DOUBLE / KURT MALOO

Real Name:
Kurt Maloo - vocals,guitars & Felix Haug - keyboards,synths,drum programming

Country:
Schweiz
Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Synth-pop ,Smooth Jazz

VIDEO (lot of):

http://www.youtube.com/user/kumaloo

BLUE (1985)

Credits:
Saxophone, Flute - Christian Ostermeier/Trombone - Bob Morgan (track 01)/Backing Vocals - Liz McComb (track 02,04)/Bass - Thomas Jordi (track 08)

Tracklist :

01 Woman of the World
02 I Know a Place
03 Captain of Her Heart
04 Your Prayer Takes Me Off
05 Rangoon Moon
06 Urban Nomads
07 Love Is a Plane
08 Tomorrow

Link to download:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/cfg9gp Lp 1985 blue


"More than any other artist or band, the team of Kurt Maloo and Felix Haug may be singlehandedly responsible for making me really fall in love with the "smooth jazz" format all over again in my adult years, during the Eighties when "Captain Of Her Heart" crossed over from Adult Contemporary to the top of the Pop charts. Many of my friends considered this snooze-inducing aural wallpaper, but for me it was a great way to decompress after a barrage of new wave, punk/funk, hair bands and whatever else was frenetically popular at the time. Ever had someone nice give you a long foot massage after a hard day at work? BLUE gives you that exact same feeling, except for your ears. Well-crafted, catchy but not demanding fusion pop, with "Captain", "Rangoon Moon" and "Tomorrow" as mellow stand-outs. "Your Prayer Takes Me Off" is probably about as dance-driven as this album ever gets, but if you put it into your CD player, you're not looking for "Thriller" or "Love Is A Battlefield" to begin with. Put on your headphones, kick off your shoes and enjoy."

" rebember when "The Captain of Her Heart" just came out in mid eighties... It is undoubtly one of the greatest songs ever produced!!!!! I you wwere alive in the eighties, I am sure you heard this song 100 times. Getting it finnaly on cd is like meeting an old friend. Those who are NOT familiar with this song will be carried away by its piano and rhythm... so smooth and cool... the perfect mixture of drums, piano, bass and synths. Absolutely beautiful But this record also has many precious tracks from this great somewhat-forgotten band. "Woman of the World" is one of the best and also "Tomorrow" and "Your Prayer Takes Me Off". This is music to hear everywhere. I wonde what happened to this group. This album is such a great achievement!!! And they are all great musicians! This album is a must have."

























DOU3LE (1987)

Credits:
Herb Alpert -trumpet on "devils ball"/ Michael Urbaniak - electric violin on "devils ball"/ Peter Glenister - guitars ( tracks 01,02,06,07)/ Marc Portman - guitar solo (track 07)/ Christian Ostermeier - saxes and flute (track 01,05)/ Jürg Grau - trumpet (track 04)/ John Spencer Sugden and Nigel Woodhouse - mandolins ( track 08)/ Beverly,Maxine and Gloria Brown "The Browns" all backing vocals








Track Listings:

01 Fire In Disguise
02 Gliding
03 Lakes In The Desert
04 Circles
05 Prove Your Love
06 (You Don't Let Me Get) Close Enough
07 Silent Mountain
08 Devils Ball
09 Wrong Time
10 Megarhythmdance

Link to download:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/bgqu4f Lp 1987 dou3le part 1.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/c0lz01 Lp 1987 dou3le part 2.

"What a great but mostly overlooked album Dou3le is. Devil's Ball, Circles absolute gems! I regularly give it and Blue a spin when we have guests around for a meal or a boozing session and I'm always asked "this is good who is it.................?"So I'm still getting converts after all this time!"

"I was only 12 when, layed on my beloved sofa, I was listening to italian MTV. The magical notes of "Devils Ball" paralyzed me while I was feeling astonished for its spectacular video. The great wish of relistening that song accompanied me for a long period (here in Italy I heard it just that time!). Without any cognition about title or author (I hadn't signed them!) the quest was very difficult. But reconnetting the style of "Devils Ball" to the one of the more famous "The Captain of her Heart" I finally made it in 1996!!! Oh! I took my revenge... and "Devils Ball" has become my most preferred song ever."

