Simbad & Titonton Duvante present… ‘AVANTI’

If form is temporary and class permanent, then 2004‘s AVANTI, yes 2004, is one example that solidifies the rule.
The architects of this filthy, bouncy, dancefloor jump-off; globe-trotting, piano and alto sax proficient Producer/DJ Simbad aka Marathon Man/Les Barons and NYC-resident Titonton Duvante, a pioneering figure in America’s broken beat scene and a well-schooled pupil in the traditions of early Detroit techno.
Having collected over 5 years worth of crate dust and debris, AVANTI is still as relevant, still as fresh and still as capable getting you up off your seat, period. Hell if it comes across corny, but it really is just ‘one of them ones‘. And deservedly so, it finds its way onto the pages of bespoke.
As Simbad explains: “Music can kill you. But it also has the power to heal too. Time is a true test of anything’s worth. On this track, we tried ‘keeping it analogue’ and the results are there to be heard and felt.”
Being a spontaneous reaction, AVANTI sometimes emit’s a scruffy and unkept sound but it also manages to retain a certain euphoric sincerity. It also resonates like an ever-evolving work-in-progress but one that could also happily contradict itself by sounding like a representation of ’that’ moment in time.
The creation of this track was far from spiritual nor did it knock on the door of the cosmos, it’s just the familiar story of two musicians working towards a common goal but simultaneously challenging the others creativity.
From the sanctuary of Simbad’s east London studio and accompanied by real 1980’s synths, keyboards, drums, and some home-cooked scats and vocals, his and Duvante’s creative water broke, and AVANTI was born. "We just jammed in the studio, playing
live keyboards, at times simultaneously and recording it all over a ruff beat we made quickly, it was very spontaneous and that’s why we had to divide it into a few parts!
“My method usually involves lots of live instruments, drums, horns, perx, and old-style keyboards like Roland Sh-09, Prophet 600, old pedals, old analog desk (Studio Master 24/8) and loads of outboard equipments (compressors & reverbs) although I don’t use these much anymore. Mainly it’s all recorded in Logic 4.7 on a G4 Mac or in Logic 7 on G4 PowerBook. Monitor wise, a Tannoy Little Red 1979. Usually my gear comes and goes, luckily a few friends lend me bits for a while so the studio set-up varies from season to season."
AVANTI is an encounter of different cultural styles; dancefloor, boogie, techno, whatever etc and wherever you wish to file it under. But more significantly, it’s a sign of our musical times. Inspired by, and inspiring to, any artists who dare to mix and expand the colours of your mind. Work-in-progress or the finished article? Maybe the paint has yet to dry on this collaboration.


words: Karim Buchannon