Jamiroquai

比起主流的「英国流行乐团」，Jamiroquai标榜的是更纯正的英国放克乐风，因此，在不愿迎合以大肆宣传为导向的英国流行音乐市场的前提下，他们的唱片销售成绩可想而知并不算是顶尖的。 Jamiroquai 成军于1992年。他们的经典专辑“When You Gonna Learn?”，当时由伦敦一家独立厂牌“Acid Jazz”发行，立刻在地下音乐界引起广大的回响。当时在酒吧撑场面的乐手，所做出的作品可说俗滥不堪，且普遍自以为是行家，其实毫无思想；Jamiroquai 的出现，改革了当时三流酒吧乐团所造成的不良风气。不仅仅是那些混酒吧的人喜欢他们，一向热爱灵魂乐、放克音乐、狄斯可舞曲以及一般识才的乐迷都一致认同Jamiroquai的音乐成就。在一场唱片公司的争夺战后，Jamiroquai 最后选择和新力音乐旗下的S2唱片签下一只由其代为发行八张专辑的合同。他们的才华、独特的乐风及群众魅力皆受到肯定，这些条件也奠定了他们歌唱事业恒久不断的基础。 主唱Jay Kay性喜高谈阔论，有时也因他直率的个性而成为争议性人物。当首张专辑 &Emergency On Planet Earth&(地球警讯）一发行，立刻引起媒体的争相报导，并于1993 年 6月荣登全英专辑榜冠军宝座，也使得Jamiroquai成为该年度英国首张专辑销售成绩最佳的团体。
 
在'97年红透半边天之前，Jamiroquai就已是家乡英国当地最受欢迎的乐团之一。1993年的&Emergency On Planet Earth&专辑单单在英国就卖出五十万张，更以迅雷不及掩耳之势登上全英冠军王座，其销售成绩更勇踞全年所有新进艺人首张专辑销售纪录之冠。他们的第二张专辑“Return Of The Space Cowboy”（太空牛仔回城），再次证明了其充满灵性热情的音乐早已超越语言及文化的藩蓠，在欧洲其它国家及日本也同样广受欢迎，不仅延续了首张专辑的狂热销售量，在日本及欧洲其它地区造成一片流行风潮。这张专辑在英国本土并获颁白金唱片销售成绩证明。而在Jamiroquai 发行的第三张专辑”Travelling Without Moving”（心驰神往）里，显而易见的是主唱 Jay Kay延续以往的洋溢才华，及 Jamiroquai 对其音乐完整性的坚持与从不妥协的态度，这些因素促使他们一如预期擢升为全球音乐的新势力。席卷全球的热潮自是不在话下，叫好又叫座的佳绩让Jamiroquai俨然成为新生代最酷的灵魂舞曲代言人！
 
Jamiroquai的音乐取自许多不同世代人们的思想、多样的生活型态及音乐偏好，这种受到多方面影响所融合而成的折衷式乐风，也成为这个团体的特色。有些对非主流音乐市场乐风改变敏感度较高的人，根本漠视当时所谓主流的音乐趋势，而独钟情于Jamiroquai 独特的唱腔。那时居排行榜十名内的单曲，例如 「Too Young To Die」、「Blow Your Mind」以及「Return Of The Space Cowboy」等等，一直到现在，人们依然爱不释手，回响热烈。Jamiroquai 也是极少数被视为现场演出品质保证的团体之一，出身于酒吧／舞厅的现场表演场合的他们，摒弃在当时那个竞争激烈的环境中常期惯用的播放录音带或是音乐录像带的草率方式，而改以现玚演出的方式来带动气氛；这是他们的中心哲学，也是他们最终的企盼－马不停蹄的全世界巡回演出也为他们募集了不少热情的歌迷。
 
