Club des Belugas
Club des Belugas is one of the leading lounge & nu jazz projects in Germany, perhaps in Europe. They combine contemporary European lounge & nu jazz styles with Brazilian beats and American black soul of the fifties, sixties and seventies, using their unique creativity and intensity.
Main members are Maxim Illion & Kitty the Bill, with such exquisite guests as the Californian jazz lady Brenda Boykin, trumpeter Reiner Winterschladen (Nighthawks), Swedish singer Anna Luca, London-based jazz singer Iain Mackenzie, Anne Schnell from Jojo Effect, Dean Bowman from New York and trumpet player Thomas Siffling.
Club des Belugas started their career in 2002 with their first album Caviar at 3 A.M.. In 2003 they released their second album Minority Tunes, which included the German club charts No.1 hits Hiphip Chinchin and Gadda Rio.
In 2006 Club des Belugas enriched the world of music with a real masterpiece called Apricoo Soul. The 12" vinyl Wildcats Gotta Move reached German club charts No. 3 and stayed in the Top Ten for 8 weeks in March & April 2006. The album included Club des Belugas' remix of Dean Martin's Mambo Italiano and was the first worldwide legal remix of any Dean Martin track, authorized by Capitol / EMI and the Dean Martin Family themselves.
Club des Belugas tracks have been licensed for compilations more than 220 times. They have also been licensed for advertisements and TV commercials from many companies. The album Apricoo Soul was chosen for "Best CD of the Year" in 2006 by Shirokko Musik.
In 2008 Club des Belugas released Swop (wordplay from swing and pop) which again won "Best CD of the Year". This time the stress is more on jazz, less on electronics with use of interesting samples, and featuring vocalists Dean Bowman, Iain Mackenzie, Anna Luca, and Brenda Boykin.
Releases
Audio
Early Daiquiris
Forward
Gadda Rio
Let's Go
Mambo Italiano
Second Sight
Seven Chills
Skip To The Bip
[Funky Mix]
Some Like It Hot
The Rebirth Of The Fat Lola
Un Grao De Areia