INVISIBLE SYSTEM AND LABEL BIOG
Demo Album For Gigs and Festivals:
Invisible System present a 10 track fusion album of Dance,
Rock, Drum & Bass, Psychedelia, Trance, Electronica Dun, Reggae, World & live music with Dennis Wint from The Rhythmites on vocals. Our guests include:
Joie Hinton (ex-Eat Static & Ozric Tentacles / Here and Now / IGV)
Martin Cradick (Baka Beyond/ex-Outback)
Captain Sensible (The Damned)
Ed Wynne (Ozric Tentacles / Noden Inctus)
Simon Hinkler (ex-The Mission)
Dubulah (ex-Transglobal Underground, Temple of Sound, Natasha Atlas etc)
Perch (Zion Train)
Hilaire Shabby (Baba Maal)
Tsedenia, Mimi, Tarmeg & Sami (Ethiopians since this album signed to
Realworld Records)
Juldeh (Justin Adams, Realworld etc)
Elmer Thudd (ex-Loop Guru)
Gary Woodhouse (The Rhythmites)
Bos (ex-Junk Waffle and Warp Graf/Eat Static Artist)
Others to come..
Artist Profile:
Invisible System is the brain child of Dan Harper who spent 8 years aid working in Mali and Ethiopia whilst producing music. He has remixed tracks for e.g. Zion Train, Baka Beyond, Jesus Jones; written and played on some tracks with e.g. Joie Hinton (Eat Static/Ozric Tentacles/Here & Now/Inverse Gravity Vehicle) and for the Suns of Arqa. He has co-written, sound engineered, loaned his singers and musicians to and played on A Town Called Addis on Realworld Records, an album that followed the recording of this album, PUNT Made in Ethiopia. This album was made with Nick Page / Dubulah from Transglobal Underground/Temple of Sound/Natasha Atlas etc. One of the tracks was also featured on the CD & DVD from the BBC series Long Way Down (Ewan McGregor and his friend traveling through Africa on motorbikes, including Ethiopia). Realworld took on the album post Dan inviting Nick Page/Dubulah to come and stay at his house and studio in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where they recorded the album in Worm Hole Studios, the studio Dan built that follows him around the world changing form as to where it is based e.g. a third world country or Frome in Somerset. Dan introduced Nick Page/Dubulah to the musicians and friends he had met and worked with whilst living there for 3 years who also feature on this album, as do many other Ethiopians including Mamoud Ahmed.
Invisible System played at the Ethiopian Music Festival, Addis Ababa last year and plan to do the same in 2009 if funding comes back around. We also hope to play some festivals such as Womad if it comes together and visas etc are sorted and we get booked. Also we have been playing live in the UK with Dennis Wint (Jamaican born singer from the UK reggae band The Rhythmites) on vocals. We played last year on the main stage, Endorset Festival as well as supporting Dreadzone with Dennis on vocals. We are talking about supporting Zion Train, The Ozric Tentacles etc as well as playing independently at some festivals and venues.
Reviews:
A recent review wrote : http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18360
Posted on Tuesday 20 May 2008 - 06:27
Congratulations to the organizers of the 7th Ethiopian Music Festival, which was a resounding success and brought great sounds to Addis Abeba. The only show I caught, due to overload, was Dan Harper. His work is astounding, bringing together house/techno beats both slow and fast with beautiful Ethiopian singers singing traditional songs and melodies to ride over his beats. World fusion taken to another level and maybe another musical revolution in the making? Definitely a memorable night.
More reviews to come as they are written
As well as the current Ethiopian fusion we have another release with Dennis Wint, singer from the UK reggae band The Rhythmites on vocals. We are playing out live so look out for us at clubs and festivals and check the websites for info. We have been playing the Endorset Festival mainstage and with Dreadzone to date. Another purely traditional Ethiopian album is also due for release alongside a remix album featuring e.g. Baka Beyond, Zion Train, Jesus Jones, Inverse Gravity Vehicle (Joie Hinton of Eat Static / Ozric Tentacles), Ozric Tentacles, Power Steppers (Molara & Colin ex-Zion Train) etc.
The albums were improvised, from scratch - all instruments and vocals.
Improvisation was a largely new concept to most of the Ethiopian
counterparts (previously told what or how to play or sing). Dan just went
from go with your feelings and express them as Dan had done. The results were stunning both for them and for us. We are not into using Ethiopian (or Malian) samples or trying to quickly learn and imitate Ethiopian musicians who have their sounds, modes, scales, feelings and soul from their culture and country else we would be the neo-colonialists. We are into sharing, learning and exchange over time.
Dan spent 3 years in Addis Ababa not 3 weeks, living, working and existing
there. Aid working all around the country, producing music based in Addis. He Met people from all walks of life. The music is based on real life experience not from reading. It is played from the heart and soul of everyone involved. Their own interpretation thus tapping the ebbs and flows of our lives.
Label Profile:
Harper Diabate Records was started in 2008 following the creation of Harper Diabate Microphones in 2007. The label is based in the creative town of Frome, Somerset with founded links to Ethiopia and Mali, Africa. Our aims are to bring innovative, original, underground world, rock, psychedelic, funk, electronic, rnb, trance, drum and bass, dance, dub fusion music with a message consciousness and positive energy to the world whilst being full on in force and amplitude. We also work in international development and the founder has been very involved in African aid work spending 4 years in Mali and 4 years in Ethiopia. We work towards musical and cultural exchanges between our countries of residence.
Sales Notes, New Album:
Invisible System present a 12 track fusion album of Ethiopian, Dub, Dance,
Rock, Drum & Bass, Psychedelia, Trance, Electronica & live music.
Traditional vocals / instruments meet the modern, electronic and brass.
Live Europeans meet live Ethiopians. Our guests include:
Mamoud Ahmed & Bahta Gebrehiwot (Ethiopiques)
Hilaire Shabby (Baba Maal)
Justin Adams (Robert Plant & Strange Sensation, ex Jah Wobble's Invaders)
Tsedenia, Mimi, Tarmeg & Sami (Ethiopians since this album signed to
Realworld Records)
Joie Hinton (ex-Eat Static & Ozric Tentacles / Here and Now / IGV)
Martin Cradick (Baka Beyond/ex-Outback)
Captain Sensible (The Damned)
Ed Wynne (Ozric Tentacles / Noden Inctus)
Simon Hinkler (ex-The Mission)
Dubulah (ex-Transglobal Underground, Temple of Sound, Natasha Atlas etc)
Perch (Zion Train)
Juldeh (Justin Adams, Realworld etc)
Elmer Thudd (ex-Loop Guru)
Gary Woodhouse (The Rhythmites)
Bos (ex-Junk Waffle and Warp Graf/Eat Static Artist)
harperdiabate.com also invisiblesystem is on myspace and facebook
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