazz got a great little review in The Progressive Aspect.
Spot on! Cheers Jez Rowden et al!
Tag: #Newcastle-upon-Tyne
0 Witchcraft Jazz reviewed in Progressive Aspect
0 November’s track of the month is AUTUMN GROOVE
November’s track of the month is AUTUMN GROOVE from our second album Witchcraft Jazz (2018). It started as a spontaneous drum and key-bass improvisation jam session at Koos ‘ place in Friesland November 2014 (hence the track’s name) after we’d finished re-recording drums for Clodhopping and Midnight Sun, two tracks for MetaQuorum’s first album Midnight Sun (2015). When Koos moved to UK later in 2015-16, we reworked this raw material several times: re-recorded drums, added percussion, plus many layers of synths and arranged it a bit etc. Then, by chance, we met Andrew Guerin at one of the improvisation sessions Newcastle upon Tyne’s The Jazz Cafe . We invited Andrew for a recording session at our Low Bishopley Recording Studio one Sunday in autumn in 2015, and recorded several trumpet takes. It took us three more attempts to mix the track because we couldn’t quite balance the synths and the trumpet and then… along came NATIVE INSTRUMENTS’ Komplete Kontrol! Dmitry revisited the composition and arrangement in the light of the seriously expanded synth and sound processing capabilities, adding some brass as well, so Koos and Dmitry had another go at the mix and got it right – at least in our opinion)) Then Christopher Longwood applied his superb mastering skills and voilà! Check it out 😉
Credits:
Dmitry Ermakov – composition, arrangement, keyboards, key-bass, synth-brass, synth programming, tambourine, recording, producing, mixing, cover art.
Koos van der Velde – composition, #drums, #jembe, recording, producing, mixing.
Andrew Guerin – #trumpet.
Christopher Longwood – #mastering.
© & ℗ Dmitry Ermakov & Koos van der Velde, 2017
Photos by Carol Ermakova
0 Good review scores for Witchcraft Jazz
In the last couple of weeks MetaQuorum was getting some good reviews in various music magz.
For example, Andrew Howlie of The Pop Break gave Witchcraft Jazz 10 out of 10!
“After listening all the way through, I can’t wait to start again. It’s a dynamite record full of refreshing sounds, melodies, and textures. If you’re into outside-the-box instrumental music with a heavy dose of futuristic improvisation and a mind-melting sound, Witchcraft Jazz is for you.” Full review @ https://thepopbreak.com/2018/04/10/review/
And André de Boer wrote in Dutch Progressive Rock Page – DPRP.net:
“This Witchcraft Jazz album of MetaQuorum is an hour of amazingly crafted tunes in ever changing positive cheer up moods and very addictive. If you think this is not your music, I recommend to listen anyway right now. And if you like #snarkypuppy then I recommend you to listen too! This album is a real must in the jazz rock genre. Highly recommended.” Score 8.5 out of 10. Issue 2018-029 Published: Sunday 6 May 2018 @ http://www.dprp.net/reviews/2018-029
Also, we recently made friends with Warren, owner of Newcastle-upon-Tyne‘s great Hoochie Coochie Dance Club dedicated to soul, funk, jazz & disco. Looking forward to gigging there one day, meantime you can enjoy some Witchcraft Jazz with your evening cocktails when you visit the bar 😉
2 Something to take your minds off Brexit or… CYBER FUNK IS LIVE!
The latest in our volley of new singles, Cyber Funk. Here’s what Dmitry has to say about it:
“I was curious to see how we could fuse some elements of IDM dance music into our meld style – although I don’t listen to IDM much, I do like some stuff, so for this track we used an IDM-like drum sequencer for the first few bars, alternating it with Koos live on his Roland V-drums kit. Fun!
And of course, we love our funk, so Cyber Funk is partly a tribute to George Duke and his fantastic instrumental funk.
And we called it Cyber Funk because, well, it’s a cybernetic sound!” 😉
We had some technical trouble with this one, but rather than bore you with the details, we wanted to share our ‘eureka moment’ with you 😉 (Thanks for capturing it on film, Carol!)
And you can listen to the finished product here:
STREAM:
Spotify: https://goo.gl/Fru2y6
Tidal: https://listen.tidal.com/album/60950721
Microsoft Groove: https://goo.gl/npoGQF
YouTube: https://goo.gl/2cUVUD
Rhapsofy: http://goo.gl/Kp4gCs
Shazam: http://www.shazam.com/track/319822089/cyber-funk
Deezer: http://www.deezer.com/album/13181292
DOWNLOAD:
Greedbag: https://goo.gl/jlqQB1
iTunes: https://goo.gl/USlXkT
Google Play: https://goo.gl/xsYlim
Bandcamp: https://goo.gl/HTBmXR
Amazon: https://goo.gl/WGtB6n
Digital Tunes: https://www.digital-tunes.net/releases/cyber_funk
Juke: http://goo.gl/kWByLb
Junodownload: http://goo.gl/q3p779
Medianet: http://goo.gl/pwkWd7
Gobuz: http://goo.gl/9qe2n0
Roaring dance sequencers and G-Funk leads combined with jazzy piano improvisation, slap and Boogie synth bass, strong, upbeat drums, Go-go percussion and Electro Funk vocoder – Cyber Funk is a rollicking Funk Jam piece, an unusual meld of several styles and beats.
