A new album (Mundane) from Ewald Kegel was released in August 2023, two years after Early Or Late and a string of singles and EP’s that followed the release of Early or Late.
Mundane is Ewald’s 16th album and contains 13 instrumental tracks. Most of the tracks clock under 2 minutes and there are only 2 tracks over 3 minutes. A diverse range style of tracks therefor come by in little over 30 minutes. The music is low key and lightweight as Ewald aspired to create an album “full of fun, summer music”. besides this approach, he reconnects with his Bohemian roots, as can be heard in the title track of the album Mundane and a track like Bohemian Caravan.
As we have entered the age of AI (Artifical Intelligence) this technology also plays an important role throughout the album in different aspects. Drum and percussion tracks are generated with AI. The vocals on Time & Place were AI generated. The cover design of the album was also designed with an AI application.
But even that is not the whole story: the Latin jazz music Ewald grew up with is omnipresent as well as the desire to create modern versions of albums inspired by his Brazilian peer influences: Antonio Carlos Jobim and Walter Wanderly. Especially In and Out From the Rain is a gentle yet straight bossa nova tune that could have perfectly fitted in on albums like ‘Wave’ or ‘Rain Forest’ by aforementioned artists. The final track Luiza is an abundant song with Brazilian style festival music mixed with 70s disco influences that pop up during the break in the middle of the song.