NEW!! UPDATED (120.05.2008) NEW!!:

DEVILS BALL (12") (1987)

Tracklist:

01 Devils Ball (Unedited Version) (4:29)
02 Devils Ball (Unedited Piano-Version) (4:51)
03 Megarhythmdance (5:15)
Bonus:
04 Gliding (single version) (bonus track for the remastered "Dou3le" album)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/116068122/Devba12.rar.html




SINGLES, B SIDES, MIXES (2008)

Tracklist:

01 Naningo (Lex Edit) (their first single from 1983)
02 I Know A Place (A. M. Version)
03 The Captain Of Her Heart (Extended Mix)
04 Woman Of The World (Instrumental version)
05 Your Prayers Take Me Off (London Mix)
06 The Captain Of Her Heart (Instrumental version)
07 Woman Of The World (Long instrumental version)
08 Your Prayers Take Me Off (Extended dance edit by B.J Productions)(Hot Traks remix)
09 The Captain Of Her Heart (Captain's mix by John Bice)
10 Woman Of The World (Tahngoterje edit)
11 The Captain Of Her Heart (Jimm M.dub mix)
12 The Captain Of Her Heart (Single mix '95)
13 The Captain Of Her Heart (Hot tracks mix)
14 Woman Of The World Part 1.
15 Woman Of The World Part 2.
16 The Captain Of Her Heart (Paid in full mix)
17 The Captain Of Her Heart (Lounge instrumental version)
18 Custao feat. Ronnie Jones - The Captain Of Her Heart (Groove mix '90)
19 Custao feat. Ronnie Jones - The Captain Of Her Heart (Simple mix '90)
20 Ronnie Jones - The Captain Of Her Heart (First dance mix 1985)
21 Koto - The Captain Of Her Heart (1990)
22 Ronnie Jones - The Captain Of Her Heart (Radio version 1985)

Links to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/116079611/Dosimia.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/116080598/Dosimib.rar.html


Albums of KURT MALOO:

SINGLE (1990)

Genre:
Electronic, Pop
Style:

Europop

Credits:
Harmonica - Paul Jones (tracks 06,09)/Accordion - Marcel Azzola (track 04)/Trumpet - Guy Barker (track 03)
Producer - Armand Wolker (partner of Michel Cretu (check my Moti Special post),recently: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=154832693(tracks: 1, 2, 4) , Kurt Maloo , Mike Pela (also produced Sade,Fine Young Cannibals etc.) (tracks: 3, 5 to 10)

Tracklist:

01 Lovegrow (5:04)
02 You Blew In (3:24)
03 Land Of 1000 Trances (4:32)
04 You Drive Your Life (3:46)
05 End Of The Season (5:50)
06 Highs And Lows (4:14)
07 Shark In The Blue Lagoon (3:44)
08 Can't Banish Love (3:02)
09 River (4:37)
10 Food For The Moon (4:52)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/115319714/kmsin.rar.html

"The 1990 album “Single” was Maloo`s welcome return to the solo format. After the soundscape constructions of “DOU3LE”, “Single” was a tribute to the pop song as well as Maloo`s playground for different musical styles. Kurt Maloo produced the album together with Mike Pela (Sade) who also mixed DOU3LE. Obviously the parameters in Kurt`s private life hadn`t switched to “Single” yet since he got married a few month later, became father of a daughter and three years later of a son."(http://maloo.wordpress.com/about/)

THE CAPTAIN OF HER HEART (12") (1995)

Genre:
Jazz, Pop
Style:
Smooth Jazz,House

Producer - Michael Cretu (Sandra,Enigma,Moti Special,see:http://www.michaelcretu.com/)

Tracklist:

01 The Captain Of Her Heart (Radio Version) (3:58)
02 The Captain Of Her Heart (Steady Groove Mix) (3:45)
03 The Captain Of Her Heart (Club Mix) (4:27)
04 The Captain Of Her Heart (Unplugged Version) (3:50)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/115317378/kmcah.rar.html





































KURT MALOO - Soul & Echo (1995)

Credits:
Kurt Maloo -vocals,guitars,programmings
Kai Liekenbröker - keyboards/ René Tinner - hand drum on track 04
Madeleine Lang - backing vocals (except track 06,10)/Jens Gad - guitars,drums on track 03
produced by René Tinner, Kai Liekenbröker (except track 03)


Track Listings:

01 Young King
02 Man In Love
03 The Captain Of Her Heart (produced by Michael Cretu)
04 Afraid Of The Darkness
05 Transformation
06 Jealousy
07 Diving For Your Pearls
08 Reality
09 You Echo Inside Of Me
10 The Baby`s Sleepin`
11 Remorse


Link to download (!!new link 20.05.2008!!):
http://rapidshare.com/files/115331798/kmsoe.rar.html
Kurt Maloo Cd 1995 (inlays are included with lyrics)

KURT MALOO vs. DOUBLE - Loopy Avenue (2006)

Genre:
Jazz, Pop
Style:

Smooth Jazz

Credits:
Saxophone - Gabriel Coburger (track 12),Mel Collins (tracks 05,11)
Flugelhorn - Thomas Siffling (track 06)
Trumpet - Herb Alpert (track 02)
Producer - Kurt Maloo , Pit Baumgartner (from De-Phazz,see:
http://www.pit-baumgartner.de/)

Notes:
Contains four re-works of their highlights from the 80s as well as eight new and previously unheard tracks by Kurt Maloo and Double.

