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Four80East. Just the name puts your mind in a urban mood. The formula is truly intriguing. Two younger Canadian musicians, Rob Deboer and Tony Grace, burned out on straight dance club remixing--heavy on talent and but low on channels to explore. What do they do? Work on their own for months to create a self-titled album for the new project they call Four80East with only tiny record label to get the music out there. It doesn't really sound like a formula success, does it? Well, fasten your seat belts--we're going for an interesting ride.
Their debut self-titled album lives through word of mouth. Ear to ear. Soul to soul. One listen is enough to tell you this is something special. Something that transcends dance, jazz, and trance. I say transcend because there is plenty of music that throws a nod in a few directions but at the end of the day doesn't have the vision to guide it's ingredients. Four80East transcends.
In an age where "smooth
jazz" plays a major role on everything from U.S. radio to the soundtrack
of the Weather Channel it is probably normal that jazz sounds evoke one of two
reactions more than any other among American listeners. 1. Easy acceptance;
2. Immediate dismissal. The problem is two fold as well. Option 1 often leads
to little more than people having it on in the background at work or in the
car. Arguably, smooth jazz has become the "elevator music" of the
late 20th and early 21st century. Option 2 stands for fans of other music styles
who basically only see option 1 listeners in their mind's eye when they think
of modern jazz. 
Enter the great formula of Four80East into this ugly equation and the math suddenly looks more like chaos theory. The music of Four80East seems to hit people across the board. Jazz listeners, progressive instrumental listeners, and yes, even burned out dance listeners respond.
As Rob Deboer describes it, the project started with ideas he and Grace had lived with for years. Moods, funk, grooves--fun stuff they could express in new ways. Perhaps even a fluke with England as the target. But it is now so much more than a fluke with three well produced studio albums (with a fourth in the works) a contract with a solid U.S. label, Higher Octave and possibilty of a North American tour in the future. DeBoer, in calm measured tones, seems almost unsurprised how well many have reacted to his art.
"We set some paramaters--this was not going to be a smooth jazz record," he says of their debut. The paramaters seem to work, even in their cover art. Rarely has packaging design so suited it's music as with their second album Nocturnal. The beautiful image of a city beckons the listener inside. The image was actually shot by co-founder Grace.
Blue Mango Cafe fired questions at Rob Deboer to gain more insight at this unique, entertaining project.
BMC--How did the two of you come up with the concept for Four80East? Did you have any particular artistic goals?
F8E: The concept originally was just to make groove-oriented, jazz-flavoured club music.Within those parameters, we just did whatever we felt at the time. When we were working on tracks for The Album, we weren’t concerned with any overall album concept; we just worked up a bunch of tunes and were happily surprised when they all gelled nicely as a whole.
BMC--Although it is still a relative rarity, more artists seem to be delving into the musical nexus between jazz and electro/ambient or other progressive styles. Do you see there being a lot of room for exploration in this area?
F8E: I certainly hope so, as that’s what we’re going to keep on doing! Honestly, I think there’s lots of room for exploration in all kinds of music; you just have to get creative, and stay fresh.My feeling is that instrumental electro-oriented music in general will continue to grow in popularity.
BMC--Much of the music on your debut album and Nocturnal really catch the vibe of a city after dark. What are some of the methods you employ to do this so successfully?
F8E: Nothing says nighttime like a muted trumpet. Actually, we didn’t particularly set out to make that kind of vibe. I guess jazz generally has that kind of feel to it, and the use of spacey, atmospheric elements gives things a bit of a dream-like texture.
BMC--Do you see the Internet as a medium to create more connectivity with your audience, perhaps even with limited editions, remixes or the like?
F8E: I love the internet.There are tons of possibilities, I just haven’t thought of any good ones yet.
BMC--Do you feel more commercial pressure now that recordings are being marketed by a label targeting the more mainstream NAC/smooth jazz segment?
F8E: We feel more commercial pressure now that we each have two kids! There are certainly more commercial possibilities when you can exploit such a big market, but we’re not going to go and start making straight-up smooth jazz records. In fact, with Round Three we have tried to move away from that a bit as far as the sound goes; we’re treating it more as a “chill” record.
BMC--What sort of things would the two of you like to see in the jazz or new instrumental music scene over the next few years--be it business or artistic in nature?
F8E: Less soprano sax, more whispering French girls. A platinum-selling Four80East record would be good.