JJ Whitefield presents Forced Meditation

In the organizer's words:

JJ Whitefield presents Forced Meditation *live*

For over three decades, German guitarist, bandleader and sound explorer JJ Whitefield has traveled the world - always driven by a deep sense of authenticity. This attitude runs through his entire oeuvre and has earned him an impressive, timeless body of work - while many of his contemporaries have long since faded away.

In the early 90s, as acid jazz and rare groove hit the mainstream in the UK, Whitefield formed The Poets of Rhythm - a band that played uncompromisingly raw 70s street funk. Instead of adapting to the trend, they released their music independently on 7-inch vinyl - a completely unpopular format at the time. Almost a decade before anyone else, they laid the foundations for what later became known as the deep funk movement. Thirty years later, their energy and authenticity is still considered unmatched.

Since then, Whitefield has continued to break new ground: as Karl Hector, he and his band have released further funk projects on labels such as Stones Throw, Daptone, Ninja Tune, Mo'Wax and Strut. As a passionate musician, researcher and record collector, he constantly incorporates new influences into his work - from Ethiopian jazz and West African funk and highlife to krautrock and ambient soundscapes, which he explores under his alias Rodinia.

In recent years, Whitefield has finally entered the terrain of so-called spiritual jazz - and this is exactly where he can be found on his latest work "The Infinity of Nothingness". The album is a mature, meditative composition, shaped by the influences of great visionaries such as Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders, without ever losing itself in mere imitation. Subtle accents from hip-hop, library music and avant-garde flow effortlessly and combine to create a trance-like overall feeling - from the reduced opener "Nothingness" to the three-part "Infinity Suite" (Time, Space, Energy).

As with the Poets of Rhythm, Whitefield achieves the rare feat of creating music that is not only on a par with its role models - but also has what it takes to stand the test of time.

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Presented by: hhv