Limitation: 1000 copies
FLAC/CUE - HQCOVERSET - 371MB

Just when you don't expect it, the unexpected arrives and this time, what an unexpected pleasure to see a new Koolfang release over 10 years after the Koolfang I and Koolfang II albums. While Koolfang I and Koolfang II have always been looked at as a bit unusual by FAX purists, these two albums were always among my favourite FAX releases. The mix of jazz, guitars, warm sound, melody and David Moufang's infectous touch offered me countless hours of listening pleasure, be it at night on the sofa, while programming or especially while driving alone & preferably very fast on a german highways where it works extremely well for me.

You can as such image my impatience when opening the package from CUE with Koolfang III. Start Koolfang III and it's immediately clear with the first track "Be aware" that this is again a bit of unusual FAX album. "Be aware" features soft beats (reminding me a bit of mid eighties LooseEnds sounds), jazzy melody and has a quite erotic sensual feel all over it and male narrating vocals (David or Pete?). After this smooth start, Koolfang III shifts sounds to more Detroit-styled minimal funky beat driven tech with "Don't be a spooner", but not for long, as the sensual mood of "Be aware" is back with "Fuerteventura", the place where dolphins come to make love the narrating vocals tell us. Soft & jazzy, guitars and whispered stories of loved ones looking into each other's eyes sitting at the beach, ... do you get the atmosphere of the 10 minute "Fuerteventura" track ? And just when you're fully chilled away, Jeanne brings in the rythm again with perhaps the most Koolfang I or II sounding track of the album. 12 minutes of moody beats with melancholic moogy synth sounds. In case you already started seeing a pattern here, yes, track 5 "All the motions" is all softness again with soft humming vocals on chilly soft jazzy beats. Finally there is the 14 minute track "Here comes the rain". This time, the sparse vocals here and there have been run through a vocoder on perhaps the best jazzy/ambient track of the album. Very long whirling moogy synth sounds create a fantastic melancholic ambience during this 14 minute pure chillout music. It feels almost as if over 10 years are insignificant in the Koolfang tradition.

If you liked Koolfang I and Koolfang II, this third incarnation is a very nice addition to the series. If you do not know the first releases, you'll for sure want to listen to these too if you like Koolfang III. In short, rush to the record shop for Koolfang III and to Ebay for the first two editions. This music is going to offer you many many satisfying listening hours!