II - MAGRO
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With "II" (pronounced: two) the Berlin drummer and producer "Magro" presents his new album.
After his first album "Trippin" was released in 2021 and was recently awarded with the "German Jazz Prize" in the category "Debut Album of the Year", Magro is now releasing his follow-up album with a new concept: spacy Jazz worlds meet pumping Hip Hop beats, live recordings mix with abstract synthetic productions. For Magro, the album is an "emotional expression" of how "music with a jazz attitude" sounds to him at the moment.
Most of the recordings were made with Magro's band improvising in the studio. Various guests were joining the recording sessions, including R'n'B singer Leona Berlin, singer Kenny Wesley and rapper MC Rapturous. Other features on the album are US rapper TwizzMatic and New York piano virtuoso BIGYUKI.
On his subsequent trip to Mexico and Los Angeles, Magro rounded out the material for an exciting new album: „II“. During the production process, Magro included snapshots from his journey in the form of atmospheric samples, giving the album a unique tonal diversity.
The album thrives on the multi-faceted liveliness of different influences and is definitely a further development of Magro's previous, more digital sound aesthetic. As a drummer and producer, Magro has worked with numerous artists from different musical directions: Stimulus, Yvone Mwale, J Lamotta, Tóke, Jakob Manz and Telemakus, among others. Tours and international festival appearances have taken him around the world, including Tremplin Jazz Avignon, Jazz Al Popolo Rome, Women in Music Festival Zambia, Havana World Music Festival.
Eventually he felt the urge to realize his own musical vision and launched his solo project in 2020. It is particularly important to him to bring his own sound into the world and to constantly experience new developments along the way. "I tend to take elements from different styles that influence me and mix them up to create my own version."
releases
MAGRO - II
Album release: 26 AUG 2022
MAGRO - Flow feat. BIGYUKI
Single release: 08 AUG 2022
"Flow" is a driving, club-influenced instrumental track that moves through different sound spheres. It features legendary New York pianist and producer BIGYUKI, who takes the energy to a new level with his explosive solo.Ever since Magro saw BIGYUKI live in New York in 2014, he's been a huge fan of his playing and experimental expression. A few years later it finally happened that BIGYUKI was sitting in Magro's living room during an off-day and recorded the solo for him.
:: GERMAN VERSION ::
Flow ist ein treibender, von Clubsound beeinflusster Instrumentaltrack, der sich durch verschiedene Klangsphärenbewegt. Er featuret den legendären New Yorker Pianisten und Produzenten BIGYUKI, der mit seinem explosiven Solo die Energie auf eine neue Ebene hebt.
Seit Magro BIGYUKI 2014 live in New York gesehen hat, ist er ein großer Fan von dessen Spiel und experimentellem Ausdruck. Einige Jahre später ergab es sich schließlich, dass BIGYUKI während eines Offdays in Magros Wohnzimmer saß und ein Solo für ihn einspielte.
MAGRO - Never Let You Down feat. Leona Berlin
Single release: 11 JUL 2022
The song features up- and-coming R'n'B singer Leona Berlin, who Magro has worked closely with in the studio and on stage for years. The track lives through its disco-retro
vibe, which carries the melancholic mood and the catchy refrain. Leona sings about selfrespect and a forgiving reunion with one's own 'inner child'. The song was part of the live recording session and came about organically through a collective jam with Magros Band.
:: GERMAN VERSION ::
Der Song featuret die aufstrebende R'n'B-Sängerin Leona Berlin, mit der Magro schon seit Jahren im Studio und auf der Bühne eng zusammenarbeitet. Der Track lebt durch seinen Disco-Retro-Vibe, der die melancholische Stimmung und den eingängigen Refrain trägt.
Leona singt von Selbstrespekt und einer versöhnlichen Wiederbegegnung mit dem eigenen 'inneren Kind'. Der Song war Teil der Live-Recordingsession und ist durch eine kollektive Jam mit Magros Band organisch entstanden.