Tracklist:

01 Rangoon Moon (4:09)
02 Devils Ball (3:37)
03 The Captain Of Her Heart (4:52)
04 Loopy Ave. (3:12)
05 Life Could Not Be Better (4:22)
06 Soultime (4:00)
07 Shoobedoobedoo (3:34)
08 Tomorrow (3:58)
09 I Have A Notion (3:55)
10 Scarhearts (3:18)
11 Your Town (4:00)
12 Twice In A Lifetime (2:35)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/115302044/kmloop.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/115301729/kmloop.rar.html

"Kurt Maloo's Loopy Avenue NOT so loopy. Kurt Maloo succeeds in remixing the Double favorites with his unique talent. The hits you remember remixed to perfection. You'll love the new versions of the songs you remember. The Captain of Her Heart now a duet with Pat Appleton is just too perfect, just when you thought the original could not be beat. The other songs go down so easy, You'll lose track of how many times you've played this CD. Do yourself a favor and get this CD. You'll be very glad you did."

"20 years after Swiss band Double`s debut album, Blue, and it's enormously popular single, The Captain Of Her Heart, Kurt Maloo, the remaining half of Double, has released Loopy Avenue, an excellent sounding and stylish album containing four re-mixed hits from Double's past as well as eight new and previously unheard songs by Kurt Maloo and Double. All the songs satisfy on several levels but particular favorites of mine are Rangoon Moon, Devils Ball, Life Could Not Be Better and I Have a Notion, a song you can't find on any other venue. Life Could Not Be Better would have made a great follow-up to Captain had it been available and would, I suspect, been just as popular with American audiences. Don't buy this album if you're looking for the 80s version of Captain of Her Heart. For that you need to buy Blue. Captain on Loopy Avenue is a remix."

some bio:
Kurt Maloo, a former painter, made his first musical appearances in the early '70s at gallery openings and similar events in Zurich. From 1976-78, he was part of Troppo, a nine-piece experimental band of which he was a founding member.
In 1979, he released "Giant Lady", a solo single; the following year came the innovative EP "Luna, Luna + The Notorious Maloo Home Works".
In 1980 Kurt met Felix Haug (later 50% of Double) and formed, with the addition of a bass player, a trio called Ping Pong. They built a following through their own recordings and live appearances at a number of European festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festival.
In 1983, Maloo and Haug (spent a brief period of time drumming with art rock act Yello) decided to make a go of it as a duo. As Double, they first recorded a 12" single called "Nanningo". It was followed in 1984 by two more singles - "Rangoon Moon" and "Woman of the World", both of which appear on Blue in updated or remixed versions - and a self-produced black and white video, that became a cult classic on a variety of European television formats and got several plays on VH1. In the fall of 1985, Switzerland's Double started invading the world with their beautifully crafted, catchy single "The Captain of Her Heart" from their first album Blue. The sound of Double certainly has caught on. Blue has been released in more than 50 countries and „The Captain of her Heart“ became a modern-day classic.
In 1987 Kurt Maloo and Felix Haug recorded their album DOU3LE. Guest musicians on the album include Herb Alpert (trumpet) and Michael Urbaniak (violin).....and not to forget the unique performance of the legendary "Mummenschanz" in the music video of „Devils Ball“, a weird easy-listening tune, feat. Herb Alpert on trumpet. The video, directed by Hannes Rossacher and Rudi Dolezahl was an award winner in Cannes in 1988.
The 1990 album "Single" was Maloo`s welcome return to the solo format. After the soundscape constructions of "DOU3LE", "Single" was a tribute to the pop song as well as Maloo`s playground for different musical styles. Kurt Maloo produced the album together with Mike Pela (Sade) who also mixed DOU3LE. Obviously the parameters in Kurt`s private life hadn`t switched to "Single" yet since he got married a few month later, became father of a daughter and three years later of a son.For the recording of the 1995 album "Soul & Echo" Kurt returned to the legendary Can Studio near Cologne where he already has worked with Rene Tinner on Blue. "Soul & Echo" reverberates the streets of Paris, Maloo`s home from 1986 - 1993.
In 2006 he will release a new album and perform live again...

