Album Notes

Elkano Browning Cream is synonymous with hypnotic and contagious rhythms and a sound that evokes
memories of the great Hammond Organ Trios from the glory years of Blue Note Records, personalized
and realized through the filter of the nomadic and multicultural members of the trio. The project is headed
up by Basque Mikel Azpiroz (Fermin Muguruza, Australian super band The Waifs…), an expert of all
types of keyboard instruments, concentrates his energies in the basic Hammond Organ Trio format,
focusing the musical essence in the direction of pure groove: Danceable Rhythms. To that end he enlists
the exotic and virtuosic drumming of Parisian Franck Mantegari (Alpha Blondy, Saint Germain, Massive
Attack...) and the melodic cadence of North American guitarist/singer Matt Harding who has garnered the
praises of Blues masters such as John Lee Hooker and Taj Mahal.
After meeting in 2005 and sharing stages throughout the Western USA, these three musicians embarked
on a journey to the “Cotton Club” in Shanghai, China where they recorded their first CD together. The
self-titled Elkano Browning Cream (Mamusik, 2006) is an exotic collection of elegant grooves and
sophisticated melodies which tastefully fuse Western musical roots with African, Latin, and Oriental
influences.
Continuing with the musical trip, Elkano Browning Cream announces their second album, Elkano
Browning Cream 2, emphasizing more than ever the hypnotic side of groove and demonstrating an
eclecticism that showcases the beauty encountered amidst variety. Sugaar, the CD's first track, opens
with the eerie voice of Mikel Laboa, (an innovative Basque singer who is also one of Azpiroz's first and
most important musical references) provoking torment through the echoes of a psycho Ska/Pasodoble
accompanied by pounding djembe and aqueous Hammond organ. The words of Uganda-born poet Jimmy
Kayihura poignantly denounce the suffering of “big beautiful eyes” in the urban World State. Harding's
hooky Country guitar riff transforms into an African groove in the catchy Yodi. Australian band The
Waifs lend their voices to the heavy jungle-blues vibe of Osito Blues. Serpentine Oriental scales are
married to a bossa nova beat in Far East Sweet. The optimistic Herb Tree, co-written by Harding and
Jamaican musician/Brooklyn-New York street prophet, Tony Ebanks, conveys a "Legalize It" (a la Peter
Tosh) message. Preston Foster's I Got My Mojo Working, popularized by Muddy Waters, is revisited
with a syrupy tempo that transmits the songs energy in tantric fashion until it explodes in the choruses,
again joined by the voices of The Waifs. Morgan slides in spirals of playful Latin Jazz. Euphoria
unleashed polyrhythmic ceremonial force. Finishing off the second album of Elkano Browning Cream,
Osito Bossa mixes bossa nova with drum and bass.
Elkano Browning Cream:
Matt Harding (New York): guitar, vocals
Franck Mantegari (Paris): drumas, percussion
Mikel Azpiroz (Donostia-): Hammond B3, rhodes, wurlitzer, synths