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Andreas Vollenweider's 'Slow Flow and Dancer' is a collection of musical delights / All About Jazz

This time Andreas Vollenweider has grouped his music according to atmosphere and character: Slow Flow is a collection of pieces with a relaxed, flowing feel, while Dancer is full of movement and rhythm.

All 11 songs on Slow Flow and Dancer were created between 2010 and 2021 in collaboration with British producer Andy Wright (Eurythmics, Simply Red, Jeff Beck, Simple Minds, among many others). The two were supported in their creative process by Vollenweider's talented circle of friends, who laid the foundation for the songs:

Walter Keiser (drums), Andi Pupato (percussion), Daniel Kueffer (bass clarinet), Oliver Keller (guitars) and the young Swiss rapper and beat boxer Steff La Cheffe, a.k.a. Stefanie Peter.

The music of Dancer also reflects Vollenweider's connection with Africa. The South African vocal harmony band Africapella and singer Ayanda Nhlangothi embody this connection, which began back in the early 1980s. At that time, the black community of South Africa adopted Vollenweider’s music as their own folk music. During the bitter struggle for an end to the inhuman apartheid regime, Andreas' songs were sung by the masses in the streets to express the strong will for peaceful change.

The London Session Orchestra, consisting of musicians from the Royal Symphonic Orchestra under the direction of James McWilliam, filled out the sound. Renowned British producer and arranger Peter Vettese is responsible for most of the orchestration. The brass elements were recorded by the experienced studio musicians of the London Horns.

The recordings took place at Andreas' Lakeside Studios in Switzerland, as well as at SABC Studios in Johannesburg, South Africa, and finally at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. Andy Wright's long-time sound engineer Gavin Goldberg has set new sonic standards for Vollenweider's music with his work, and is able to delight even the most discerning audiophiles with a punchy yet transparent, dynamic soundscape. Mastering guru Tony Cousins at Metropolis Studios put the finishing touches on the sound.

For Andreas, the last album Quiet Places with its contemplative, peaceful music forms a unit with Slow Flow & Dancer.  The three types of music complement one another and offer sound experiences for different moods and needs:
• Quiet Places: soulful, intimate, introspective
• Slow Flow: relaxing, like a leisurely walk in the park
• Dancer: an invitation to move and physically experience the music

Slow Flow & Dancer has had to wait a long time to be released to the world, not least because of Covid19, which also interfered massively with the plans of Andreas and his fellow musicians. All the more reason for Andreas Vollenweider & Friends to finally be able to present this album to you.


All About Jazz writes…..Instrumental music featuring the harps of Andreas Vollenweider, who plays his instruments traditionally, meaning in the classical style, and he plays in a jazzy way, and he plays in a new age style, and here for several tracks he rocks with an African beat. Remember, Vollenweider created the electro-acoustic harp in 1975, which changed everything.

This album is a combination of two concepts. The first theme is Slow Flow, featuring a sparkling orchestra/band with the harp, an orchestra with strings, electric guitars, traps and synths. Particularly nice are the water sounds at the very beginning, splashing musically as a tonal percussion instrument. Next track, the feeling is whirling about in a joyful way, dancing is easy with the strings and the harp, and the whole band sparkling together. The title song, "Slow Flow," is like breathing out while stepping back, with a funky guitar bark that adds a rock edge to an instrumental groove. The tracks continue with a great feeling of cosmic elevation, romantic and swaying, comforting and nostalgic, reaching a thematic conclusion, strings and harp with vocalist Steff La Cheffe, a.k.a. Stefanie Peter, the young Swiss rapper and beatboxer vocalist.

The second theme is Dancer. Now we are in an international world, and Steff La Cheffe owns this territory. There are African influences, South American influences, new connections from all over. "Woa Woa" has a bright and understated laughing equine whinny (trumpet?), the vocals are in the percussion as well as telling the tale, the groove is energetic and makes it easy to find refreshing ways to move your body and spirit. "Scarabaeus" has a very complex funky buzzy groove, some vocals with words, some vocals with the beat. "The Golden Bird" transports the sound back into the Western groove, with piano harp strings, then bouncing into "Uthando" returning to the international and African groove. "Up & Out" introduces an electronic pulse with the string orchestra, keeping the power of the groove solid. The international spice alternating with the more western-sounding instruments makes this a collection of musical delights.

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