The Dino Haak Collective
Seattle, Washington, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"Like a Herd of Elephants coming right at you!" - Discmakers IMWS
"Mr. Haak is a fine player" - private
Dino Haak is a German artist resident in the USA. His move to America may have been supported by progressive rock musicians such as Trey Gunn and Emmett Chapman, but that alone does not qualify his music as “progressive rock”. Neither does his use of the Mobius Megatar, a twelve-string touch-style instrument of the same family as the Chapman stick. No, the qualification would have to come through the music. Now, regular readers will know that I have a lenient interpretation of where the boundaries of “progressive rock” are situated within the musical universe, but not even I can squidge Filmscore into that part of space. Irrespective of the instrumentation used, I would call Filmscore a cross between funk and club music: Haak himself calls it “groove”. Joining Haak on the album are Todd Gray and Alex Westcoat (drums), DJ James Ho (turntables!) and Artis the Spoonman (spoons & wisdom!).
So, unless that type of music has some appeal for you then you’re unlikely to enjoy Filmscore. I enjoy funk all the way from James Brown to some of the rockier versions such as Heads Up! and find some club music enjoyable in small doses – and I’ve also enjoyed Filmscore’s mix of sung and instrumental music. If you want to hear Peter Gabriel’s classic Games Without Frontiers played in this “groovy” style, then this is your big chance. - DPRP - Dutch Progressive Rock Page
7/10
The Dino Haak Collective
Filmscore (2010)
24|09|2010 [09:44:31] Jean-Philippe Haas
Musicien allemand installé aux États-Unis, Dino Haak pratique le Mobius Megatar, sorte de Chapman Stick amélioré. Néanmoins, Filmscore n'est pas un exercice de style destiné à promouvoir cet instrument hybride aux larges possibilités, mais représente un vrai travail de groupe, matérialisé par un album conceptuel traitant du côté obscur de l'existence. Rock électronique, chanté ou instrumental, vaguement industriel ou new wave parfois, mêlant de nombreuses influences, ce disque autoproduit propose des titres directs aux arrangement travaillés, à base de riffs circulaires, de scratches, de claviers typés, de vocaux bidouillés et même de cuillères ! En prenant soin de ne point trop l'égratigner, Dino Haak et ses acolytes reprennent en outre le « Games Without Frontiers » de Peter Gabriel, dont la thématique se fond parfaitement dans le concept. Concis et remarquablement bien produit, Filmscore utilise pour séduire des ficelles très différentes à base de grooves et de nombreux ressorts mélodiques. Il devrait raisonnablement permettre à The Dino Haak Collective de s'extirper des brumes de MySpace.fin - Progressia France
Discography
Bactrian-EP (1997)
Live Guru-EP (1998)
Behold The Glory (1999)
The Retro Sounds of Tokyo (2005)
Father (2008)
FILMSCORE (2010)
Photos
Bio
The Dino Haak Collective came together to create music that transcends the usual and predictable.
Playing music that is heavy, intricate, melodic, and ever so focused on groove, The Collective has a distinct, singular style and sound. Described as "A herd of wild elephants coming right at you," "Heavy Nintendo," and "You guys are so Star Wars!", the band mixes club, funk, techno, prog and metal into a unique blend that attracts fans of artists such as Fantomas, King Crimson, Battles, Peter Gabriel, The Prodigy, George Clinton and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Instrumentation and stage shows feature the Mobius Megatar, a foot-keyboard, turntables, drums, and spoons.
German artist Dino Haak is best known for his work on the Mobius Megatar, a twelve-string touch-style instrument. The sound of the Megatar adds a powerful and eerily symphonic element to the band’s sound.
Frontman and Mobius Megatar player Dino Haak’s legal move to the US from Germany was supported by American musicians such as Trey Gunn (King Crimson), Don Schiff (Pat Benatar, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow), Greg Howard (Dave Matthews Band), Emmett Chapman (Inventor of the Chapman Stick) and others, who helped him to be awarded an Exceptional Artist Visa in 1999 and to finally choose the United States as his full-time place of residence since 2000.
He shares the stage with a variety of talented individuals including Chris Squires: drums (Steven Drozd/ Flaming Lips), Artis the Spoonman: spoons & wisdom (Soundgarden, Audioslave, Zappa, Aerosmith, Phish), Alex Westcoat: drums (David Bazan, Say Hi!) and Taiwanese scratch prodigy DJ James Ho: turntables. The band is also known for their unique duo performances.
The band’s new album FILMSCORE was conceived as the musical accompaniment to a tongue-in-cheek, yet grandiose commentary on the obscure side of existence. The album was recorded at Spectre Studios in Renton, WA and was produced and mastered by Troy Glessner whose résumé includes work for Death Cab for Cutie, Inhale/Exhale, Underoath, Demonhunter, August Burns Red, Barcelona, Holly Figuera (with Tony Levin and Jerry Marrotta), Paris Hilton, The Wailers, The Ventures, Pedro The Lion, Citizens Utilities, The Divorce, Devin Townsend and many more.
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