D*Note is a British experimental dance band, founded primarily by musician Matt Winn (aka Matt Wienevski, born 20 September 1965). The band emerged in London in 1993 with their debut album Babel, which reflected an acid jazz background.
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Though part of the acid jazz scene of the early 1990s, D*Note was influenced by twentieth century French and English classical music and modal jazz. Influences from the jazz world include Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and Keith Jarrett. Classical influences include Maurice Ravel, whose polytonalities can be heard in D*Note's use of lydian modes (what are known in the jazz world as “sharp elevens”). Other classical influences are Debussy, Vaughn Williams, and Aaron Copland. Another key influence, who can be heard on "D*Votion" and "Deep Water" on the second album Criminal Justice, is the American minimalist composer Steve Reich. D*Note contributed the "Phased and Konfused" remix to the Steve Reich composition "Piano Phase", featured on the 1999 Reich Remixed album.
The first D*Note album, Babel, was released in 1993. The second D*Note album, Criminal Justice (1995) was released on Dorado Records in the UK and on TVT records in America. Its most well-known track, "The Garden of Earthly Delights", featured the vocals of PY Anderson. Like "D*Votion", the track is an example of ambient music.
Criminal Justice featured drum and bass rhythms with jazz harmonies, particularly in "Iniquity Worker" and "Criminal Justice", which was remixed by Roni Size and A Guy Called Gerald.
After two albums on Dorado, the band released the eponymous D*Note album on Virgin dance imprint VC (Virgin Club). Featured tracks included "Lost and Found" and "Waiting Hopefully". The soundtrack to the short film, Coming Down, was released in the same year.
In 2001, Fuchsia Dog, the fifth D*Note album, was released on Channel 4 Records, along with another film, Out Of The Game, for which it was the soundtrack. "Shed My Skin", a co-composition with Anita Kelsey and featuring her vocals, appeared on over a hundred compilation albums.
The sixth D*Note album, Laguna, featuring Beth Hirsch, was released in 2006 on New World Music. Laguna featured cover versions of songs that figured as key parts of Winn and Hirsch’s musical influences, including "Guinevere" by David Crosby, "Edith and The Kingpin" by Joni Mitchell, and "Being Alive" by Stephen Sondheim.