OWUSU AND HANNIBAL

The new Danish modern sound belongs to Owusu and Hannibal of Copenhagen. This pair is set to take 2006 by storm with an amazing album of unique soul productions. They’ve created the most forward thinking beats we’ve heard in a long time powered along some amazing musicianship and fantastic songs. The end product sounds just as good on your iPod or in the club. “Delirium” (which we’ve already licensed to Compost Records) and “Blue Jay” (featured on our HVW8 compilation) are already getting serious nods on CD-r, wait ‘til you hear what else is in the bag! They’ve got cosmic freak-outs, street smarts, and crossover ballistics packed into each next level track. Think Moody Man meets Steely Dan meets Scritti Polliti meets Dilla meets Jorge Ben meets Spacek and you’re getting kinda’ close. “We think of it as soul music, with references to whatever we pick up on along the way,” says Robin Hannibal. “We hope to bring something fresh to the table, hopefully with a different perspective.”

With Ghanian, Danish, German and American roots the pair mix an eclectic cultural heritage in their musical melting pot. “We met through a mutual friend, and quickly started talking through 50 years of music. We found out we were listening to some of the same stuff and shared an almost religious respect for Sly Stone,” remembers Hannibal. “Robin told me his dad's name was James Braun. That closed the deal.” adds Philip Owusu.

Designers like Arne Jacobson, Vernor Panton and Hans Wegner are household names for their standard setting Danish modern designs. Owusu and Hannibal are the first Danish sound designers that we’ve heard do anything remotely this innovative in a long time. “The underground scene here is pretty good, (some of our friends here make some serious stuff), but most artists have to look outside of Denmark to get their music out,” says Hannibal. “The Danish music industry isn't well known for taking chances,” he adds. While Hannibal was part of the Nobody Beats the Beats collective, Owusu released a 12" on Naked Music with Owusu & Green. But it’s only since the beginning of 2005 that the Owusu and Hannibal partnership has been in action. Theirs is down tempo music that retains the capability of making bodies move. Their moody Detroit-style flavors mix with boogie tune stylings and some next-level hip hop flair. Neither of them are DJs, in fact they confessed to not being able to make a mix happen if their lives depended on it.” Still it's good to play the music loud sometimes to see how people react to it,” explains Owusu. A live show is in the works, but for now Owusu and Hannibal are studio bound working on their debut album.