Wine4Melomanes on BBE Music
musical winesWhat is Wine4Melomanes?
Well, Wine4Melomanes is the poetic art of matching a wine or a spirit with a piece of music produced in the same year.
How?
Simply by playing on the complexity, sensuality, liveliness of a drink and the harmony, arrangements, voice, orchestration, rhythm and melody of a song.
How did that come to me?
Well, quite naturally, being passionate about music and wine, my two passions mixed together.
“to delight one responding to the other by amplifying the sensations and pleasure of a tasting” – my inspiration from the poetry of Baudelaire’s « Correspondances »
I got into the habit of choosing a bottle of wine in my cellar and looking through my record collection to see what music could match the tasting.
Then I thought maybe I could match the vintage of the bottles to the dates of the production and recording of the vinyl. So I began to look for the inspiration that a single year had for both wine producers and musicians.
How do I make my choice?
My choice is based on the style of beverage, its design, its presentation and its modern or classical realization, which will determine a contemporary musical composition, vintage or traditional, inspired by my dream-like wanderings around the more than 35 countries I’ve visited as a DJ or when traveling.
As a sommelier, the description of a wine or a spirit from my professional point of view will rely on the visual, olfactory and taste aspects.
These 3 determining parameters guide me precisely towards musical chords, following a concept I invented in the image of a conductor.
This fusion was born from my 2 professions: DJ producer (Fantômas records, Zimpala releases, Sexopolis – Dingo compilations) and sommelier editor (Sommeliers International magazine).
Over time, I have forged a real new reading of the sensations that can be discovered on the alliance of these two worlds, wine and music.
This unique and innovative approach to combining them fascinates me. I hope, through this compilation, to share my universe with others.
With my long-time partner DJ CAM, known internationally for his pioneering abstract hip-hop musical compositions with subtle poetic variations, his virtuoso use of machines and his fascination for acoustic jazz, we chose together to imagine this compilation by combining it with the adventure Wine4Melomanes.
Here are the compositions chosen for this sensory journey:
Side 1 vinyl:
1-Isabelle Mayereau « Jeux de Regards » 1977 – France (3mns24s)
I selected a French and Bordeaux artist to start the Wine4Melomanes adventure.
Simply because I love this artist, and because I myself live in Bordeaux, a place where wine-making is of major importance, and helped shape the beginnings of my concept.
This little-known guitarist had the fresh idea of composing this poetic marvel on her first album with pure « Gainsbourum » musical arrangements.
The feminine and sensual voice of the author guides me towards wine that will be floral and fruity, balanced with a fine structure.
The 1977 vintage in Bordeaux was very complicated due to the weather and very few estates were able to make a great vintage.
So I chose one of the few to have managed to overcome these obstacles, it is the vibrant Château Latour 1977 in Pauillac. This exceptional wine responds on this vintage to the qualities described in pairing.
2-Nemo « Jungle Jim » 1973 – France (7mns31s)
This second track, also performed by a French band created by François Bréant, is taken from their self-titled debut album.
This aerial pop rock walk, with a progressive, rhythmic guitar, accented with a Rhodes piano and a deep bass, merges with the voices of the musicians in a jazz-funk chorus.
The fiery complexity of this opus guides me to a 1973 Bas-Armagnac Delord to stay in France where that year again the weather was capricious.
This spirit is modelled by its aromatic power confit, spicy and rich taste (quince paste, prune, apricot, orange peel, tangerine, cedar, date, almond, nutmeg, cinnamon, white pepper and liquorice), jazz-rock arrangements with fine complexity and intoxicating Baudelairians.
3-Erik Tagg « Got to be Lovin’ You » 1977 – Netherlands (3mns26s)
This very sensual AOR composition contrasts with the style of the previous one.
The poetic cheerfulness of the adjusted white voice, playful choruses, rich musical arrangements between rock, funk, pop and West Coast jazz, guide me to a white wine with deep and persistent aromas (a set of white flowers, dried apricot, bark orange in complex equation).
It is like a great Burgundy such as that of Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüe in Musigny or Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 1977 or a Chassagne or Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru of the same vintage.
Side 2 vinyl:
4-Achim Kück & Friends « Wind » 1982 – Germany (6mns29s)
This opus with a captivating melody where the gripping brass, the subliminal female voices, the rhythmic progression supported by the jazz of the piano and the soprano sax emulsify a superb aerial musical fervour in the image of the wind! I chose a great champagne vintage for its ultra fine effervescence and its complex minerality that highlight the high-flying musical arrangements: this is Salon Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs 1982.
Alternatively, the vintage Champagnes Pol Roger cuvée Sir Winston Churchill or Krug Brut Vintage or Bollinger Extra Brut RD. are also great choices.
5-The Mike Nock Underground « Wax Planet » 1971 – Germany (4mns5s)
The timeless, chiselled cinematic music of the Germanic trio governed by the Rhodes keyboard, coupled with the funk bass riff and the modal-patterned rhythm, describes a fascinating atmosphere.
I chose a mineral white wine with gustatory tension that stretches over a hydrocarbon length such as the Riesling of the Estate of Trimbach Clos Ste Hune 1971 or that of Hugel & Fils.
One of these 2 fantastic vintages will perfect this mysterious musical universe.
6-Horace Silver – The L.A Modern String Orchestra « Scott Joplin » 1983 – United States (6ms11s)
The compositional arrangements are skilful and subtly adorned with gospel voices related to string instruments, playful trumpet, flute, timed rhythm and virtuoso piano played by Maestro Silver.
