disJam

When this German outfit of live musicians and programmers get together, they sound like Daft Punk jamming with Jamiroquai. The results of their efforts is a friendly electro-disco-funk session with a progressive rock musicianship. However, what's amazing is that the crew never get too indulgent with their solos. They experiment by switching instruments and trading places behind the knobs, but mostly they're dedicated to keeping the groove tight and perky. This live-house thing has been done before, but the difference with disJam is the way they embrace sampling technology. Like on "Whoosh," when they break it down, sample the atmosphere of a beach scene, dub it out to a point of dizziness before dropping back into the funk. "Saturday Prescoccer" is equally inventive for the way the band samples themselves playing the groove, compresses it like the sound of an AM radio signal and mixes it in for texture. Highly recommended to fans of experimental disco-funk like Atmosfear and Azymuth or any of the stuff on Paper recordings.