Featuring producers Florian Seyberth and Peter Heider, Boozoo Bajou are a downbeat duo from Nuremberg, Germany known for blending inspirations like reggae, dub, Cajun music, folk, jazz, and pop.
They first appeared in 1998 via the Stereo Deluxe label and the single "Night Over Manaus." The exotic lounge number drew the attention of Richard Dorfmeister, who hired the duo to remix "Chocolate Elvis," a 1999 single from Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber's project, Tosca. That same year, Bajou's jazzy single "Under My Sensi" became the chill-out tune of choice. It landed on their 2001 debut Satta! a dub-meets-electronica effort suitably named after the Jamaican Patois term for "relax." No surprise, then, that their 2003 mix CD Juke Joint skillfully blended Groove Armada, Burnt Friedman, Gregory Isaacs, Paul Weller, and John Lee Hooker, or that the same year's Remixes collection found them working with names like Common, Mousse T., and Thievery Corporation. Their sophomore release, Dust My Broom, landed in 2005 with country-rock hero Tony Joe White appearing on the single "Keep Going," while Jamaican deejay U-Brown traded lines with Fat Freddy's Drop singer Joe Dukie on the track "Take It Slow." A second volume of Juke Joint followed in 2006 and then the duo took on a new genre by exploring the introspective '70s sound of California. Adding Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Jackson Browne to their long list of influences, the band's 2009 effort Grains became their most organic album to date. Their dark, 2014 album 4 was another left turn, this time influenced by ambient dub artists like Brian Eno, the Basic Channel roster, and Jon Hassell. ~ David Jeffries