The Held Lampi Project
The Held Lampi project is a long term collaboration between legendary German producer Zeus B. Held (Gina X, Nina Hagen, Hawkwind) and Californian Chapman Stick virtuoso Jim Lampi (John Martyn, Zak Sikobi , Marie-Clare D'Ubaldo). Together, they explore jazz, world music and dance grooves to create a unique and instantly recognisable sound. Following the release of Digital Dreaming they are writing material for a new album with musicians from Japan and South East Asia and planning a European tour with indigenous Australian vocalist Frank Yamma in 2005
Jim Lampi - Artist profile
Jim Lampi is a native of Los Angeles. Musically he started out playing sax , guitar, and singing in local bands. He discovered the Chapman Stick® from an
article in the Los Angeles Times and later took lessons from Emmett Chapman, the inventor of the Stick® .
He quickly became a virtuoso performer and moved up to the San Francisco music scene, performing with such diverse musicians as Tuck & Pattie, and Michael Hedges, as well as opening solo for the Jerry Garcia band, and playing Bread & Roses concerts with Joan Baez and Maria Mauldar. He then headed over to Europe, playing in a variety of clubs and festivals. Jim began to teach tapping, and performed with classical, jazz, and rock musicians in Scandinavia and later Paris.
Inevitably Lampi came to London playing in the new jazz scene with Phillip Bent (GRP Records), Tony Remy, Steve Williamson (all of Jazz Warriors fame) and John Etheridge, (Soft Machine).He released his first solo album ,‘TV Weather’ in 1992. Promotion and touring of the UK followed covering TV, radio, clubs, colleges. He performed at the Summer Jazz Festival in Warsaw featuring such stars as Chick Corea, Jack Bruce, John Mclaughlin, Modern Jazz Quartet, Steve Gadd.
Other collaborations included a ‘Sound on Sound’ Magazine project with Courtney Pine, more studio work and tours with singer Marie Claire D’ubaldo and with Zak Sikobi of Kenya in shows featuring Ali Hassan Kuban of Egypt at the Royal Festival Hall and the Shikamoo Jazz Band at the Astoria in London for festivals of African music. Lampi finished his second solo album ‘Young Lions’ in 1996. At this time began to perform in duo and band performances with the legendary John Martyn (Solid Air).
In 2002 Jim’s third solo album ‘Greazy’ was released. This mostly instrumental collection featured guest performances from John Martyn and Marie Claire D’ubaldo. Jim's long standing collaboration with German producer and keyboard player Zeus B. Held led to the formation of The Held Lampi Project, a virtual band, based around the creative
nucleus of Jim and Zeus, featuring collaborations with artists from around the world.
Their first album for Kissing Fish Music, Digital Dreaming was released in January 2005 and they are currently working on a new collaboration with musicians from Japan and South East Asia.
The making of Digital Dreaming
When German producer, Zeus B Held (Nina Hagen, Gina X) was visiting friends in South Australia, he
became interested in Aboriginal music and decided to make an album inspired by what he had heard. He spent a couple of months touring around Australia with his portable ADAT, playing gigs with local
musicians and trying to capture the spirit of the
indigenous sound before returning to Europe.
In London, Zeus began working on music for the project with Californian Chapman Stick player Jim Lampi. Once they were happy with the concept for the album, Zeus and Jim returned to Australia, where they toured and recorded with Local musicians, including indigenous singer songwriter Frank Yamma. Frank sings in English and his native Pitjanjatjara and became the featured vocalist for the album.
Once they had gathered enough material, for the album, the headed to Germany, where they edited the tapes in Zeus’s studio in Freiberg, adding textures and additional contributions from an international group of musicians. including, classical percussionist, Olaf Tzschoppe, from Les Percussions de Strasbourg, who actually played a bucket of water on the intro to
Everybody’s Talking, reggae singer Silvalox who added improvised vocals and “body rhythms” and guitarists Craig T. and Damien Armstrong from Australian Rap Metal group NoKTuRNL, who were playing in Germany at the time.
The result is Digital Dreaming, a unique collection of textures and soundscapes, inspired by the Australian outback, featuring Frank Yamma’s raw and passionate vocals against a backdrop of hypnotic grooves and beats. A truly international project, inspired by the outback and Aboriginal music, or as Frank described it, Inma Wiru, which means joyous relaxed performance event.
Zeus B. Held Artist profile
Zeus B Held is a versatile producer and multi Instrumentalist. He made six albums with German group “Birth Control” and has worked as producer, and session musician, with some of the most influential artists of the last two decades
After writing and producing the groundbreaking album by the Gina X Performance “Nice Mover”, his first UK production credits were with Fashion and Dead or Alive. He produced Pete Wylie`s ”Sinful” album and an LP by Men Without Hats for Polygram US which yielded a number one in many
European countries and a US Top 20 hit with ”Pop Goes The World”. This was followed by two albums with Transvision Vamp on MCA with a top five single and a Number one
album. Zeus went on to write and produce successful
albums with Nina Hagen, Udo Lindenberg, Win, National Velvet, Spear Of Destiny and Mark Parrot.
Zeus produced, co-wrote and arranged albums with Nina Hagen and Fashion. He also wrote and recorded the music for the 1993 advertising campaign for Swatch. His mix of Gary Numan`s ”Cars” hit the British charts again in March `96 and provided samples that would later be used by Armand Van Helden in his hugely successful 2000 remix. In 1999 he co-wrote Nina Hagen’s single “Der Poetenclub” which also features the voice of Falco (of “Rock me Amadeus” fame).
in 2000 he produced an album with South African group “Shikisha” for Toshiba-EMI
Japan, an EP with Victoria Wilson-James and recorded and produced a live album with rock legends “Hawkwind” at the London Brixton Academy. His production and
collaboration with Coventry group “Bulletproof Electric Revue” led to intensive work on audio-visuals and the complete soundtrack of one of the British films shown at Cannes 2001 festival “Mad Dogs”.
Zeus` long standing collaboration with American Chapman Stick player Jim Lampi led to the formation of The Held Lampi Project, a virtual band, based around the creative
nucleus of Jim and Zeus, featuring collaborations with artists from around the world.
Their first album for Kissing Fish Music, Digital Dreaming was released in January 2005, along with The Color of Compassion from Zeus` own band The Spiritual Traders. They are currently working on a new collaboration with musicians from Japan and South East Asia.