BOGGAMASTA III
Peter Vermeersch & David 9½ BovéeFor more than twenty years, Flat Earth Society Orchestra, the flagship of slightly deranged Belgian jazz, has wreaked havoc on national and international stages, with musical programs bursting at the seams, defying genre labels and confounding listeners with their multi-colored spazz jazz razzmatazz. Highlights? Too many to keep up with, really, but Boggamasta I (2017) was definitely one of them.
Bandleader Peter Vermeersch and David Bovée (an early member, returned to the fold) expertly gave birth to the album’s main character, the power addict and megalomaniac Boggamasta, who steered the eager and willing turbo orchestra to new areas of musical debauchery and connivery. The combination of XL band arrangements and this newly-found grit and growling groove worked like a charm and excited alert audiences and press all over Europe and South America. Jazz? “Yeah. Well, you know, like, kinda.” One London Jazz News reporter exclaimed: “It certainly is not music that should be judged with jazz criteria.” Splendid!
The freshly brewed Boggamasta III won’t satisfy those looking for answers, as our slippery lawbreakers concocted another batch of coruscating compositions and deceptive tales. Most of the classic FES references - Ellingtonia, viral smalltalk, Zappa, 21st century frenzy - remain intact, but are navigated through labyrinthian urban jungles and fiercely updated traditions. Boggamasta III oozes in generous gulps, drawing dazzling imaginary patterns, travels the spaceways with maps that unfold as they go along.
Make no mistake: even in its third decade, Flat Earth Society excels at creating deliciously unreliable music, full of absurd angles and thrilling twists. It’s a method, a raison d’être that remains as fresh and vital as ever and never fails to surprise. A tightrope act, voluptuous musical film and a cemetery polka combined, Boggamasta III is another triumph for Flat Earth Society and Bovée. And in case you’re wondering where Volume II went to: “It’s been three years since the first one, time’s running out.” Flat Earth Society stays ahead of the curve. By any means necessary.
BOGGAMASTA III
Compositions
Peter Vermeersch en David 9½ Bovée, except 2 (Robert & Richard Sherman, arrangment by Peter Vermeersch).
1. Dust From The Stars (David 9½ Bovée)
2. Trust In Me (Robert & Richard Sherman)
3. Cryptoman (Peter Vermeersch)*
4. Sit Rise (David 9½ Bovée)
5. What (Peter Vermeersch)
6. Carbon Based (David 9½ Bovée)
7. Bury The Corn (Peter Vermeersch)
8. Moog For You (Peter Vermeersch)
9. Breathe In The Color Pink (David 9½ Bovée / Peter Vermeersch)*
10. Slave Driver (David 9½ Bovée / Peter Vermeersch)
* 3. and 9. only digital (bonus tracks).
Musicians
David 9½ Bovée - electric guitar, vocals & electronix
Peter Vermeersch - bass(clarinet), vocals & electronix
Mirko Banovic - electric bass
Kristof Roseeuw - double bass
Peter Vandenberghe - keyboards & piano
Teun Verbruggen - drums
Wim Segers - percussion & vocals
Benjamin Boutreur - alto sax
Michel Mast - tenor sax
Martí Melià - tenor sax
Bruno Vansina - baritone sax & flute
Berlinde Deman - tuba & vocals
Bart Maris - trumpet
Pauline Leblond - trumpet & vocals
Peter Delannoye - trombone
Marc Meeuwissen - trombone
Credits
Recorded at Werkplaats Walter, Brussels and Johnny Green Giant Studio, Ghent, October-November 2020
by Laurens Ingels.
Editing & premix by Peter Vermeersch
Mixing & mastering by Oz Fritz, Prairie Sun Studios, California, USA
Special effects edited in Albaicin, São Paulo, Brazil
Photography at STAM Ghent by Phile Deprez
Artwork by Marc Meeuwissen
Igloo Records
IGL327LP, DOUBLE LP, 45 RPM
Order - vinyl €25 or download
TRAILERS album release
VIDEOS
AUDIO
PHOTOS
REVIEW BOGGAMASAT III RELEASE
Jean-Claude Vantroyen - Le Soir, 09/06/2021
« J’ai toujours l’esprit enfantin, plus amateur que professionnel »
Flat Earth Society sur scène. A l’avant-plan, David Bovée, Bruno Vansin et, à droite, Peter Vermeersch à la clarinette basse. Depuis vingt ans, Peter Vermeersch mène Flat Earth Societ dans la jungle d’une musique foisonnante, ludique et enthousiaste. Voici « Boggamasta III ».
Read more
« J’ai toujours l’esprit enfantin, plus amateur que professionnel »
Flat Earth Society sur scène. A l’avant-plan, David Bovée, Bruno Vansin et, à droite, Peter Vermeersch à la clarinette basse. Depuis vingt ans, Peter Vermeersch mène Flat Earth Societ dans la jungle d’une musique foisonnante, ludique et enthousiaste. Voici « Boggamasta III ».
Read more
