Atjazz

by Dean CarlsonBy mixing house and jazz together in a tall glass of dance-driven downtempo, Martin Iveson's Atjazz project mined the rare experience of listening to laid-back music in the foreground. Iveson, a day-musician for the Tomb Raider games, began the Atjazz project in 1996 with the debut of the Story EP for his own Mantis Recordings. However, a jump to DIY Discs resulted in a series of higher-profile singles and what was to be a credibility climax in the shape of the 1998 release of his first LP, That Something, and a remix for Bob Sinclair's "Ghetto," a move many argued gave Iveson the most exposure of all his pursuits. After the success of That Something and a move back to Mantis Recordings, Iveson released 2001's Labfunk. The follow-up promised considerably heavier jazz elements and a conscious decision to focus on live arrangements instead of studio trickery.