If you like jazz funky, cool and groovy then you’re in for a shock – QuiteSane are all that jazz and more. Anthony Tidd, bass player writes,arranges and produces the songs for the band which comprises of fiveinstrumentalists, two female vocalists and a rapper – all of them still intheir early twenties. Together they produce a mix of furious styles whichhave made them one of the most talked about bands around.
“Basically we’ve been through everything together. When we were into rockwe all did it together. When we were into P-Funk, we all did it together.Hip-hop, we all did it together. Eventually we got into jazz” explainsTidd.
Tidd calls Quite Sane’s music Ab-Groove and explains “it’s a fusion whereboundaries are made to be broker…. The way I’m looking at it is thatmusic is a reflection of my life to me it doesn’t make sense to go out andgig one music then go home or out and dance to another. So I work towardscreating music which is a culmination of much of the music I haveabsorbed.”
What you get is a surprisingly soulful, intense view of urban life – theexperiences take the form of sounds and rhythms – all fusing so as to makesense of the sometimes fractured, sometimes cohesive, often misrepresentedsensibilities of Black youth in Britain today. Quite Sane draws on thatsensibility and when playing live, delivers a vivid assault on the senses,drawing you into their world with a musical force field.
As uncommercial and as uncompromising as it appears, Quite Sane have beenheavily courted by record companies and musicians alike; and they have beenextremely selective with their collaborations.
Greg Osby, Steve Williamson, the Cash Crew and US live rap outfit, TheRoots can all be cited amongst the band members’ individual collaborations.As can Neneh Cherry and the Jazz Warriors. Winning the Capital Radio BestNew Band Awards 1993, brought even more record label interest but creativeintegrity and artistic freedom have so far taken precedence over all otherconsiderations.
And so, for the time being, sanity comes in the form of live performances -if the opportunity to see them arrives, don’t stop to ask, just use yourhead.
Quite Sane is:
Anthony Tidd – Bass, Composer, Producer Marcina Arnold – Vocals Eska Mtungwazi – Vocals Melissa Beckford – Rapper/Vocals Richard Cassell – Drums Jason Yarde – Saxophone Eric Appapoulay – Guitar/Vocals Robert Mitchell – Piano
from http://www.m-base.com/Q_Sane.html
