REVIEWS:

Electronic Musician Magazine
"Recording the chillout jazz of the World Wide Groove Corporation.

If you're a fan of the meditative side of jazz — sometimes known as “cool” — that Miles Davis pioneered and Nina Simone and Alice Coltrane expanded on, and you're open to getting your beats buttered on the down-tempo funky side, then chillout music might be for you. That, in a nutshell, is the intuitive leap that led the production team of Ellen Tift and Kurt Goebel, aka Worldwide Groove Corporation, to start building tracks for what became their latest album, Chillodesiac Lounge Vol. 1: Fever (Fabulation, 2007).
CD cover

Chillodesiac Lounge Vol. 1: Fever

“We were actually at a release party for one of the Verve Remixed CDs,” Tift recalls, referring to the eminent jazz label's raid-the-vault series. “I love the idea in theory, but I felt like they didn't really follow through on the atmosphere that those original sounds were creating. That's when it dawned on us that we should just do chillout versions of jazz standards. Even for an audience that's unfamiliar with what's called chillout, if they think it's cool the way we've taken ‘My Funny Valentine’ and reworked it, then that's what we're after.”

Using Propellerhead Reason, Apple Logic, and her trusty Roland JX8P synth as a controller, Tift began experimenting with arrangements for “My Funny Valentine,” the Rodgers and Hart classic, eventually settling on a stripped-down bass line and a Spectrasonics Stylus RMX-generated drum pattern. From there, Goebel added processed keyboards and liquefied sonic textures, including a pitched-down flute sample. Tift sang the breathy lead vocal, availing herself of the song's natural melodic changes to capture its melancholy mood.

“There's a fine line between chillout and smooth jazz,” she explains, “and we didn't want to get into smooth jazz at all. So we had to figure out how melodies like these — which are very chromatic and happen over these really rich harmonic progressions — could fit over a simple harmonic plateau.”

The solution, as Goebel describes it, was to arrange and mix the track — as well as the rest of Chillodesiac Lounge — with an ear toward the lush, psychedelic, and stereo-active soundscapes and rhythms that have been the lifeblood of down-tempo music from early Massive Attack to the latest Thievery Corporation. “It comes down to the way we arrange a song and then treat it with effects,” he says, “but it's also in the beat library we've built up over the years using Reason and Stylus RMX and old hip-hop drum sounds — the dirtier the better. We go for lo-fi loops, and when those don't have quite enough punch on the bottom, we just layer in a kick. So usually we put it in Ableton Live to get the right tempo, and then I bounce it into Logic to double the kicks and snares if I need to.”

Although the album's title track, with its live-sounding rhythm section, leans more toward the organic, signal processing played a key role. Lead singer Missi Hale's vocal went through the Super CamelPhat effects plug-in for EQ scooping and simulated tape delay, while the piano was recorded, resampled, and run through Live's Auto Filter with some added ping-pong delay. Overall, “Fever” evokes a sultry, simmering club mood.

“It's easy to just throw up a synth pad and a drum loop for five minutes and call it chillout,” Goebel says when asked about the four years of meticulous studio work that went into the making of the album. “We really wanted to craft a cool sonic experience.”"

ProperlyChilled.com
" Often regarded as electronica's little girl, lounge music is instead like the savvy child that rapidly learns that indoors is where they get the most attention. That's why chilled-out numbers are best enjoyed with a glass of champagne and not with a cup of instantly-brewed coffee to go. Beverage metaphors aside, lounge music is the comfy armchair in every living room.
Tracks: Play AllWith that said, there seems to be no better way to celebrate lounge music than to put out a record that is celebratory without being too exhaustive. "Chillodesiac Lounge Vol. 1: Fever" is a collection of hand-picked tracks that manage to defy gravity in their disorienting, smoky-voiced output. And while doing so, "The Man I Love" and "Tangerine", the first two tracks, also set the mood for the drink-pouring that will most definitely follow.

Fittingly subtitled "Fever", production duo Worldwide Groove Corporation's debut album infuses various jazz standards with groovy new finesse. Based around chunky beats that take any passionate heart to a cushion, "Besame Mucho" is revisited in little breaths of air that pamper the ear. On the other hand, "Mas Que Nada", featuring Kenya Evelyn, Melinda Doolittle, and Missi Hale, now sounds so urgent it's like tropicalia rules the world.

The prelude to what will certainly become a fulfilling career is designed to be sipped and not taken by a huge, single bite. And it comes with what critics call the international appeal, as it features lyrics in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. Speaking of which, "Midnight in Venice" will take you on a gondola across the city's renowned channels.

The track is one of the four originals included on the album, the others being the stripped-down "Smoke & Mirrors", the fleshed-out "Mimosa", and the naively romantic "You Still Give Me Butterflies". With tracks that, after the first half, seem to flow seamlessly into each other, the record bows out on a high note with two fat remixes that will make you forget all those new age records.

~ Helder Gomes"

SOUNDRADIUS

So the best downtempo music for April 2007 comes from ... wait for it ... Nashville! Is that wacked or what? I've spent time in Nashville. And I love it. But when I think of the Nashville music scene, chillout is not what comes to mind.

But that is exactly what Ellen Tift and Kurt Goebel [aka: Worldwide Groove Corporation] offer on their first independent musical endeavor, Chillodesiac Lounge Vol. 1: Fever. Some might say they are misplaced in the Music City, but this music production team has recently emerged as one of the main attractions for downtempo in town. Both members have hired out their skills at music production, programming, and arranging to others in the industry for years, but they have finally taken initiative to do something for themselves.

It may be the first date for Worldwide Groove Corporation, but I think they might get some. Chillodesiac Lounge Vol. 1: Fever is a very snesual and swank chillout project featuring ageless jazz standards completely reinvented. On Fever, soft, smooth, sultry vocals combine with layered drum grooves, ambient textures, and electronica flavors to produce a wonderfully sensual experience that will nicely compliment any Martini or intimate encounter.

The album basks in the strength of standards like "Tangerine”,“The Man I Love”, “My Funny Valentine”, and of course the title track "Fever." But it's all new takes on the old themes. The vocals have been re-recorded and re-interpreted and feature the likes of Melinda Doolittle [American Idol], Jennifer Paige [“Crush” - uncredited due to contractual restraints], and Fleming McWilliams of Fleming & John [formerly on Capital Records].

Everything combines to make Chillodesiac Lounge Vol 1: Fever easily approachable and enjoyable the first time you listen to it, but what really makes this project hot is that it doesn't get boring upon repeated exposure. The production is smart, sophisticated and subtle. Every time I listen, I hear something new.
Worldwide Groove Corporation will be playing on SoundRadius and my MP3 player for a long time. It should be on yours too. Check out Fever here: www.chillodesiaclounge.com

SUBSONIC TEMPLE

Can a chilled album be hot? The debut album from Worldwide Groove Corporation certainly is!

Chillodesiac Lounge: Fever presents a new face on some classic tunes. In this age of "make-overs" some people may groan at the thought of their favorite jazz classics being "re-worked", however Worldwide Groove Corporation does this with style and energy that brings new life into these timeless songs.

One of my favorite tracks is "Angel Eyes" which has such an unrelenting fat groove and silky delivery by vocalist Ingrid DuMosch who also nails the opening track "The Man I Love".

This is an international lounge album with many different languages being represented and all are infectious with deep sensual downtempo vibes that may cause you to lose your sense of time and place. The international flavor of this album as well as it tight production may cause you to wonder "Where are these guys from?"

Suprisingly Worldwide Groove Corporation arises out of Nashville Tennesse. The creation of Ellen Tift and Kurt Goebel, Worldwide Groove Corporation is certainly breaking ground in a city more notably known for its country music offerings. However, Worldwide Groove Corporation is no overnight sensation. While this their first independent release Ellen & Kurt have been active in the music industry for some time working as producers on a wide range of music projects.

World Groove Corporation clearly demonstrates their ability to deliver cool downtempo \ lounge grooves. While there are four original tracks on this outstanding album I am hoping to hear more original music from them in the future as they are very capable of having a strong lasting presence in this genre.

Look for this hot album release this month!

UNSOLICITED FEEDBACK:

“...infectious with deep sensual downtempo vibes that may cause you to lose your sense of time and place.” Subsonic Temple

“...as good as it gets in our world of music - I do not say this lightly.” Groovera Radio

“...an amazing project...” Jim Snowden, JAZZIZ

“Besame Mucho is smokin’ hot!” DJ Jazzy Lounge

“Who's bringing sexy back? Watch out JT. You have competition!...” Soundradius

“A true benchmark for the genre!” GXR Music

“The production is smart, sophisticated and subtle. Every time I listen, I hear something new.” Soundradius

NEWS COMING SOON...