My Cultural Highlights: THE LOST TAPES by Danger Zone

There are few things in the world more intriguing than lost tapes. Lost books, lost photographs, lost anything. When Vivian Maier's archive was discovered in 2007, a whole new world emerged. When John Coltrane's lost album Both Directions At Once resurfaced in 2018, I may have spent more time with it than I have ever spent listening to Giant Steps. But even on a much smaller scale, is it not fascinating to explore something that, quite possibly, was never supposed to be found in the first place?

Say, a little known jazz band recorded an album back in mid-80s. The said jazz band used to play in London bars and even got a break when they were included on the CBS jazz compilation titled Get Wise! (this was in 1986). They even went on to record a bunch of demos, which is were this whole lost tapes business becomes relevant. The demos were cut, to then get lost, to then be found by accident, to then be rerecorded and ultimately released in 2023. 

That is, roughly, the story behind these lost tapes by Danger Zone. They have been released this year as four separate EPs (you can find them all on their bandcamp page), under four different titles. The very first song, "(I've Got A) Weight On My Mind", sets the scene perfectly: it feels timeless, old-fashioned, oddly captivating. With bass either purring or pulsating, with spluttering sound of relentless harmonica, with subtle yet insistent percussion and Vicky Rayner's vocals that manage to sound both emotive and tough, they do make you yearn for a small bar in Soho with dim lights and green olives at the bottom of cocktail glasses. This is snappy jazz for the coolest of cats. 

The arrangements are moody and nervy, too, but in an entirely wholesome way. Richard Earls's songs sound both sophisticated and out of time (even the names of songs look like they belong in a different era), but they are never above being accessible and honestly rather catchy ("King Of The Fools" qualifies). Even if the whole thing feels like a precious old curio that mostly teases rather than gives you the full thing. But then again, what is a full thing?..

When I think of that name, Danger Zone, the first thing that comes to mind or, rather, my imagination, is some left-field sci-fi TV show from the late 80s or early 90s (do not Google it, it never happened). Something that could exist but never quite came to be. This obscure jazz band from London did happen back in the 80s, and achieved some modest success, and these lost tapes are entirely real. They provide an intriguing glimpse into the past, and that is always a rare treat.