Hear The Track Here
As you know I am a creature of habit, usually bad ones. One of my worst habits is hanging around the chatroom during Mike-K's (as in Kohlgraf yes,sheesh) blockbusting Saturday Night Rocks radio show on Mixposure, making a nuisance of myself and generally behaving disgracefully. Due to a plethora of computer problems I haven't been over there in a few weeks so with that guilt foremost in my mind, let's turn our attention to what Mike does most; ie being a musician. Like a lot of people who spend time building things, Mike suffers from being better known as a DJ than as a musician, a position I recognise and sympathise with. None of which stops Mike from churning out his tracks which is as it should be but sometimes, just sometimes, I like to see people like this get the credit that they deserve, Yeah, in a perfect world right? So let's have some fun and carve Kohlgraf a whole new butt!!(sigh) OK, let's not.
Actually shouldn't joke about doing physical injury to the guy, he's been doing that pretty much solo over the last year or so. He's busted his arm once, his leg and probably something else I've forgotten but he does seem to have been in the wars. Now while I don't particularly like the smoother end of the musical spectrum that Mike inhabits, I certainly wouldn't beat him up about it, at least not by much. fact is, as much as I hate to admit it, Mike Kohlgraf is a class act, especially if smooth happens to be your music of choice. What he has done over the past couple of years IMHO is to bring his guitar work up to the standard of his arrangement and production and truth to tell, that has been a bit of a revelation. Mind you, he's been backed by some pretty awesome musicians in the past few releases and this track is no different, featuring the talents of Jim Easton (also on guitar).
On KE-Nova Mike shows us that not only does he know the words bossa nova, but he knows what it means musically because - above all - that lazy, but insistent rhythm is at the heart of this (essentially) guitar instrumental. This is the sort of music you will find playing in some of the finer spots in the world, so I guess in one way Mike has this deal sold. On the other hand, people like me are never going to fully like something soooo unbelievably smooth, but that doesn't stop me from recognising when someone is doing it right and Mike Kohlgraf has been doing that for a long time now. Funnily enough, the reason that I ended up really liking this track was BECAUSE of it's incredible Latin feel - and that's from ALL the instruments, not just the guitar.
Excellent bossa nova from Mr Smooth. Highly Recommended.
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