Club d’Elf Preps Debut Album ‘As Above’ Reissue & Shares ‘Shadow’s Shift’ Single

Twenty-five years ago this month Club d’Elf took the stage for the first time. On Wednesday, February 8, the project founded by bassist/composer Mike Rivard will celebrate the occasion by making their debut album, As Above, available for the first time ever on Spotify and all major digital streaming platforms. “Shadow’s Shift” from As Above has been released digitally to preview the reissue.

As Above was recorded live over six nights in 1999 and 2000 at The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Lizard Lounge hosted the first Club d’Elf show and continues to serve as a home base for the dub-jazz collective. Originally issued exclusively on CD in 2000, the 20-track set shows off a variety of musical pairings from the project’s early days including an ensemble featuring guitarist Reeves Gabrels (The Cure, David Bowie) and multi-instrumentalist Joe Maneri (Boston Microtonal Society).

“It’s always been our style to remix the music with players who come from distinctly different backgrounds,” noted Rivard, “and this was one of the coolest examples of that. Reeves was playing with David Bowie at the time and Joe was a legend in the free jazz and microtonal scenes. They couldn’t have been further apart musically speaking, but their openness to each other and deep listening helped to create something that defies categorization.” Joe Maneri sadly passed away in 2009.

Others besides Mike Rivard, Joe Maneri and Reeves Gabrels featured on As Above include DJ Logic (turntables), Kenwood Dennard (drums), Duke Levine (guitar), Alain Mallet (keyboards), Mat Maneri (electric violin), Erik Kerr (drums), Brahim Fribgane (oud, doumbek and qaraqab) and Dr. Didg (didgeridoo) amongst others. DJ Logic’s spinning is showcased on “Shadow’s Shift.”

Hear Club d’Elf’s “Shadow’s Shift” track from As Above below: