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Description
GDRC-605
Aug 21, 2001
Download (1.05 MB)
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The Dining Rooms - Numero Deux
Numero Deux is the captivating sophomore album from Italian downtempo maestros The Dining Rooms. The Milan based duo of Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti emerged out of the city's thriving punk/new wave scene, where both members paid their dues in various underground bands before joining forces to record their debut long player Subterranean Modern Volume 1 in the fall of 1999. Released on the Milano 2000 label, the record's forward thinking fusion of crisp hip hop breaks, bluesy guitars and melancholic keyboard ambiance garnered international acclaim and was championed by taste makers like Coldcut, Thievery Corporation, and Gilles Peterson. The sequel, Numero Deux successfully expands upon the formula: adding live jazz funk textures, dreamy keyboard melodies, Balearic guitar vibes and sultry female vocals to create an engaging montage of sublime Mediterranean flavored trip hop soundscapes. Imagine DJ Shadow and Ennio Morricone scoring the soundtrack to a Jean Luc Godard film and you get the picture!
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Reviews
Magazine Reviews
This seems to be a good time for chill out albums. But why is it most are plagued by the obligatory filler tracks? Don't worry you're not going to find any substandard tunes on The Dining Rooms latest release, "Numero Deux." The Dining Rooms are Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti. Before they teamed up in 1998 they explored the Italian scene seperately as DJs or performing in various underground bands. Both have a background in the punk/new wave scene. No wonder "Numero Deux" feels fresh. "Numero Deux" is full of unespected turns, fresh beats and smooth melodic shifts. Every track stands out on its own. "Catania City Blues" presents a melancholic guitar floating over the ambiance of a city street in one of the lonelist tracks I've ever heard. "Pure & Easy" & "Speak In To The Microphone" are familiar jazz-influenced trip-hop, "False Start" and "Chorus of Flames' introduce the breathy, languid vocals of Marta Collica. It's likely these will be the tracks that grab you first, but there's so much fun stuff in there you set your CD on repeat play for hours and dig it every time. Some advice: pick up "Numero Deux" now before you start hearing it all over town, which you will.
Flux - Paul Virostek
Jul 16, 2002
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Milan's The Dining Rooms have sometimes drawn comparison to Thievery Corporation or Air. They are neither. Rather, one would have to imagine the music of Serge Gainsbourg cut up and reconstructed by DJ Shadow, playing as the soundtrack to a french new-wave film by Jean-Luc Goddard. The brooding mood escapes typical electronica lounge clichˇs and enters darker territories, driven by mid-tempo hip-hop breaks and haunting minor chords bass lines. Occasional vocals, whether dialogue or sung melody, play as the nostalgic protagonists on an abandoned movie set. The production quality is tasteful and slick and leaves enough free space between the listeners ears,to let the film play in your head.
Book LA - http://www.bookla.com
Jan 16, 2002
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A Dining Room is not necessarily the best place to hear good minimal beats unless its at the table of Stefan Ghittonni and Ceasare Malfatti, the two Milan producers who make down tempo dons, The Dining Rooms. The Italians love many things in life, especially good food, good wine, and good music. Here Ghittoni and Malfatti take things one step further for the modern diner, giving them soothing food for thought within their music. Laced with light and luscious breakfast in places, soft tones, the occasional melody and plenty more, this 13 track CD will leave you hungry for more. There's no need to go to Ibiza to hear good chilled music, the manu for a relaxing good time is right here.
Wax
Nov 26, 2001
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The Dining Rooms are Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti, two post-punk/new wave veterans that have been producing records since 1990 and can say with a straight face that they used to be in a band called Peter Sellers and the Hollywood Party. They're from Milan, are inspired by Jean Luc Goddard, and....well, need I say more? These guys are cool and have the music to back it up. Numero Deux sounds a little like DJ Shadow seasoned with a smattering of Thievery Corporation, an extensive knowledge of Serge Gainsborg, and a straight up shot of noir. While most tracks are sans vocals, "False Start" featuring Marta Collica ( a previous collaborator and experimental film arrest) really hits you in the gut with its plaintive kit, bass and keys. Its hard to describe their sound without including a word or two about cinema. Ghittoni's Ambient Blues Project is more of an artist installation than a musical moonlight gig, where video images provide a narrative and down tempo tunes provide a supporting soundtrack. If Ursula Anderson ever cried in black and white rain, this would be the album to score the scene.
