Minus 8 masters the whole spectrum of Downbeat, Drum & Bass and Nu-Jazz. There are only a few internationally known DJs, producers and remixers from Switzerland.
Title: Elysian Fields
Release: 3 July 2000
Cat.-No.: CPT 078-1/-2/-3
Format: LP2 / CD / Digital
Robert Jan Meyer, aka Minus 8, is one of them. As a leading man in this group, his name is mentioned together with the names of Alex Attias (aka Beatless/ Mustang/ Catalyst/ Bel Air Project) and the Straight Ahead label posse.
Robert Jan Meyer is an Architect and the brother of a well-known Swiss rave promoter. He started to make music at the end of the 80’s, first as a bass-player in a Funk-band, but soon his fascination with Midi-equipment led to experiments with a keyboard and sampler. At the beginning of the 90’s, Robert launched his Minus 8 project as a slow and peaceful answer to all the Plus 8 (on a turntable) speed madness that was prevalent in club music at the time.
By 1993 he also started DJing, playing mostly Acid-Jazz, Rare Groove, Funk, and Hip-Hop. Since then, Robert has consistently supported Swiss club culture with all his talents. He’s also toured as support for big UK names like Goldie, Grooverider, Hype, Krust, Storm, Bad Company and Adam
F. And now he’s in-demand as a remixer. As all that wasn’t enough, he’s also found time to put together a great series of compilations - \"Science Fiction Jazz\" Vol. 1 – 5.
The first ever Minus 8 release, \"The Sweetest Sounds,\" was the actually the first release on DJ Cam’s Paris-based label Inflammable. In 1997, Minus 8’s first album \"Beyond,\" followed (also on Inflammable), and received excellent reviews. “Beyond” was followed by a second album, \"Beyond
Beyond\" for UK label Higher Ground (part of Sony UK). The English Trip-Hop and Drum & Bass scenes influenced both of these albums.
On this third album \"Elysian Fields\" however, Robert has refined the elements of his music and arranged them in more song-oriented style. The new album is much more homogenous and solid than the two first albums. \"Elysian Fields\" doesn’t lean on trends, but creates its own universal
atmosphere. \"Elysian Fields\" centres around breakbeats, beautiful atmospheric moments, and live-elements provided by skillfull Jazz-musicians like Chris Wiesendanger, and vocals of Billie and Tanja Birri. It’s a sound that has found Minus 8 a new home at Compost and in the record boxes of Jazzanova, Beanfield and Truby and now yours!
