Customer Reviews

Hotel Costes, Vol. 2: La Suite

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was a big one for the Costes Franchise. Looking back - wow. It was this sort of release that made it THE compilation for those in the know... well... this and the then underrated Paris Lounge vol 1 released on the same label.

You've got some great artists and mixes! 45 Dip features and there's a sweet remix of Cape Verde's Cesaria Evora's "Carnaval De Sao Vicente". If the bossa beat and taunting guitar in that don't get you dreaming of a sea breeze nothing will short of a trip to the French coast. I'm not much of a Pink Martini fan but this fit in well here. The coup though was adding in Mo' Horizons "Flyin' Away" as it is arguably the best song on their feature album: "Come Touch the Sun". Anyone else would've played it safe and added "Foto Viva". Doris Days "To Ulrike M." remixed by Zero 7 is a good start, masters of lounge De-Phazz pipe in, and before Lincoln used it, Mr. Scruff's re-jazz track "Get a Move On" came on later in the compilation.

HIGHLY recommended. Of all the Costes releases, this one and the third are the ones I play the most, and the ones I find being "borrowed" the most. It isn't without a misstep (I never much cared for Night Over Manaus). But it's hardly enough to say no to this 78 minute compilation. And if you do like the Hotel Costes Series, check Break & Bossa 5&6 and "Get Into the Martini Mood vol 1". Beware though: Costes, Des Pres Cafe and Paris/Berlin/London/New York Lounge are all on the same label. So if you get some look out for crossover cuts.

I stayed at Hotel Costes in Paris once, a couple of months ago. I was slightly nervous because I was with two quite conservative clients who, I thought, might not like it. It became immediately obvious that we were going to have a great time. As soon as we walked in the lobby, decorated like a boudoir from a Balzac novel, we heard this incredible music. All these beautiful boys and girls were grooving away, sipping cocktails and looking fabulous. There is a big outdoor courtyard by the lobby, around which are all these little "salons". The atmosphere was just intense and the music was definitely a major factor. When I bought this CD, I was immediately transported back to that night, where we revelled until the wee hours, despite having a meeting at 7am the next day. You will not be disappointed. Trust me, trust the other reviews.

Generally speaking, I don't think I am a disorganized person. However, in this case I really did things sort of upside down.

Why ? Well, because I started getting "Etage trois", then "Costes", and finally "La suite". I couldn't have done things better actually ! I got more and more into the music as I was comparing the three cds. This "la suite" is by far the best of the three. Perfectly recorded, it still has that little cheesy edge (Pink Martini, track 3) you will find in all three cds, but you will hardly find any other weakness.

Sexy (tracks 1, 4, 15), smooth (tracks 5, 7), incisive (tracks 6, 8, 9, 10), the cd is in fact a great mix of jazz (track 11), "ethnic" music (tracks 13 and 14) electronica, pop-soul and lounge music. You even get a funny one (track 9) with a vocoder that reminds me of some tracks in Madonna's "Music" ! If you like the Om lounge serie, acid jazz in general, Seal, or the music you could listen in elegant clubs of cities such as Paris, N.Y., London or perhaps Tokyo, you will certainly not be disappointed by this one. Having said this, a good friend of mine who lives in N.Y. has just discovered this and is crazy for "etage trois", and he did not know there is a volume 1. This tends to show consensus will be hard to find with "Le costes" trilogy.

The only drawback : its excessive pricing. Try and get it for less if you can. But if you have to choose between this and Buddha bar, get the costes. B.B is really way overpriced and more marketing than real quality. Trust me.

This Cd is very much in the same vein as the Buddha Bar compilation, mixing different styles of music. Never agressive, never boring, it's like a cross between Café Del Mar and Buddha Bar. You may not know the artist names, but you'll get the atmosphere of Paris' coolest hotel (and its resident DJ Stéphane Pompougnac) straight away. Definitely a CD for cooling down after a hard day's work, or great background music for that special dinner party!

I'm new to the Costes series. I found out the record looking for some electronic lounge music to add to my collection (which is mostly rock, jazz and latin music). I actually saw good comments on the whole Costes series, but what drove my attention to "la suite" was the addition of "Carnaval de São Vicente" by Cesaria Evora. Honestly, the mix on Carnaval is awesome, but the whole CD has many, many great tracks that will lift you up right from the start. I am not an expert on electronic music, but this is great music, period.

I love the mix of different styles in "la suite", from Jazz Music from German band De-Phazz, to PalaisMascotte from Rollercone, to the great tropical sounds of Carnaval de São Vicente to You're Love from Lovetronic, the album is a very enjoyable experience from begging to end. I can't wait to get my hands on the next CDs in the Costes series!.

When dining at Hotel Costes, it is immediately evident that there is more going on here than the food--it's the people, the music--above all, the mood created by the music. This CD brings all of that back. Call it Contemporary Lounge music if you want to put it in a category--it is music that makes you feel up--like something good is about to happen.

by accident I discovered this cd of Pompougnac, after I heard it, I got really impressed, the style,the music, all really good, then I got all the 7 Costes' series and also the "Living on the Edge" by Stephane Pompougnac wich are so good, but I still think that "la Suite" is the best of all.
If you are looking for a good lounge music, try with it, and become a fan of Hotel Costes

I use this as upbeat background music whenever I have people over to my house for dinner or to hang out--it's a very consistent level of sound and movement. It's got this weird (but effective) mix of jazz-like, bosa nova-like tunes that have good energy but aren't distracting. Listen to the first two or three samples. If you like those, you'll definitely like the rest of the CD.

So my last dinner was a big success, partly because of LA SUITE: HOTEL COSTES. This is a wonderful collection of groovy and ecelctic music, ranging from subtle drum and bass, jazzy undertones, to latin electronica. If you want to call that "lounge" music, then so be it. LA SUITE is 'the' perfect compilation to add to your collection. Track 8, CESARIA EVORA's "Carnaval De Sao Vicente" is perhaps the strongest track in my opinion. Listen to the album with many bottles of wine and good company!

So I get a call from my friend who is driving to work. She tells me: "Listen to this!". Well, I couldn't tell much from a crackly cell phone and I am wary of too much exuberance for anything. Nonetheless, when I paid her a visit she put this CD on. Now I too am an evangelist for this CD as well as the two other Hotel Costes CD's, Etage 3 and Quatre. All three are terrific, but this is the best. I am now building my collection of this "chill out" music and have several Budda Bar's, Cafe Del Mar's and Oriental Salon. The only real clinker thus far is Berlin Lounge, but that reflects my musical preferences. They are all good, but the Hotel Costes is the best overall series. Perhaps they could call it Parisian hipster music or something else..anything else as chilling out conjures up something that would appeal to the 20-30 year old set when it fact it appeals to a much broader audience. But whatever they call it, the music is great to listen to and great to have on as background music when you have guests. I suspect if you buy a Lincoln Navigator you might get this CD as a freebe since track #11 (You've gotta keep movin) is featured as the music soundtrack in its current ads. Buy, Listen, Enjoy.