Acoustic Alchemy
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London, United Kingdom (1981 – present)
Acoustic Alchemy is a British contemporary instrumental and smooth jazz band formed in London, England in the early 1980s (c. 1981), originally fronted by acoustic guitarists Nick Webb and Simon James. The band is currently fronted by Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale.
During the 1980s, there was little grateful audience for this form of music in the UK, and the big players in the genre were all American. The pioneering sound of two duelling acoustic guitars - Simon James on nylon and Nick Webb on steel - was a fresh touch on the genre, and hence the immediate success of the band, backed up by a double bass, percussion, and occasionally string quartet The Violettes. In the mid-1980s, James left the band; he would go on to form Kymaera, a similar, albeit more Latin oriented band. Webb then went on to discover Greg Carmichael, who became James’ immediate successor.
The new pair got work playing as an in-flight band on Virgin Atlantic flights to and from the United States - after sending some demo material to Nashville-based label MCA, the band was called six weeks later to record their first album. The pair had literally played their way to America, and in 1987 released their debut album, “Red Dust and Spanish Lace”. The project saw them joining forces with other like-minded musicians such as Mario Argandoña on percussion and Bert Smaak on drums. The album was recorded at the Hansa Haus Studios, in Bonn, Germany. This was where they met sound engineer Klaus Genuit, who has worked on many of the band’s albums.
During the 1980s, there was little grateful audience for this form of music in the UK, and the big players in the genre were all American. The pioneering sound of two duelling acoustic guitars - Simon James on nylon and Nick Webb on steel - was a fresh touch on the genre, and hence the immediate success of the band, backed up by a double bass, percussion, and occasionally string quartet The Violettes. In the mid-1980s, James left the band; he would go on to form Kymaera, a similar, albeit more Latin oriented band. Webb then went on to discover Greg Carmichael, who became James’ immediate successor.
The new pair got work playing as an in-flight band on Virgin Atlantic flights to and from the United States - after sending some demo material to Nashville-based label MCA, the band was called six weeks later to record their first album. The pair had literally played their way to America, and in 1987 released their debut album, “Red Dust and Spanish Lace”. The project saw them joining forces with other like-minded musicians such as Mario Argandoña on percussion and Bert Smaak on drums. The album was recorded at the Hansa Haus Studios, in Bonn, Germany. This was where they met sound engineer Klaus Genuit, who has worked on many of the band’s albums.
Shouts:
100 shouts
Top Albums
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The Beautiful Game
Acoustic Alchemy
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Arcanum
Acoustic Alchemy Buy- Download Album
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Sounds of St. Lucia
Acoustic Alchemy Buy- Download Album
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Early Alchemy
Acoustic Alchemy Buy- Download Album
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Shoutbox
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BeetsAndBears wrote:
Rad!
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squezey wrote:
I'm really enjoying the newest release, they really improved. My favorites will always be Natural Elements and Red Dust & Spanish Lace.
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slifer2006 wrote:
Awesome music, very soothing. 2 thumbs up for them
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malifloki1 wrote:
Papillon & Passion Play are my fav :)
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armandputra wrote:
playing for time, really love it !
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TheDragon6 wrote:
so good, seriously
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gholocaust wrote:
Toughest_Monk,миталистам не понять [2]
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BlackSignature wrote:
[2] Awesome, awesome band! I love them to bits!
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jassal1984 wrote:
Awesome, awesome band! I love them to bits!
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s-248 wrote:
очень круто,мужики
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cobforever wrote:
Toughest_Monk,миталистам не понять
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analogjukebox wrote:
I first heard AA on the radio via their first two American releases (Red Dust & Spanish Lace and Natural Elements). I was also at a concert when they were on tour in support of "Reference Point." I had a second row center seat at the show & I have to say the performance was outstanding. There was not one bad song throughout the show. I've been a fan ever since. It's great that the band is still performing under the leadership of Greg Carmichael, especially taking into account that founder Nick Webb has passed on.
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elisekate wrote:
I love this.
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imaginaryseoul wrote:
MASTERS OF THE STRINGS!!!!
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ValtielXIII wrote:
А по-моему таким и должен быть smooth jazz, - расслабляющим, глубоко трогающим сердце. Навести в душе смуту в музыкальном плане задача намного более простая, чем привести её в гармонию. А эти ребята прекрасно, что называется, играют на струнах самой души.
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Sappho77 wrote:
gotta love em
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mofui wrote:
It is simple but very beautiful melody!
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Toughest_Monk wrote:
Многого ожидал. Не впечатлило. Похоже на унылое музыкальное сопровождение для "расслабляющего" DVD. Хотя под настроение порой может быть очень кстати...
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tiggernits wrote:
Very, very good.
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taorent wrote:
try to listen.. sounds good..
Videos
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Play
Cherry Hill
3 shouts
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Play
Lazeez
1 shout
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Play
Angel of the South
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Play
This Way - Who Knows
3 shouts
Events
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Feb
16
Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival
Dubai Festival City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
8 going
3 shouts
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Apr
19
Acoustic Alchemy
The Stables, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
1 going
Listening Now
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steveandsarah
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Recent Activity
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WiTHiNt and hockeytime added Acoustic Alchemy to their libraries. yesterday evening
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SaTaHaX tagged Acoustic Alchemy with guitar, acoustic, instrumental and 2 other tags. yesterday evening
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wongsdigun, charlespoisall, rccandrews and 3 other people added Acoustic Alchemy to their libraries. yesterday morning
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matriccs tagged Acoustic Alchemy with jazz and smooth jazz. Wednesday afternoon
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matriccs, mitchyowell, doublecarpet1 and 2 other people added Acoustic Alchemy to their libraries. Wednesday afternoon
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mkstables added Acoustic Alchemy to the lineup of Acoustic Alchemy at The Stables. Monday afternoon
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GothicFeline, HarryRorije, tmckinne11 and 10 other people added Acoustic Alchemy to their libraries. Monday morning
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roberinho tagged Acoustic Alchemy with ‘smooth jazz’. last week
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twalker1157, svetlino97 and shevchuk_alex added Acoustic Alchemy to their libraries. last week
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Nero1 tagged Acoustic Alchemy with ‘smooth jazz’. last week
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Groups (19)
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64 members
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1,355 members
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