| The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, TKDE, TMFDC |
| Origin | Rotterdam, Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Genres | Dark Ambient, Dark Jazz, Jazz, Future Jazz, Downtempo, Drone Doom, Doom Metal, Experimental |
| Years active | 2000 - 2013 (Kilimanjaro) 2005 - 2013 (Mount Fuji) |
| Labels | Planet Mu, Ad Noiseam, Denovali, Parallel Corners, Roadburn Records |
| Associated acts | The Thing With Five Eyes, Bong-Ra, Telcosystems, Sand, 78 RPM, Chrome Hoof, Kobayashi Ensemble, Blue Roses, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, The Barton Workshop, Headcollision, Band of Holy Joy, Glowstyx, Killahman Machine, Pagan Bacchus, Porcelain Minotaurs, The Goat Of Mendes, White Darkness, daswirdas, Elastic Jargon, POW Ensemble |
| Website | TKDE |
The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble was a Dutch experimental jazz project, formed in 2000. Founded in Utrecht, Netherlands by Jason Köhnen and Gideon Kiers and billed as a "dark jazz" group, this collective would experiment heavily with noir film inspired jazz as it's nucleus, working in elements of dark ambient, IDM, trip hop and doom metal. Through the main collective's run the band composed four studio albums and a host of extended plays & singles in their main outfit.
Also of note is the band's live alter-ego known as The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation which featured the same lineup but the sounds being purely based in drone and improvisation with a host of different guests and collaborators.
The name represents three meanings according to their website: The Kilimanjaro : extinct volcano in Northern Tanzania, the highest peak in Africa. Darkjazz : mysterious, black in shade, liveliness, spirit, excitement. Ensemble : all the parts of a thing taken together, so that each part is considered only in relation to the whole.
History[]
The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble (TKDE) formed in 2000 as a project to compose new music for existing silent movies. Jason Köhnen (aka Bong-Ra) and Gideon Kiers (Telcosystems), both graduates of the Utrecht School of Arts, combined their audio and visual skills to reinterpret classic movies by F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu) and F. Lang (Metropolis). Eventually more members would join this Ensemble as the members would move from their respective countries to congregate to the Netherlands as parts of this project, the first of which being trombonist Hilary Jeffrey (From the UK) and cellist Nina Hitz (From Sweden) to help with recording the band's debut album.
The band's eponymous self-titled album saw it's release on 24 April 2006, along with a free single of the band's interpretation of "Patra" by Saint Vitus. Along with Bong-ra the band would begin their first ever tour in November 2006 with Eelco Bosman and vocalist Charlotta Cegarra (From Paris, France) joining the group. In early 2007 a different variation of the group would form in The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, this project's debut show in February 2007 in Amsterdam, later released as Doomjazz Future Corpses! on 5 June 2007. Violinist Sadie Anderson (From London, England) would join the main collective in 2008.
2009 would see a Doomjazz live interpretation of Jess Franco's Succubus on 15 January with a release that June while the Darkjazz released Here Be Dragons on 15 October 2009 to critical praise. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble would tour Europe that November and December. 2010 would see both incarnations at various festivals and the Darkjazz touring the Netherlands and Germany that fall, in between preparing other releases.
2011 saw two releases by the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Emsemble: A studio release entitled From The Stairwell on 7 March 2011 and a "best-of" in the form of I Foresee The Dark Ahead, If I Stay. The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation would release a nearly hour-long drone piece entitled Anthropomorphic the same year. In regards to touring the Darkjazz Ensemble would tour Europe in April 2011 to support From The Stairwell while the Doomjazz Corporation would also perform on many of the dates. A special set on 11/11/11 happened at Gagarin 205 in Athens to close out the year.
The Doomjazz Corporation would release a Moscow live performance from the previous year in the form of Erop (Egor) on 1 April 2012. The Doomjazz Corporation would also make an appearance at Roadburn Festival that month (With the recording being released on 26 March 2013 via Roadburn Records). The Darkjazz Ensemble would release an EP in Xtabay on 8 October 2012 while both groups toured Europe that fall, then touring again that next April and May, with the Doomjazz Corporation making appearances in Poland that August and the Darkjazz Ensemble making a last known appearance at Denovali Swingfest in Essen.
While not officially announced by either group, both incarnations were disbanded by 2014 as indicated by Köhnen on the Facebook page of his new project The Thing With Five Eyes, also billed as a Darkjazz project.[1]
Discography[]
The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble: Studio Albums[]
- The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble (2006, Planet Mu)
- Here Be Dragons (2009, Ad Noiseam)
- From The Stairwell (2011, Denovali)
The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble: Misc. Releases[]
- Adaptation of Saint Vitus "Patra" (Single) (2006, Parallel Corners)
- Black Wing Butterfly / Goya (Single) (2007, Parallel Corners)
- Palace of The Tiger Women (Split with Kava Kon) (2009, Parallel Corners)
- Mutations (Remix EP) (2009, Ad Noiseam)
- Bird's Lament - Tribute to Moondog (Single) (2009, Parallel Corners)
- Dark Night Of The Soul (Single) (2010, Parallel Corners)
- * I Foresee The Dark Ahead, If I Stay (Coompilation) (2011, Parallel Corners)
- Xtabay (Extended Play) (2012, Parallel Corners)
The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation[]
- Doomjazz Future Corpses! (2007, Ad Noiseam)
- Succubus (2009, Ad Noiseam)
- Anthropomorphic (2011, Denovali)
- Erop (Egor) (2012, Denovali)
- Live At Roadburn (2013, Roadburn Records)
Members[]
NOTE: This was the lineup for the main ensemble, excluding guests and collaborators
- Charlotte Cegarra (2007 – 2014)
- Eelco Bosman (2007 – 2014)
- Gideon Kiers (2000 – 2014)
- Hilary Jeffery (2004 – 2014)
- Jason Köhnen (2000 – 2014)
- Nina Hitz (2004 – 2014)
- Sarah Anderson (2008 – 2014)