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KPM 1000 Series on iTunes


Teasing the Korean

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Well, bugger me, it IS Keith Prowse Music!!!!!!!

The origins of KPM go back to 1780 when the instrument maker, Robert Keith, set up shop in London's Rathbone Place. By 1830 the business had expanded into music publishing and a partnership formed with William Prowse.

After the turn of the century retail outlets were opened selling theatre tickets, instruments, music and eventually records.

In 1955, with the advent of commercial television in the UK, the music publishing department became a separate company and was acquired by Rediffusion. The following year saw the setting up of the original KP library under the management of Patrick Howgill. The first twenty-five 78 rpm records were recorded with a budget of £5,000.

In 1959 the library merged with Peter Maurice Publishing to form the new KPM Music Group.

In 1965 Robin Phillips launched the KPM 1000 series introducing writers from jazz, pop and other contemporary fields. It encapsulated a golden age of British television theme music including Animal Magic, Grandstand, Mastermind and News at Ten.

The KPM Music Group was taken over by EMI in 1969 but the international standing of the library was such that the distinctive KPM name was retained.

In 1984 KPM produced the first library music to be released on Compact Disc.

Recent years have seen KPM’s pioneering development of its online search and download system. By transforming this into a single worldwide site (PLAY) which offers a superb collection of competing music labels, clients can now search and download high quality music from alternative production music companies based in the UK, mainland Europe and the USA.

At the same time KPM’s composer roster has moved into new waters reflecting the changes in pop and dance music. Music from Jan Cyrka and Toby Bricheno, Jim Copperthwaite, Oliver Vessey and Rupert Gregson-Williams has joined the established works by Dave Hewson, Andy Clark, Curtis Schwartz, Richard Myhill and Dick Walter.

KPM now spends more than £750,000 per annum producing new recordings both in the UK and overseas.

While nurturing new talent KPM also provides an unparalleled back catalogue which remains as popular as ever.

http://www.playkpm.com/flashindex.htm?url=...mp;noCache=true

Well, well, well!

MG

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Thanks TTK & MG ... I think Dusty had some of these as did Movie Grooves as very pricey imports (i remember I almost picked up the Afro Rock one).

Fantastic sounds! and quite the treasure trove. I have some of this stuff here (Parkers, Hawkshaw, Cameron) and there but seeing it all in one spot is great - might seem best to pick and choose and toss them 8 second jobbies.

Just wish I'd kept the old iTunes before #9 as the search function is now stoopid (or I now am).

Let us know which ones you think are essential. ;)

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In 1955, with the advent of commercial television in the UK, the music publishing department became a separate company and was acquired by Rediffusion. The following year saw the setting up of the original KP library under the management of Patrick Howgill. The first twenty-five 78 rpm records were recorded with a budget of £5,000.

Jogged my memory.

Rediffusion owned a firm called Reditune. In the sixties, I worked as a buyer for a firm called Sound Diffusion, which put in radio/paging/background music systems for hotels, nursing homes and hospitals. We used Reditune tapes, which I assume contained the KPM material - and which I used to buy!

I thought the music was awful.

MG

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I thought the music was awful.

The music was tailor-made for different applications. The same top-shelf composer/arranger may have contributed either "great" or "awful" music to the library. It was work made for hire, and it was as good as what was being requested of them.

The albums, both the originals and reissues, are organized according to mood and genre, so it's generally easy to get the good stuff and avoid the bad stuff.

Edited by Teasing the Korean
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I thought the music was awful.

The music was tailor-made for different applications. The same top-shelf composer/arranger may have contributed either "great" or "awful" music to the library. It was work made for hire, and it was as good as what was being requested of them.

The albums, both the originals and reissues, are organized according to mood and genre, so it's generally easy to get the good stuff and avoid the bad stuff.

I was about twenty-one when I started that job :) I might well think differently now. There's a lot more stuff I like now than then.