For the “Bacchic” chords with this composition, I chose an Oregon Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley of the Yamhill Valley Vineyards 1983, whose arrangements of the piece highlight the finesse, vivacity and harmonious maturity of the wine red with fresh black fruit, spicy and ash notes.
Side 3 vinyl:
7-Carmen Lundy « Have a Little Faith » 2016 – United States (2mns53s)
The vocal purity of the lead singer accompanied by the illustrious pianist Patrice Rushen and her jazz musicians draws a tasty melody in the image of a great sunny California vintage such as this superb red « blend grapes » (cabernet sauvignon, small verdot, merlot, cabernet franc): Joseph Phleps « Insignia » Napa Valley Estate of 2016.
This fresh haute couture wine with a nose of bitter cocoa powder, black berries and wildflowers, graphite and cedar wood combines with « bewitchment » for this fluid and sensual composition.
8-Embryo « Knast-funk » 1977 – Germany (5mns58)
The pop funk with sophisticated arrangements, supported by the Hammond organ unleashed with tropical marimba, thrives in accordance with this intense Alsatian Gewürztraminer, boasting exotic notes (pineapple, passion fruit, mango, kiwi), floral and spice: Domaine Hugel – Vendanges tardives for this 1977 vintage which was complicated due to the weather.
As an alternative to this vintage, I propose the Domains Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Eiswein or JJ Prunwener Sonnenuhr Eiswein or Kloster Eberbach Steinberger Riesling Eiswein.
9-Siegfried Kessler – Serge Bringolf « Sigi dance » 1983 – France (5ms18s)
To follow the previous in the exotic, this piece of jazz-fusion rhythm where the Moog, the electric or classical piano, tribal voices, claps panic until the apotheosis.
A lively solar style, with cheerfulness that guides me to a Dionysian choice in harmony, like this great red wine from the Rhone Valley of the Domaine de Beaucastel (Pierre Perrin) or Château Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-Pape from 1983.
The grape varieties of grenache, syrah, mourvèdre develop with great maturity, a bouquet of ripe black and red fruits, truffles, undergrowth, peppery spices, leather and wild animal sensation in the image of the arrangements of the chosen piece.
For the aficionados of style, fine oxidative notes will come to skate with delight, across this marriage of music and wine.
Side 4 vinyl:
10-Gustav Brom Orchestra « Calling up the Rain » 1976 – Czech Republic / Slovakia (5mns19s)
This extreme composition, orchestrated like suspense film music: afro funk rhythm, excited wah-wah guitar, Hammond organ supported by a copper ensemble, haunted male voice choirs, « echoy » with a great Tokaji Aszù Disznok 5 puntos 1976.
The tasting is ample and voluminous, then its length in the mouth combines the perfect balance of citrus marmalade, honey notes, apricot, smoke sensation, rye and spices, sits this legendary Hungarian nectar as the one destined for the Kings.
The three indigenous grape varieties (furmint, hurslevel, sorga muskot-ly) that make it a sweet white wine with an exceptional complexion, like the face that has not taken a wrinkle over time.
11-Frederic Rabold Crew « Ride On » 1975 – Germany (3mns25s)
The psychedelic and rhythmic funk jazz orchestration, with piercing brass, organ and electric keyboards, plus a vigorous trumpet solo and a sustained bass, concocts a chivalrous instrumental band in the image of the complexity of this great Germanic Riesling of Domaine Fritz Haag in 1975.
Produced on the Mosel River in Brauneberg, this is wine with exceptional longevity, characterised by powerful aromas of white flowers, citrus fruits, exotic fruits candied with honey, cooked apple, white pepper and ginger, expresses a structure with tense mineral vivacity.
12-Stan Kenton – His Orchestra « Samba de Haps » 1976 – United States (3mns52s)
The swing music, dense, coppery, with powerful instrumentation, rich and scathing evokes in Bacchic harmony, a spirit with similar qualities such as Cognac Lhéraud or Hine Grande Champagne of the same vintage.
The depth of the spicy aromas, the lively taste attack and the persistent rancio and bitter chocolate in length combine gracefully, in perfect contrast, with the sonic ardour of the piece.
13-Larry Rose Band « The Sand » 1978 – Netherlands (5mns17s)
The delicate instrumental melody superbly arranged whereby the male voice couples with the various sparkling brass and electric keyboards, draws a pure romantic poetry in the image of the tasting of a great Burgundy of the same vintage: Chablis Grand Cru Les Grenouilles 1978 from Domaine Louis Michel & Fils for example.
The minerality, the floral, fruity freshness and purity of chardonnay is reflected in music with equivalent attributes.
https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/dj-cam-fr-d-ric-beneix-present-wine4melomanes
https://www.bbemusic.com/downloads/wine4melomanes/
https://orcd.co/wine4melomanes
https://www.traxsource.com/title/1622032/dj-cam-and-frederic-beneix-present-wine4melomanes
Dig your wines and spirits here to trip with the Wine4Melomanes adventure, if you can’t find them in your local cellar / retailer but, u can also as well try some slightly different ones trusting recommendations of your favorite wine-keeper around your place :
https://www.closdesmillesimes.com
https://www.caves-legrand.com
https://lescavesdetaillevent.com/fr/
https://www.vintageandcie.com
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