The Netherlands (2000 – present)

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble (TKDE) formed in 2000 as a project to compose new music for existing silent movies. Jason Köhnen (aka Bong-Ra) and Gideon Kiers (Telcosystems), both graduates of the Utrecht School of Arts, combined their audio and visual skills to reinterpret classic movies by F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu) and F. Lang (Metropolis). 

In 2004 UK trombonist Hilary Jeffery and Swiss cellist Nina Hitz joined TKDE to record the self-titled debut album which was released on Planet Mu Records in May 2006. The ensuing tour saw Eelco Bosman and Paris based vocalist Charlotte Cegarra join, forming the Ensemble into a sextet. London based violinist Sadie Anderson joined in 2008 to supply the group with extra power on stage.

The Netherlands has been TKDE’s homebase since 2007, while members have moved closer to each other to make composing and producing easier.

Apart from the mothership which is TKDE, there is another entity; The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation is a live improv jazz / drone / doom side project consisting of TKDE members and a host of interchanging guest musicians. 

Due to the vast possibilities within the band, the sound spectrum of TKDE is hard to capture within one specific composition. Moreover, the project will lean towards various styles depending on the respective members working together at a given time. A good mix between atmosphere and technique is always the strong basis for a TKDE composition.

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Sharbat Gula

28 Oct - Greenhouse

The sum of the past is the present / The present is the sum of the past... Who knows life's infinite mysteries... #RNDOriginal #rednemesisdog :- ‘Original’ musical evolutions and experiments using a Polyend Tracker and/or Polyend Mini. With samples from: #teenageengineering #polyend #ep1320 #polyendtracker #akaimpkmini #stylophone #hawaiiangosling #polyendmini The Lift Music Series are usually palindromic and can be played forwards or backwards – up or down.

Sum Past Is Present

August Rain (demo)

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Giallo (Kovaakh Bootleg)

A tune from my first EP "Void Notice". 

http://vonwegen.bandcamp.com/album/void-notice-ep

buy on bandcamp

Sans Lumiere

A White Cat

New York Nights: Late Night Cocktail Jazz

Cool Ballad

NOTTAMBULI

"Illusion Orchestra At The Gloomy Club" (2013)

Order:
http://illusionorchestra.bandcamp.com

Illusion Orchestra At The Gloomy Club

Joel Fausto & Illusion Orchestra - Someone Sang And Slowly Danced

from 'I Forsee The Dark Ahead, If I Stay' [CD|2LP|DIGITAL]
Denovali Records · den259
available on all formats at http://denovali.com/tkde

The highly praised live album of the Dutch cult ensemble from 2011 finally available on cd & vinyl.

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble’s liveshows were known for their transcendental journeys, mixing live improvisation with the structure form studio album songs. TKDE always worked with a complex live set up, linking multiple laptops, channeling, effects and looping systems to recreate the intricate sound of their music. During the period from 2007 till 2011 many live performances were recorded, and decided was to release a compilation of songs as a live album. In 2012, a year before the split of the project, the live album was released digitally to show the diversity and flexibility of the band live.

- "The album presents a series of tracks recorded from shows over the last five years, doubling as essentially a "best of" and insight into the live TKDE experience. (...) And it is exactly this weaving of disparate threads, often in an unexpected and chaotic fashion, that make TKDE so fascinating. Compositions can—and do—traverse through multiple genres, as one would expect from a pooling of such eclectic backgrounds." (4.5 / 5 Resident Advisor)

- "A consistently impressive collection that manages to vividly document TKDE’s spectacular live show" (Cyclic Defrost)

I Forsee The Dark Ahead, If I Stay

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Adaptation Of The Koto Song (Hungary, 2011)

Slowdriver Records is an independent record label based in Porto, Portugal founded in 2013. The purpose is releasing a minimalist, dark and slow vibe between Jazz, Ambient, Experimental and Soundscape genres for distribution and promotion contacting our networks available worldwide.

Joel Fausto & Illusion Orchestra - Someone Sang And Slowly Danced

Slowdriver Records

Related tracks