(Downtempo/Drumfunk/Acid Jazz) FanuSamurai - Focused Mind LP - 2006 (tracks), VBR 192-320 kbps

Artist........: FanuSamurai
Title.........: Focused Minds LP (PAUZE002)
Genre.........: Lo-Fi
Rlz date......: 2006-12-19
Welcome a new face amongst Finland's finest, Janne Hatula
aka Fanu Samurai, whose debut artist album Focused Mind on
UK's Pauze Recordings has generated excitement in the global
D&B scene for over a year. In Focused Mind, Hatula, whose
D&B moniker is Fanu, presents twelve soulful D&B and down
tempo tracks distinguished by their depth of atmosphere and
breadth of imagination. It's a tour de force of magical
vision revealed in spacious clarity and finely constructed
dreamy, nuanced detail.
Sometimes listening to "Focused Mind" one could be fooled
into hearing a classy modern jazz band with live drums,
bass, keyboards and horn. But for all the jazziness, says
Hatula,
"I know absolutely nothing about jazz. Jazz has never
appealed to me strongly. Maybe I just haven't heard the
right type of jazz."
But how does he create complex beats that sound like a
drummer on a trap set, or bass that sounds improvised live
on an upright bass? Hatula replies,
"I can't play any instrument. I take great pride in writing
my beats with a lot of attention, though. I try to make the
drums sound as real as I can. I suppose that's one of the
trademarks of my music, alongside the emotional content. I
like it organic. Most electronic music I like sounds organic
and that's what I'm trying to achieve. About breakbeats,
I've always had a massive love for good breaks. Can't get
enough. God bless the breaks!"
"It took me around one year to write 'Focused Mind,' he
says. "I put so much work into it. Creating timeless music
is my goal. I think the entire album is timeless so I'm
proud about that. It contains a huge load of emotional
content and it was a long journey, so I'm simply proud other
people will finally get to hear it and hopefully find in it
something they can relate to. And it's my first album so I'm
proud about that!"