Release Date: 28/06/2016
Time: 5:01
Written and arranged by Dmitry Ermakov.
Keyboards, synth and key bass, vocoder 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: 5056052738458
ISRC: UK-682-16-24114
CAT N.: MQN008
Hope all this has cheered you up!
We’ve got one more track in the pipeline, out next month, so we’ll be in touch again soon.
Meantime, stay well!
Carol, Koos & Dmitry
1 MIDNIGHT SUN (Remastered) is Live
Midnight Sun (Remastered) was released on 18 June through all our usual digital distribution channels. And we are waiting for a bunch of limited edition CDs to arrive later next week. Why the need for Remaster? , you may ask. Well, the original master wasn’t really loud enough and it didn’t have this ‘big sound’ we developed for the 2016 releases. So Dmitry decided to remaster the album so that it comes closer to this new sound. We think it was a success. The tracks sound bigger and more 3D with many nuances coming to the fore. Give it a listen and see for yourself 🙂
http://metaquorum.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-sun-remastered
Cheers,
MQ
0 Interview with MetaQuorum on Progarchy
A UK based progressive rock project by Dmitri Ermakov and Koos van der Velde recently put out two new songs: “Jonathan Livingston” and “Migration.” The band that grabs inspiration from plenty of different genres talked with Progarchy about their creative chemistry.
0 JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SINGLE IS OUT!
Hello everyone!
The first in our series of new singles was released a couple of days ago! Jonathan Livingston is already enjoying airplay and reviews, and we have 3 interviews lined up for next week.
As you might guess from the name, this track was inspired by Richard Bach’s book Jonathan Livingston Seagull which influenced so many during 70-80s and beyond.
“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way.”
― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull
The release is live on scores of download and streaming services so you’ll be able to tune-in wherever you are.
For STREAMING please follow us on Spotify @ https://goo.gl/i5n4rW, if you can – it costs you nothing and we get some pennies dropping each time it’s played.
For DOWNLOAD please go to our own shop @https://metaquorum.greedbag.com/
Or for the full list of services see bottom of the post 😉
PRESS:
“MetaQuorum are being very bold in May, with two singles released; fans of their funk laden electronica are in for a real treat as new track Jonathan Livingston is released on Sunday 15th May with Migration following on Saturday 28th May.
Jonathan Livingston is filled with punchy grooves, and is powerfully atmospheric. Mellow yet melodic, it makes full use of funk-filled slap bass lines and smooth electronic effects. All set against a soundscape of seagulls, it’s a dense, moody instrumental that harbours an emotive expressive representation of our longing for freedom. Migration is a similarly progressive track, an epic sound echoing the expanse of the solar system, it’s all filled with dance-trance rhythms.”
By Simon Beckwith on Thursday, May 5th, 2016.
NARC. Magazine @ http://goo.gl/xTxUY5
NEXT RELEASE
We’ll be bringing out our first song – Migration – in just 10 days. We’re all very excited about it, looking forward to sharing it with you all!
Cheers,
Dmitry, Koos and Carol
JONATHAN LIVINGSTON STREAM/DOWNLOAD LINKS
STREAM:
Spotify: https://goo.gl/i5n4rW
Tidal: http://listen.tidal.com/artist/6360894
Microsoft Groove : https://goo.gl/NqABxz
YouTube: https://goo.gl/jihguo
Rhapsody: http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/metaquorum/
Shazam: http://www.shazam.com/artist/200466377/metaquorum
DOWNLOAD:
MQ Shop: https://metaquorum.greedbag.com/
iTunes: https://goo.gl/P808Ab
GooglePlay: https://goo.gl/GujcNt
Bandcamp: https://metaquorum.bandcamp.com/
Amazon: https://goo.gl/BpPAab
Digital Tunes: https://www.digital-tunes.net/releases/jonathan_livingston
Emusic: http://www.emusic.com/artist/metaquorum/15010671/
Juke: http://goo.gl/2gi6TW
Junodownload: http://goo.gl/ynlRwH
Medianet: http://goo.gl/dyWkM1
Gobuz: http://goo.gl/xVDaf
0 MetaQuorum’s NEW Tidal Page
News Flash: MetaQuorum now has a squeaky new profile on Tidal @ http://listen.tidal.com/artist/6360894 🙂
0 Back on the Airwaves
Hello everyone!
Well, in amongst all the excitement of our forthcoming new releases , our debut single and album are enjoying some well-deserved radio play.
Tune into Beyond the Dawn radio @ http://goo.gl/S3yFSh at 9pm UK time to hear Circle & Square, or if you miss the show, MetaQuorum will be on high rotation all this week.
And North Sea Fret has joined For The Love of Music’s playlist – lots of great music there, check it out @ http://www.fortheloveofmusic.info/
Hope to see you all on May 15 at 12 noon for the launch of new single Jonathan Livingston @ https://www.facebook.com/events/992128507503734/
Till then
All the best
Metaquorum
MetaQuorum 