1. Dark Jazz

Having a slower tempo than normal jazz (which really does make a difference to some of us), dark jazz is a contemporary style inspired by film noir soundtracks and creates a dark atmosphere (super obvious from the name, but let me say my story) which engulfs you completely. The biggest influences come from Miles Davis’ Ascenseur pour l’echafaud (or Lift to the Gallows, see below) and Angelo Badalamenti, along with the Dark Ambient genre.

The greatest representatives of this subgenre are the amazing Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble (Netherlands) and Bohren & der Club of Gore (Germany).

Although they disbanded in 2016, KDE offered 3 wonderful albums to listen to on rainy days and chilly afternoons: a self-titled album, followed by Here be Dragons and From the Stairwell. Their studio albums are all impressive and their live album, I Foresee the Dark Ahead, if I stay, is just as powerful (and my personal favourite):

If you’re a fan of this kind of instrumental, you can understand my sadness at the thought of their break up, but don’t worry, Bohren & der Club of Gore is still here! And they have 8 studio albums! Their style is slightly darker and slower than that of KDE, especially on their later albums, such as Sunset Mission or Midnight Radio:

They however experimented with more intense orchestration in their earlier albums, especially on Langspielkassette, which also features interesting voice samples.

So having talked about dark jazz, what should we cover next?