This band is one of the genre that can easily be called Electronic Lounge.  The music may start out a full on electronica style song and within a few second be smooth lounge with more electronia interspersed throughout.

Pat Appleton is an amazing singer.  She has a breathless style that might be low and tempting or bold and demanding.  Karl Frierson also provides an incredible jazz voice that provokes a great deal of emotion. Both

singers can be extraordinarily smooth especially in concert with each other.

This is a band of genre bending capabilities.  You might spend hours trying to discern if it is lounge music or electronica.  Bands that I would compare DePhazz to are Weekend Players or Zero 7. The use of electronic effects is done in such a way that it extends the theme of the music and not there simply to be an effect. I really enjoy the fact that this is a band and not simply a person standing in front of a turntable. A muted trombone played by Otto “Sugarlip” Engelhardt is used with incredible effect in much of the music and it provides a very classic jazz style.

The music ranges from very Latin to classic French jazz.  and you never really know which is going to be next when you put a CD in and listen to it.  In some cases there is a joyous carnival feeling to the music.  As I noted above, you may feel like you’re at a Havana bar or in a French cafe at any given moment.  or you could be any sophisticated nightclub in any major European or American city. This music is just that good.

This band is of German origin circa 1997 by Pit Baumgartner. De Phazz changes members frequently, although Appleton and Frierson appear to be steady members. Which is fine with me because I truly enjoy both singers. Their singing abilities easily match the wide range of arrangements that this band produces. This is a five thumbs up selection of mental hygiene happiness.

I listen to a lot of Chill radio.  Basically its how I find new artists to enjoy.  Of course I visit and use (read blatantly plagiarize) Properly Chilled which I think is one of the best informational sites on the net for the genre of ambient and chill. But still, listening to the music makes the difference.

Case in point, last night I was listening to Chillaut Radio - (real audio start listening link) and heard some of the best music I have heard in some time. The downside was that in finding the artists name and looking in my collection, I had the music on my computer.  Sheesh. Well that wasnt really a downside at all.  With over 35,000 songs there its getting hard to know what I have. But still it opened me up to a new sound, that being Boozoo Bajou and the song “under my sensi” which has been covered by such artists as the Thievery Corp and the Les Demons Flowers.  Excellent rich fulfilling music.

My two favorite stations are Chillaut Radio from Austria and Groove Salad from Soma Fm in San Francisco.

I strongly urge that you consider giving up some bandwidth to these two stations.  if they dont float ya, check in here for a list of links to other chill/lounge radio stations

Banco De Gaia (Tony Marks) is most certainly always in the forefront of my listening menu.

I have almost all of his music including my two personal favorites “The Magical Sounds Of Banco De Gaia” and “Igizeh”.  But its not only just for the incredible quality of his music that we listen.  Mr. Marks tells story’s in his music. Stories of the world and of the things we are slowly losing as a world community.  Stories of peoples, lives and skills lost. 

His cd “Last Train To Lhasa” is an example of that very thing, discussing the Tibetans and the suffering under Chinese cruelties.

One has to learn to “read” Banco De Gaia’s music to understand what he is saying about his view of our plight.  Learn to read his music and his words such as following his myspace page.

It is also just as easy to get caught up in his music alone, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Indeed that’s exactly what I did until I started reading what his music was about.    My first Banco cd was The Magical Sounds Of Banco De Gaia, and I fell in love instantly with his music.  While it is ambient in nature, much of is made with familiar instruments and real voices.  Well, real voices to the degree that the music conveys a certain authenticity to the story the voices tell.

Banco de Gaia has a nice long discography, with 15 massive sounding cd’s.

My personal choices are, were you to want to buy one:

• The Magical Sounds Of Banco De Gaia
• Last Train To Lhasa
• Igizeh
• Farewell Ferengistan

Try some Banco De Gaia.  You wont be sorry.