The band was a popular Swiss musical act. "The Captain of Her Heart"sold more than 1.5 million singles to become a top 10 hit across Europein 1986 and reached No. 16 in the U.S. charts.

Former Double Member Felix Haug Dead at 52
May 6, 2004 - Felix Haug who made up one half of the Swedish band Double has died. Haug co-wrote and played piano on their biggest hit that's still a Smooth Jazz mainstay 'The Captain Of Her Heart.' Haug died Saturday (May 1) from a heart attack. He was 52. He and singer / guitarist Kurt Maloo were in the band Ping Pong before forming Double in 1983. Though known mostly as 'one hit wonders' in North America Double was a big band in their homeland. 'Captain Of Her Heart' sold 1.5 million and was a top ten hit in Europe and rose to 16th place on the Billboard charts. After his work with Double, Haug was a drummer for the band Yello and recently worked as an editor for a Swiss television listings magazine. He leaves a wife, Vera, and three children.

NEW!!! UPDATED 10.2009 !!!NEW
































PING PONG - Ping Pong (1982)

Genre:
Electronic, Jazz, Rock
Style:
New Wave

Members:
Kurt Maloo - Vocals, Guitar
Felix Mint (Felix Haug) - Percussion, Vocals, Marimba, Vocoder
Hazel Pazzi - Bass, Vocals, Harmonium

Credits:
Produced by Michael Chambosse (also produced Kai Morgan, Tamir, Talkin' Fog)

VIDEO:
"Euronet/Diane"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEMtRZEcGVw

Tracklist:

01 Euronet / Diane
02 Pictures
03 Mayday / Mayday
04 I Want Your Love
05 Rhythm Walk
06 Willie
07 Waiting For You
08 Pedro
09 Crocomotion
10 Joe Doe

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/287882883/ping_pong_.rar

Biography and review:

Some describe this extremly rare album as a kind of pre-Double release, because Ping Pong was formed by Hazel Pazzi, Kurt Maloo and Felix Haug to evolve few years later in Double:

"Double - Kurt Maloo (vocals, guitar) and Felix Haug (drums, keyboard) - joined forces in 1981. Before that, the two Zurich natives had pursued different but parallel musical paths. Maloo, a former painter, made his first musical appearances in the early '70s at gallery openings and similar events in Zurich. From 1976-78, he was part of Troppo, a nine-piece experimental band of which he was a founding member. In 1979, he released "Giant Lady", a solo single; the following year came the innovative Luna, Luna + 7 Notorious Maloo Home Works, the format for which consisted of seven songs at 33 1/3rpm on one side and a 45rpm "maxi-single" on the other. The album side, made at home as the title suggests, was originally intended for demo purposes but met with considerable success as a commercial release.

Haug spent the mid-'70s drumming his way around Europe, the Far East, Asia and the United States. In 1977 he joined the Lipschitz Orchestra, an experimental big-band; two years later, he joined YELLO for the recording of the album Solid Pleasure. The European electronic ensemble made their mark in the States on the notorious Ralph Records label, home of the Residents, Snakefinger and other leaders of the rock avant-garde.

When their paths converged in '81, Kurt and Felix, with the addition of a bass player, formed a trio called Ping Pong. Along with recording several never-released (due to legal entanglements) tracks with guitarist Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Ping Pong built a following through their own recordings (among them a minor hit single entitled "Rhythm Walk") and live appearances at a number of European open-air festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festival.

In 1983, Maloo and Haug decided to make a go of it as a duo."

Whilst Double was a jazz-pop duo, Ping Pong's style is rather a particular mixture of some reggie and new wave closer to Maloo and Haug's experimental side (some songs like "Pedro" and "Crocomotion" is similar to the early Police). So if you are waiting for the well known Double sound, will be easy disapointed. But if you are open-minded enough, you will recognize that this is a pretty good album indeeed.

My favos are "Euronet / Diane", "Pictures", "Mayday", "Rhythm Walk", "Waiting For You", "Pedro", "Crocomotion" and "Joe Doe"



!!!NEWS!!!!

New Kurt Maloo album "Summer Of Better Times" very soon!! Will be released October 30. 2009 by jazz records label Verve!!


More info:
http://www.maloo.com/ Kurt Maloo page

http://www.doublecity.com/ the official band page
http://maloo.wordpress.com/

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=83087338

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=61678481

http://cafeswizz.blogspot.com/2007/09/zrich-in-den-70ern.html interview (German)

http://www.ubl.com/artists/kurtmalooanddouble/