“Drenched in genuine Joie De Vivre. Somehow the Don knows." TIME OUT
“Probably the best album made by three German carpenters.... ever." NME
“Exhilarating, joyous, rug-cutting cool†MOJO
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What’s that in the air!?
DON AIR are an unlikely trio of bespoke German chippies who met in the late 90’s on a building site in South London. Matt, Willow and Marc were destined to create the last release on the Stereo MC's ill-fated label, the late, great Response Records. Their album CARPENTERS' DELIGHT was a brilliantly off-beat, handcrafted and eccentric amalgam of pattering Latin rhythms, float-away woodwind and clipped dub tones that intrigued and beguiled all who heard it.
Shortly after the album (catalogue number RESP013) hit the shops however, the records' distributor went bust and the bands label decided to call it a day. Despite critical acclaim (see blog) and strong sales, the album sadly disappeared almost as suddenly as it had exploded onto the scene becoming the stuff of legend.
Fast forward several years and the independent UK label Freshly Squeezed Music has been hot on the trail of this almost lost cult classic for some time. Having excavated it from the carpenters' underworld, they found an album that remains as fresh, exciting and alive with surprise as it ever did. Add to that the patina of time and a magic that remains hard to pin down, and you have something that sounds as one imagines David Lynch might, conducting a crazy, mixed-up spaghetti western mess of trip hop, ska-cha, reggae, orchestral break beat bossa.
This is a rare gem of kaleidoscopic colour, red-eyed cool and uber delightfulness!
The album is now re-released on original, highly collectible and very limited double vinyl here or available to download from most digital services including:
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