So Where To Today?

TKDE started off as an audiovisual project back in 2000, influenced by old silent movie directors such as Murnau and Lang, but also the animations of Jan Švankmajer or the films of the Quay Brothers. Jason Köhnen (aka Bong-Ra) and Gideon Kiers started creating soundtracks to old silent movies (Nosferatu, Metropolis) and progressively composed new music inspired by these images which eventually became TKDE. The Kilimanjaro : extinct volcano in Northern Tanzania, the highest peak in Africa. Darkjazz : mysterious, black in shade, liveliness, spirit, excitement. Ensemble : all the parts of a thing taken together, so that each part is considered only in relation to the whole. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble is a mutant mix of what has inspired the artists musically, and especially visually. Trombonist Hilary Jeffery (originally from the UK, residing in Amsterdam) joined in 2004 and introduced Swiss born Nina Hitz … The debut album ‘The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble’ was recorded with this line up, and was released on UK electronica label Planet Mu early 2006. TKDE expanded to six when Eelco Bosman and French vocalist Charlotte Cegarra joined the ensemble in 2007.