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This eagerly anticipated third release from Vienna-based Aromabar is well worth the wait. ’Things Got To Change’ is everything you’d expect from a band who are quite happy being tough to categorise, but 100% real. ‘As soon as you totally embrace music, it becomes authentic, unpretentious and interesting at the same time’ explains musician-songwriter Roland Hackl on Aromabar’s original approach to music production.
Aromabar is all about creating authentic sounds versus manufactured radio fodder. With playful airiness, the coherent ensemble behind Aromabar combines electrified pop, digital folk and R&B into a neat, enjoyable package. Yes, there is often a shiny surface, but look out for the edgy kicks that are the essence of well-defined tracks, As Andreas Kinzl points out, ‘For each track to stand on its own is more crucial to us than on the second album. We experimented a lot to merge songwriting and production completely.’
For this latest album, Aromabar’s vocal line-up includes singer Karin Steger and guest vocalists Pollard Berrier, ’Big John’ Whitfield and Nappy G —a well-balanced group that easily shift gears between lower tempo love ballads to spicier social critiques. Singer/songwriter Pollard Berrier, originating from Denver, Colorado, adds something from home to the haunting ballads ’Calling’ and ’Nothing’s Wrong’. Nappy G, currently busting wide with ’Turntables on the Hudson’, and one of the most requested New Yorker rapper/DJs, performs alongside golden-voiced Karin Steger on ’My Conclusion’ and ’Desire’. And keeping it real with some old skool Soul flavour is ’Big John’ Whitfield on ’The Message’ and ’Rise Up’.
With ’Things Gotta Change’, Aromabar have come of age in a positive way, building on their strengths--a stunning mastery of instruments and styles-- to present us with their own unique musical language. Moments of delirious, even casual dreaminess, highlight what this talented group excel in —a solid knowledge of musical history and an instinctive talent for mixing musical styles.
Aromabar history
Aromabar started in 1998 with a concept of elegant, club-compatible music that would be more than simply the addition of its components. A few months later Roland Hackl and Andreas Kinzl gave their debut as Aromabar with the track ’Telephone’ on the INFRACom-compilation ’Fast Forward’ and entered immediately into the playlists Coldcut’s and Rocker Hifi.
On the following 12” ’Where’s Your Moon/Space Patrol’ Karin Steger appeared for the first time as vocalist, joining the band to this very day.
Aromabar’s debut album ’1’ was a moment of surprise, flashing new talents from late nineties’ Vienna. Aromabar added beguiling charms and contemplating pop poses to the lazy beats of the Vienna Lounge & Downtempo School. The results sounded like an antipole to the legions of stoned groove sounds of the era.
Aromabar soon attracted international attention, as their video ‘Little Brother’ was aired on VIVA and MTV in rotation; ’Winter Pageant’ licensed for ’Café del Mar 7’ was playing in nearly every lounge bar between Ibiza and New York. Feedback still comes in today, tells Karin Steger: ’It’s so nice to see that our music reaches people of completely different backgrounds, inspiring them to do their own interpretation’. The cover versions of ’Winter Pageant’ reach from the Dutch progressive house mix to the Philippine Drum’n Bass version.
In the summer of 2000 the single ’Sweetness of Joy’ reached the top of the German club charts; in the same year ’Sparkling Beauty’ surprisingly made it to the No. 2-posititon at the MTV-I-Clip Awards.
Aromabar’s second long player ’Milk & Honey’ consequently left the club/lounge niche, bringing people closer to Aromabar’s definition of ’Popcouture’: music that works in the club context as well as in the relaxed atmosphere of a private living room.
To date, Aromabar have released two full-length albums, 20 singles and a host of remixes for other artists. Their tracks have been licensed to more than 100 compilation albums worldwide.
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