1997年以一首在移动地板上边唱边跳的「Virtual Insanity 」一举囊括MTV音乐录像带大奖９项重要奖项提名，最后更获「年度最佳音乐录像带」最大奖项的Jamiroquai，在歌坛五年的历练后，终于在该年度获得各界的高度肯定，不但唱片销售直破七白金纪录，更在1998年象征流行乐界最高荣誉的葛莱美奖上，以英国外来乐团之姿一举拿下「最佳流行乐团」大奖。Jamiroquai 突破了种族固有制式化成见，以白人乐团的身份创作出圆熟融合 放克、Acid Jazz、灵魂、节奏蓝调….等多样原本被视做黑色艺人所擅长的各式音乐元素，而主唱及创作中枢Jay充满浓郁灵魂味道的高音唱腔，更为Jamiroquai的音乐添入迥异于其它白人同侪团体的律动线。此外，乐团自出道以来即不断强调环保观念的歌词，也证明他们是新一代中少见的良心团体。Jamiroquai对自己风格的坚持，正反映出Jay对于音乐创作理念所怀持的极高热忱，和一向的诚实态度。 Jamiroquai的音乐成绩大家有目共睹，他们成熟驾驭诱人音乐元素的超凡功力，也的确是不同凡响!
 
by Greg Prato
 
Although some choose to pass off Jamiroquai as a Stevie Wonder-clone, the band has amassed a steady stream of hits in its native U.K. and has experienced chart success in just about every other area of the world with an irresistible blend of house rhythms and 70s-era soul/funk. The band has gone though several lineup changes during their career, but through it all their leader has remained singer/songwriter Jason Kay (aka J.K.). Born on December 30, 1969, in Stretford, Manchester, Kays mother, Karen, was a jazz singer who regularly performed at nightclubs, and in the 70s had her own TV show. After leaving home at the age of 15, Kay found himself homeless and in trouble with the law (by committing petty crimes to get by). After a near-death experience (where he was attacked and stabbed) and being arrested for a crime he did not commit, Kay decided to return home, where he chose to pursue a legitimate career over crime: music. Kay didnt have a band to back up his compositions, but he quickly came up with his future projects name, Jamiroquai, a name that combined the name of a Native American tribe (the Iroquois) along with the music-based word, jam.
 
Kays home demos caught the attention of the record label Acid Jazz, which issued Jamiroquais debut single When You Gonna Learn? in late 1992. With Kay enlisting the help of others (Jamiroquais best-known lineup included drummer Derrick McKenzie, keyboard player Toby Smith, bassist Stuart Zender, and vibraphonist Wallis Buchanan), the single was a success and was soon followed by a long-term and lucrative recording contract with Sony. Jamiroquais full-length debut, Emergency on Planet Earth, followed in 1993 and became a major hit in their native England (peaking at number one on the charts), spawning such Top Ten hit singles as Too Young to Die and Blow Your Mind. The bands second release, The Return of the Space Cowboy in 1995, managed to steer Jamiroquai clear of the sophomore jinx that affects so many up-and-coming bands by out-selling its predecessor in Europe and was a sizeable hit in Japan, as well.
 
With most of the world dancing to Jamiroquais beat, America was next in line for the bands third effort, 1996s Traveling Without Moving. The album spawned the worldwide hit Virtual Insanity, for which an award-winning video was filmed and helped the album achieve platinum status in the States by the years end (as well as a highlighted performance at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards). Despite achieving breakthrough success, bassist Zender opted to leave the group during sessions for its follow-up, which resulted in Kay scraping almost an entire albums worth of new tracks in order to start from scratch with a new bassist (the slot would eventually go to newcomer Nick Fyffe). During the downtime, Jamiroquai contributed a brand-new track, Deeper Underground, to the soundtrack for the 1998 movie Godzilla.
 
But the long wait between albums seemed to kill Jamiroquais momentum in the U.S., where a fourth release overall, 1999s Synkronized, was largely ignored (yet back home and across the globe, it was another major commercial success). Subsequently, it appeared as though the majority of Jamiroquais U.S. media attention focused on non-music related events, such as the band turning down a million-dollar offer to play at a concert on New Years Eve 1999, and when Kay was accused of assaulting a tabloid photographer (with the charges later being dropped). It didnt take Jamiroquai as long the next time around to issue another album, with A Funk Odyssey hitting the racks two years later in 2001. Kay also helmed a volume in the mix-album series Late Night Tales. From there, Jamiroquai spent the next two years gathering material for a sixth studio album. Dynamite, which was finally released in 2005, was written and recorded in Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, Scotland, New York, Los Angeles and Jamiroquais own Buckinghamshire studio.