Good morning, good morning to you ! Today, we are absolutely buzzing to welcome Feed LA to MailTape. Based in Berlin, the band flies freely across experimental jazz, punchy funk, and low rock textures. Leaning into the joy of jazz music and everything in between, their releases are rich in wandering detours and pivoting surprises. Unfurling before our ears, each track invites us to the intricate conversations between players, where every murmur and pause of the bassline, the drums, the trumpet, and the keys hover in the air, a joy to discover. The band joins us following the release of their latest single, Feed Lala, promising many more on the way ;-)

Feed LA’s selection

Archie Shepp - Blues for Brother George Jackson

Feed LA: ” Treetop: Teenage me, intrigued by the jazz influence in some of mid 80’s pop music, bought the remaining 100+ jazz records from a colleague who inherited a vast collection from a distant uncle. Lots of Trane, new thing / free jazz, CTI and hard bob / soul jazz. Going through all the records without knowing much about the musicians, there was this Attica Blues album that stuck out to me, with Archie Shepp pictured writing music on the cover, a poster with the olympic black power salute in the background and his tenor sitting on the grand piano infront of him. The energy and truthfullness immediately hit me, and Blues for Brother George Jackson became a life long favorite of mine. “

Bob Stewart and the First Line Band - Priestess

Feed LA: ” Treetop: Fast forward a few years. Now full blown jazz enthusiast, working hard on my trumpet chops and Burghausen Jazz Festival ticket owner me sits in one of the front rows of the concert hall on a Friday night. This amazing group of people walk on stage and immediately merge traditional with avantgard jazz, life and death as one strong celebration of humankind and the power existing between us. Of course I ran to the merch table and grabbed their album! And of course I bought the follow up album where this track is from! I had this song fixed as the soundtrack of my eulogy. By now, I think I might switch to something we created with Feed LA. “

The Office Project with Jeff Özdemir - Emin Misin?

Feed LA: ” Treetop: Fast forward a few decades. Now amateur musician me stayed in contact with Jeff Özdemir ever since his band Faruk Green opened for the influencial deep funk troop I played with over the 90’s. Listening to his Jeff Ozdemir and Friends Vol. 2 album inspired me to book him for my 50th birthday. From that point on we started collaborating, ultimately leading to that super short live appearance that created Feed LA. Jeff isn’t an active member of the collective by now due to artistic and organizational differences. But we’re on good terms, and all the material of the More Feed album and a good bit of the material we’re working on for future follow up releases has his artistic contribution on it. Alongside Jeff, you can also hear Feed LA keyboarder Özgür aswell as Ferhat on Bass and Ertan on vocals, both of whom I had the pleasure getting to know at our Berlin shows. Ertan’s vocals, especially in the half-time part, never fail to give me goosebumps! “

Curator’s selection

Feed LA - Back for the Future

Sarah: ” One of the latest releases from Feed LA :) So struck by the keys’ softness in this track’s opening. All alone, they reach out through this dark quiet, gifting us glimmers of warm yellow light. The bass, horns, and drums rise from this quiet, too, called into the conversation. One by one, each new player bends the instruments beside it, offering subtle textures and extensions to the sound. This unfurling cohesion weaves closer and closer before falling away into sparseness, suddenly delighting in detours through empty space. Dancing together in and out of the shadows, the players switch between bubbling collaboration and solo sauntering. With each addition and stepping back, we lean into listening, inhaling, inhaling, inhaling…

These inventive improvisations and unexpected harmonic textures are Feed LA’s signature, ingrained throughout the band’s creative process. With Özgür Bayraktar on keys, Daniel Ray Gahn on drums, Michael Treetop Voß on trumpet, and early collaborator Jeff Özdemir on bass, the group cuts each session live to tape — even from their earliest stages of songwriting. As Özgur describes, these sessions are built on trust in the flow. Often not even glancing at one another, the players move like silk from one groove to the next, threading funk, hip hop, rock, and jazz sounds all into one.

Listening over these studio tapes, band members become listeners, rediscovering their own improvisations as outsiders. Sifting through hours of first-layer archives, Michael describes waiting for his ears to prick up, caught by an unexpected tangle of melody, a knot of harmony, or a flashing rhythm shift. These moments become seedlings for the next studio session’s exploration. Gradually, these sessions build the band’s discography. Even in the final stages of production, the band finds one last moment of creativity. Certain instruments are drawn into sharper focus, background textures embellished, and fresh twists and loops woven into the song’s structure. Daniel describes this sonic sculpting as part of the thrill of improvisation, guiding listeners through the conversations between players, pulling them as close as possible to the studio’s heartbeat. With these soundscapes, Feed LA welcomes us into their joy of improvisation. “

Admiral - Lonely Palms Couch Party

Sarah: ” From Admiral’s 2017 album, Cash On The Line — other tracks Soho Girl and Magic Mentor are also favorites :) Still caught on the drive of this number’s cosmic organ and keys section. The adlibs of these crackling vocals and these echoing percussives throughout are also such a delight :) The band’s 2023 release, Do You Want To Sit On The Green ? Is also a trip and a treat to listen through, so many surprises (look out for tracks Devil’s Wok and It’s The Way You Talk To Me) :) “

Web Web - Bird’s Lament

Sarah: ” Moving back into softness with this track off of Web Web’s sixth album, Plexus Plexus. Mysia is another favorite from this release :) Tony Lakatos on saxaphone grounds this track’s base groove while also swirling above it, bounding in stride with these wonderful keys — all cradled together by such soft yet sharp percussives. “

Masako Ohta, Matthias Lindermayr - Olli’s Balloon

Sarah: ” Already at this episode’s end ! Revisiting this debut album following the release of Masako Ohta and Matthias Lindermayr’s latest album, Nozomi. At once subtle and spontaneous, these keys and trumpet dream together. Reflecting on the track, especially in the context of darker times, pianist Masako Ohta describes wanting to make a piece of music that felt a little more joyful, ‘imagining her grandchild, Olli, holding a balloon and releasing it into the atmosphere with glee.’ The lightfooted zigzags of this duo find themselves in the sky before drifting gently back to earth together. ”

Annnd that’s all for this morning ! As always, thank you so very much for listening :)) we love spending our sundays with you. Our love to Noémie Dijon for this episode’s stunning artwork (it’s like a still-frame of the music in motion :)). Many thanks to Feed LA for their delightful morning selection, we are so eager to hear your next releases ! Until next time :))