Mixer Magazine-Jeremy Dillahunt
Nov 19, 2001
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What begins as a rambunctious unfolding of a slightly messy comedown, spattered with inflections of drums and bass, suddenly melts in to soft cushions of treble and lingering after tones of melody. The essential chill-out album of the fall, Numero Deux weaves opera, trip hop, dub and jazzy beats into the perfect fall-into-your-couch post-party blissfulness. Inspired by the films of Jean-Luc Godard, this Milan based duo captures the relaxation in its most subtle and layered essence - a fusion of downtempo-rare grooves spiced with Mediterranean, dub and trip-hop beats. This CD is beautifully sculpted, a sensous journey in to the land of lovers walking hand in hand, inhaling a visual cascade of color-infused sailboats kissing the edge of a sunset soaked rhythm.
Detour Magazine - Deana Morgan
Oct 29, 2001
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Although most known for their legendary back catalog of deep house, Guidance Recordings has always released quality down tempo compilations, such as their hi-fidelity lounge and dub series. However, this year the imprint has been busy with more downtempo artist full lengths such as the Troublemakers highly praised Doubts and Convictions. With the new release of Numero Deux, a genre definitive lounge album from Italy's denizens of swank known as the Dining Rooms, Guidance confirms this identity. This is first and foremost a listening album with more of a song oriented format. Live guitars, melodic female vocals and jazz samples balance out thick hip-hop breakbeats and jazzy swing percussion, all while blending a 1960's italian mod feel with a heavy blues-based attitude. In a time where lounge has been overused, imitated, and as a result, cheapened, the Dining Rooms Numero Deux offers an insight to the true nature of this sound.
BPM Magazine: Ben Ewy
Oct 16, 2001
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Soaking in the peaceful and serene desert landscape on the road to Taos, New Mexico, I let this play clueless as who this duo was. Their Numero Deux long-player was complementary to the Natural Mystic, lending itself to an unwinding vibration. Letting the energy flow with thoughts of blowing all this big city bullshit to the wind, the Dining Rooms have that down-tempo, Lounge-Hop feeling providing a trippy edge assisting in this type of Spiritual cleansing. Since members Stefano Ghittoni & Cesare Malfatti are from Milan, Italy they could be compared to DJ Cam from France for their generous use of scratches, break beats, and sampled interpolations. Thus, there is a hip hop appeal at the core of Numero Deux with an unmistakeable musicianship that all comes out in the mix. So next time you take a journey or wanna space out at home, go cop the Dining Rooms. Look for the Numero Uno & Numero Dos if you can, and I don't mean Pizza!
Kronick - Kolorblind
Oct 10, 2001
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The Dining Rooms are a Milanese duo who've been knocking around since the Iron Age and are now crafting classy, organic downtempo in a similar vein to Thievery Corporation music for coffee tables, coffee shops, coffee plantations, and the like. Noir, creaking smoked exotic mellowdica with titles like "Cosi Ti Amo" and "Cantania City Blues". Shadowy yet poised, it makes me think of Uma Thurman's eyes in Pulp Fiction. But its a more than obvious fascination with continental cinema and specifically it soundtracks, that are most keenly etched on their second LP. Portishead are an obvious comparison, with the Schrifrenesque moods, strings and lugubrious vocals of "False Start" and "Chorus of Flames" worth particular mention. It may be a loathed word but this is trip hop pure and simple-all red wine and cigarrates and smudged mascara. A little dated perhaps, but sleazily elegant besides.
SEVEN-Michael Carhart Harris
Oct 4, 2001
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Milan's Dining Rooms make dubby lounge music that sits nicely next to acts like Thievery Corporation and Zero 7. This is their first album for US deep house label Guidance and despite the difference in speed, it has the same drifting groovy quality as a lot of their more uptempo releases. One for dinner parties and dubbed out back rooms.
Muzik-Chris Coco
Oct 4, 2001
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last but not least up is Numero Deux. This is a sultry cinematic journey from Italian loungesters The Dining Rooms. All the usual downtempo favorites are employed here-including plenty of strings, samples and hip hop breaks. However, the inclusion of warmer live sounds such as guitars, jazz elements and vocals really does seem to make all the difference.