MG

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Previewing all volumes. I will post my thoughts on the best ones and edit this thread:

Afro Rock

Impact and Action

Flute for Moderns

Flamboyant Themes Vol 4 (includes "Powerhouse Pop" and "Zodiac" later issued on the Sound Gallery)

Big Beat Vol. 1

Chorus and Orchestra (includes "Man Friday" and "Walrus and the Carpenter" on the Sound Gallery)

Progressive Pop

Edited by Teasing the Korean
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  • 11 years later...

Bumping this old thread started by a younger and more innocent TTK.

The entire KPM library is now online for free streaming.  Here is the link to the 1000 series:

https://www.emipm.com/en/browse/labels/KPMLP

Additionally, many of these albums are available for purchase as lossless downloads on Qobuz.

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6 minutes ago, Niko said:

Wow, thanks for the heads up! went straight to the KPM international series which has John Mayer  Indo-Jazz Interpolation and then those Clarke Boland albums...

What is this "Inso-Jazz interpolation" of which you speak?  Is it different from Indo-Jazz Suite or Indo-Jazz Fusion?

EDIT:  It appears to be Indo-Jazz Suite, based on the track timing comparisons on Qobuz.

Edited by Teasing the Korean
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Can't find the Clarke-Boland records, help?

Did find the Vibraphone Jazz Quartet record to be of interest, although, don't think about it too hard in terms of where it's come from or where it wants to take you, it's one of those enjoy it while it plays and then forget it ever happened, which I guess is the intent, right?

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24 minutes ago, Niko said:

I've spent the past minutes trying to figure out that discography and it seems it's an alternative version of Indo-Jazz Suite (see here)

Yes, that happened occasionally.  Les Baxter's KPM album Boogaloo in Brazil is the GNP Crescendo Africa Blue album, but some have claimed it is a different recording of the same charts.  I haven't compared closely enough.

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39 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Can't find the Clarke-Boland records, help?

Did find the Vibraphone Jazz Quartet record to be of interest, although, don't think about it too hard in terms of where it's come from or where it wants to take you, it's one of those enjoy it while it plays and then forget it ever happened, which I guess is the intent, right?

They're 75% of the international series:

https://www.emipm.com/en/browse/labels/KPMINT

 

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On 10/29/2009 at 1:44 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

KPM is a British music library. The 1000 series consists largely of late 60s/early 70s funky/groovy/decadent/now sound stuff.

I have one KPM. One by Brazilian artist Rogerio Duprat called The Brazilian Suite. And it's what the title promises: a bit funky and very moody. Oh, and it's from 1970.

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1 hour ago, Bluesnik said:

I have one KPM. One by Brazilian artist Rogerio Duprat called The Brazilian Suite. And it's what the title promises: a bit funky and very moody. Oh, and it's from 1970.

Five of the ten tracks from this masterpiece appeared on excellent late 1990s compilation KPM: Setting the Scene.

Here is the entire Brazilian Suite.

And the KPM Brown Sleeve series features lots of tracks in my beloved Happy Housewife genre, such as this:

 

Edited by Teasing the Korean
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3 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Five of the ten tracks from this masterpiece appeared on excellent late 1990s compilation KPM: Setting the Scene.

I'm totally unaware of this, though could have encountered it. The Brazilian Suite I have is an mp3, and I don't when I got it, but it must have been 2006 or so, when I was mad about Brazilian stuff.

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1 minute ago, Bluesnik said:

I'm totally unaware of this, though could have encountered it. The Brazilian Suite I have is an mp3, and I don't when I got it, but it must have been 2006 or so, when I was mad about Brazilian stuff.

There was a brief but beautiful time in the very late 1990s and very early 2000s when DJ culture and The Now Sound converged.  It was symbiotic:  DJ culture pushed the Now Sound reissues, and the Now Sound reissues influenced DJ culture.  My brother-in-law said to me, "Buy these albums while you can; they will disappear soon."  He was right, and I took his advice at the time. 

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