"Keep an eye on them, they're going places" says Gilles Peterson. Talk Less Listen More, the debut album from the Finnish 6 piece outfit finally gets a worldwide release. Quintessence, a heavily requested favourite on his BBC Radio 1 World Wide show, and Gilles goes on to explain one of the first paid jobs he had was with John Peel on a Finnish radio station, Radio Mafia, where he had become intrigued and aware of the cutting edge music coming out in Finland, the smallest country in Scandinavia. Indeed, Quintessence's unique mixture of nu soul, jazz, funk and Scandinavian cool, form part of a group of Finnish acts that are reinvigorating Finland's reputation for producing great cutting edge sounds. This instant classic takes the Quintessence formula to a new level of deepness.
Quintessence began their life as a jazzy drum 'n' bass trio, then moved into jazzy hip-hop. Having proved successful in the band's native Finland, Talk Less Listen More now sees its debut worldwide re release, only ever been available through Finland and a handful of independent shops throughout the globe, we are happy to offer you this excellent soulful and extremely sensible debut album.
With new liveband versions of the four tracks featured on the 'White light' EP on the legendary Dorada, the album showcases Quintessence's fine production and song-writing ability as well as demonstrating influences as diverse as D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Common, The Roots (for whom they opened for at one of Europe's biggest festivals), Prince, Bacharach, Miles Davis and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Their unique mixture of nusoul, jazz, funk and Scandinavian cool found its way into the hearts, ears and record collections of music lovers and critics alike. Through extensive touring, their fan base has grown even stronger, as Quintessence is now known as one of the Finland's coolest, yet grooviest live bands. In addition to clubs they have performed at numerous rock and jazz festivals. They opened for The Roots on the main stage of the Finland's biggest jazz festival, Pori Jazz, in 2003. They have also played gigs in Estonia, Norway and the Netherlands and so on.
Texcalli records is a sister label of the fantabulous and already legendary Jupiter records that is causing such a stir these days. Be forewarned, there is plenty more to come very soon including the new Quintessence album 5am. So guys, chill out with the Quintessence! Young generation jazz musicians that create a moody as well as groovy sound. On top floats the ethereal voice of Emma Salokoski.
