1.Your Profile
Our sound is something quite different for the jazz idiom. Even though we’re all jazz musicians and jazz is sort of the umbrella of this project, the show is so diversified that you can’t really label it. The lineup is one of the reasons for this. We have turntables, visuals and the Portuguese guitar – a traditional Portuguese instrument used for fado. Apart from the fusion of instruments there is also a fusion of styles – jazz, fado, catchy pop tunes and twisted versions of standards. Our tunes have a lot of drum’n’bass grooves and edgy melodies and the visuals include not only contemporary street art but also artwork by famous Dutch painter Piet Mondriaan. Jam – our visual artist – makes the whole show quite interactive, adding audiovisual solos and images that are synced to the music in real time.
2.Keeping Busy
I’ve been touring a bit in the Netherlands and Portugal and now… Australia! We’re really excited about recording our second album in October because it will be a live DVD. Our first CD doesn’t have the visual part included (because we didn’t have this lineup at the time) and people always ask us where they can get a video recording of the show, so now we’ll be able to add the visual layer to the album for fans to enjoy.
3.Best Gig Ever
The best gig I ever played was in the Netherlands. Performing in the Netherlands can be a challenge – it takes a while to get an enthusiastic crowd and sometimes people really enjoy the show but simply don’t express it, so you never know what they’re thinking. We played at a festival in Haarlem and when we walked onstage we immediately noticed that the audience was quite old (in an age range between 50 to 70) so we were quite doubtful whether our style of music would be a good fit, but it was the contrary. It was the loudest and most lively audience we’ve ever had in the Netherlands – they even danced!
4.Current Playlist
I’m listening to Jojo Mayer right now because I’m really into drum’n’bass beats. I recently saw an amazing Helsinki/Berlin-based band called Elifantree – voice, drums, saxophone and electronics. The band has such a unique sound and uncommon lineup and their tunes are really energetic.
5.Your Ultimate Rider
The ultimate rider would include a gigantic ten-metre screen behind us for the visuals and the audience would be viewing the show from above us on a higher level.
Melissa Oliveria feat. Jam atFoundry616 onFriday August 8, tickets online.
