Compro Oro

Ghent based post-exotica/jazz-psychedelia adventurers Compro Oro have released 5 albums since 2015.

Wim Segers (vibraphones, synths) | Bart Vervaeck (el. guitar, pedal steel) | Matthias Debusschere (el. bass) | Falk Schrauwen (percussion, fx) | Frederik Van den Berghe (drums)

The band’s spontaneous quest for psychedelic sounds and jazz grooves has not stopped expanding since their formation in 2014. After imaginative musical trips to Havana, Mogadishu and Istanbul for previous releases, Compro Oro went looking for sounds and inspirations from other corners of the globe for ‘Buy The Dip’.

Synthesizers and electronic effects spice up their distinctive musical marriage of vibraphones, electric guitars, jazzfunk rhythms, exotic percussions and dubby bass patterns. Band leader and composer Wim Segers created these new compositions often on piano or vibe sin a more analogue way, leaving enough room for his band mates to colour each track when finetuning the song.

Apart from those synths and fx, a fair bunch of neo-noir western vibes sprout up on this album as well – think detuned piano’s, flamenco-like guitars, rattling snare drums, and imminent whistles. Add to that some laid back sunny pop sounds (‘Kayak’), off-hook and swaying Turkish psychedelica (‘Karsilama’) and even some haunted, kraut-ish vocal parts (‘Dungeon’), it’s evident Compro Oro has a musical voice without any equal in Belgium and beyond. 

Compro Oro released their first album ‘Transatlantic’ in 2015, an ode to jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader, an icon of the 1950’s Latin jazz movement. The release received critical acclaim back home, lauded in the press as a drunken mix of Buena Vista Social Club and guitarist Marc Ribot’s, Cubanos Postizos.

Subsequent live shows have been called a celebration for the hips, the ear and the soul. 2017 saw the release of ‘Bombarda, a bold EP that sailed South and East of Cuba, incorporating different ethnic rhythms and melodies in elaborate jams. No palm trees and cocktails in Havana this time, but instead dingy basements and LSD in West African cities.

The critically acclaimed ‘Suburban Exotica’ followed in 2019 with ‘Simurg’, a collaboration with Murat and Esma Ertel from Turkish cult band BaBa ZuLa, earning the band global success, with tastemaker fans including BBC 6 Music’s Gilles Peterson and Stuart Maconie alongside Jazz FM’s Jez Nelson.

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Discography

Buy The Dip

2022

Buy The Dip

Stream

Spotify

Simurg (w/Murat & Esma Ertel)

2020

Simurg (w/Murat & Esma Ertel)

Stream

Spotify

Suburban Exotica

2019

Suburban Exotica

Stream

Spotify

Bombarda

2017

Bombarda

Stream

Spotify

Transatlantic

2015

Transatlantic

Stream

Spotify

Tour

Press

"Compro Oro are a mercurial Belgian quintet with a penchant for the vibraphone and a transnational restlessness that makes them hard to pin down”

Jazzwise Magazine (UK)

"This is a band that weaves in delicate nuances, even when they go with a big sound."

Bandcamp Daily (WW)

“Dit keer is het allemaal wat meer elektronisch, met opvallende synthesizers en effecten, en de gitaar van Bart Vervaeck die geregeld iets ruiger klinkt. ⭑⭑⭑⭑

De Standaard (BE)

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