Penthouse
Oct 4, 2001
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Luxurious Italian break chillage. This is the sequel to the Milano based duo's 1999 debut, Subterranean Modern Volume 1, Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti know their trade, delivering a very musical series of tracks that are centered around a tremolo. almost Tom Waits guitar, thick drum breakbeats and neo-discordant piano. "Invocation" has a 60's basement vibe. Cosi ti amo brings in a dreamy siren Marta Collica, and the title track centers around an infectiously upright bass hook. You know what you're in for after a couple of tracks, but that doesn't stop this being a accomplished album.
Ministry
Oct 4, 2001
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Guidance slows the beats down for this delightful for-tracker. 'M.Dupont' is a lounge noir treat, thanks to gentle keys, rising strings and eventually slo-mo hip hop beats. The DJ Shadowi-ish "Invocation" is a tad bit lo-fi, but the dark dubbed out jazz of "Pure and Easy" evens things out.
Hot Press
Oct 4, 2001
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Milan based duo Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti second long player expands on their textural cinematic sound with beautiful results. A slick combination of precise hip hop breaks, uplifting bluesy string arrangements ad melancholic synth, Numero Demux is the sound of Portishead on Prozac. Essential and destined to become the sound track to many a poncy dinner party.
Class
Oct 4, 2001
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Italy has always been home to easy listening, coma jazz, come kitschy sound track type music and this album from Stefano Ghittoni and Cesaro Malfatti carries on in the same upstanding tradition, while adding a touch of hip hop attitude and a dose of Vienna dub skank. The Dining Rooms say that they are influenced by the films of Jean Luc Goddard and you can see why as you listen to the luxuriously languid opening bars of "Pure and Easy" or the devilishly infectious synth and piano groove of "M.Dupont". for best results listen to this in the correct context-at 4AM with a cocktail in one hand, foxy chick in the other and jazz woodbine hanging from the lip. Roll on the weekend.
IDJ-Pete Yak
Oct 4, 2001
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Slipping between brash and brooding hip hop moments like "Invocaton" or the Gitane smoking expresso sipping shuffling chic of "Verso Il Sole", the Dining rooms have seemingly been influenced enormously by the likes of Serge Gainsborg but still pay their best dues to modern beat masters like DJ Shadow-and it's not a bad thing either. Think Zero 7 selling Air's sound to the Italians and you can almost envisage the benefits of secondary influence. Like music in an old foreign film, "Numero Deux" never really goes anywhere but when it does wander off on one of it's countless meanders you can't help but go with it. Equal parts coffee table and coffee shop, this is a more powerful concoction than it often pretends to be.
DJ Magazine-Steve McLay
Oct 4, 2001
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Guest Reviews
Great chill out, sophisticated atmosphere, melodic and relaxing!! Beside the gas mask it's the only music to take with you to the shelter when Saddam Husein gets crazy. Thank You Stafano, Cesare & Maria !!
Motky
Feb 1, 2003
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Who at Guidance came up with the great idea to add the worlds greatest Downtempo to your lineup? This is world class chill music. Amazing breaks, samples and atmosphere. Only one flaw as far as I can see, NO LP!!!?! Why tease us with a great 12" and killer CD? What did I ever do to you guys to be toyed with so viciously? Please explain!
Ian Dunn
Apr 9, 2002
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I'm really proud of this release, even if I'm italian too and it's really hard, to find an italian lounge-album that could make me feel better.. and it's so beautiful to know, that there are other persons ( in my town ), who think about music in this way.. A cinematic moody Music
djbaeser
Mar 29, 2002
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thank you
noname
Sep 24, 2001
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Besame Mucho!
Adi
Sep 14, 2001
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Damn, all I can say is that I want to buy it now!
Tom T.
Jul 19, 2001
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Unbelievable! Sounds exactly like its made exclusively for Guidance. Imagine a mixture between Hi-Fidelity Lounge 1+2 and you get the picture. Intense, sensual, atmospherical, musically sophisticated and most of all it has the kind of big-beat-groove that makes you do the silly walk wherever you listen to it - you won't find that high quality acid jazz on any other label. Sadly you'll have to wait about 3-12 months till it is released. You wont find that on any other label too....
Timmo
Jun 26, 2001
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This is quality chill-out downtempo acid jazz...And oooh what a voice... :) Italy should be proud..!!! Smoke up sit back and catch the vibe....oooh yeah its that good...!!!
Kevin
Jun 23, 2001
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Relaxing is the main adjective you may use to discribe these cool and ambient sounds that make the moments when you listen to them become totally relaxing...Good work!!
alex
Jun 13, 2001
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