Trüby Trio

The Seattle-based company Muzak prides itself on providing what it likes to call "audio architecture" to thousands of public places, most prominently elevators. But its staid and emotionless one-note versions of sappy hits are a lot less haughty and important than their marketing-friendly product classification would suggest. For its long-awaited debut, Germany's Trüby Trio -- world-renowned DJ Rainer Trüby alongside multi-instrumentalists Roland Appel and Christian Prommer, who moonlight as Fauna Flash and also record as Voom Voom with Peter Kruder of Kruder & Dorfmeister fame -- takes on the concept of transforming "elevator music" into something listenable. The resulting album is much closer to audio architecture than Muzak could ever hope for. It is vibrant and flavorful, packed with an array of genres and sounds, yet ultimately digestible by a wide range of audiences.

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More About

• Roland Appel
• Tamara Palmer
• Fela Kuti

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"A Go Go," the trio's 1998 signature club hit, which appears here, ushered in an international wave of artists releasing dance-floor songs inspired by the bombastic beats and swing of Brazilian music. While most groups would find it hard to resist the easy cash-in of recording a whole album in this style, the Trio didn't and instead took its time putting together its first full-length. Elevator Music competently tackles a more world-wise blend of sounds, from fiery flamenco (the intense "Jaleo," sung by Spanish vocalist Concha Buika) to funk and soul (the saucy and spacey bounce of "Satisfaction" and the sex-you-down vibes of "Lover Uncovered," respectively).

The album's boldest highlight appears right in the middle of the set with "Make a Move," a collaboration with Nigerian-born and New York-based singer Wunmi. Borrowing the Afrobeat style pioneered by Wunmi's countrymen Fela Kuti and Fela's son Femi, the song rides some big horns and even bigger tribal drums into a sweat-inducing jam with an inspirational hook: "Make a move/ Don't live for tomorrow/ If only could would should/ Becomes another sad story." Unfortunately, it's unlikely that Muzak will loosen its stranglehold on elevators, grocery stores, and shopping malls anytime soon, but at least Trüby Trio offers a fertile, imaginative getaway to dream about the possibilities. -- Tamara Palmer