From the Sprezzatura Department Vol. 10

We’re not big on nostalgia, but we are big on unearthing hidden pearls that merits attention because of sheer stylish artistry. We could be talking about the absolutely sublime yet soul shaking 100% Roussanne bottling of white Crozes-Hermitage “Kaolin” from very very stylish Domaine Delhome, produced in miniscule volumes. But we’re not.

A bit overlooked since its release in November 2019, however, is the album ”Kino Music” by French Impresario/Composer Pierre Daven-Keller, which indeed is such a pearl that rightfully needs to be found for its well-crafted elegance. It’s a seamless collage of cinematic musical pictures, as the title implies, woven together through breezy arrangements and light harmonies, but without being posing or sticky. The album draws heavily from an unmistakably European easy listening/chanson tradition of the -60s and -70s.

Invoking imagery of Aston Martins in British Racing green filled with shawl clad women in Yves Saint-Laurent shades hurrying down to the Riviera or Portofino for an important evening cocktail party.

Polished and flawless, as it is, could have made the album hollow and easy to forget. But Dk (as he refers to) is equipped with not just a sense of direction and musicality to prevent it from becoming an all-surface product, but also his careful attention to detail elevates his works to something more than a “look-what-I-can-do” project.

One such detail is the choice of collaborators, though not many. To prove our point, we recommend you invest 4 minutes and 20 seconds in the video for ”La Fiancée de l’Atome” where album guest Helena Noguerra, softly scats a no-words “lullaby” to Daven-Keller’s piano, surrounded and lifted by unassuming strings. All caught in the crisp but muted photo courtesy of Thierry Goron.

And yes, all you discerning disco-heads will know that Helena also sang on Dimitri from Paris’s bossa-monster “Toi mon auto” from his notoriously elusive and iconic 2003 album “Cruising Attitude”. Noguerra is of course an accomplished actress/singer in her own right, but unintentionally links Daven-Kellers 2019 album with DFPs 2003 dito through her appearance on both. “Tattoo Totem” on Kino Music for instance, could well have been a Dimitri instalment, accentuating the apparent kinship between the albums. As one of the most influential Djs/producers on the global scene for the last 20 years, relentlessly reworking and shining the light on the true potential of the broad musical spectrum loosely defined as “disco”, Dimitri from Paris should of course have his own focus here, but meanwhile, If you didn’t already know, DFP is gracing Jacy’z Hotel and their Big Stage, 11 November with a not-to-miss intimate set DFP @ JACY’Z