Manny's
I Love You So

Jeff Mills and the Zanza 21 project is a new forthcoming creation that's been self-constructing for quite some time. Not out in the open and easy to see, but it's been evolving more in recent months through the imprint "Millsart" album releases and as an accumulation of ideas that are influences of Mills' affection for Jazz Music as well as his constant appetite to creatively explore. The idea behind Zanza 21 is based on an old theory that "Music is most useful at the point when it touches the soul of the listener, until then, its just sound". So, the main layer in the foundation starts there.In these first releases, all acoustic and electronic instruments are programmed and played by Jeff Mills, but an aspect of this project is that Zanza 21 is actually the initial vision for the creation of a live performance band. As this project evolves, so will the step process to materialize such an effort to its full potential.Starting with this first debut 12" EP release of "When The Time Is Right" b/w "Something Like That", please consider there is already a large body of existing compositions waiting to be dispensed. A Jeff Mills and The Zanza album is scheduled for early 2022 entitled "When Stars Align". Thus, making the revised artist title "Jeff Mills and The Zanza 22".

On this double length LP, Phil Stroud offers listeners a diverse selection of instrumental works; the result of numerous writing and recording sessions with close friends in both Boorloo (Perth) and Naarm (Melbourne). A distinct ensemble focus on ‘Apparitions’ allows for the development of modal and rhythmic ideas that have for a long time been central to Phil’s listening and playing. These compositions mark an important development of approach and add new territory to a greater body of music that currently includes releases on Brownswood Recordings, Good Company Records and Deep Water.Underpinning Apparitions is a process guided by an appreciation for the incidental in music. Many of the ideas heard on these recordings began as spontaneous moments of improvisation that were then expanded into detailed arrangements, produced and mixed by Phil — who cites the approaches of Teo Macero, Miles Davis and John Hassel as inspiration for the production techniques on the record. Phil tells us:‘I wanted the experience of working on this music to be a constant revelation; to explore different approaches without expectations, so I developed a process that would lead me on a journey and facilitate the freedom of creating outside my own imagination’.Collaboration has played a significant part in the creation of this music. With many of the musicians involved credited in multiple roles, the ideas are given form by a myriad of instruments, recording techniques and production methods. Composed and assembled using recorded material collected between 2018-2022, Apparitions is a work of perseverance and adaptation that is firmly grounded in a sincere love of collaboration in music.