The Free-Art Directions Of Nato Label

September 1980, jazz artists FRANCOIS MECHALI and BEB GUERIN appear as a bass duo at Chantenay - Villedieu festival... About a year later, festival co-founder, photographer and music producer JEAN ROCHARD releases these contrabass dialogues on vinyl LP... and here it is, label nato is born. Soon, more releases from festival artists will follow and gradually, the label will become the joining point for pioneering musicians and artists from France (Berrocal, Pauvros, Sclavis, Levaillant, Doneda, Thollot, Portal...), UK (Beresford, Eastley, Coxhill, Toop, Coe, Hymas...), Europe (Bennink, Sommer, Gumpert...), U.S. (Lindsay, Frisell, Zorn...), Japan (Ikue Mori, Kazuko Hohki...).

Jazz, improvisation, avant pop, classical, world music, electronics, poetry, visual arts, melt together into humorous and often happy eccentrity... famous themes are revisited... conceptual projects give honours to great masters (F. G. Lorca, Erik Satie, Alfred Hitchcock, J-L Godard...)... fine painters/illustrators (Espagnon, Moebius, Pierre Cornuel...) add their art... nato embraces life and creation in both a fictional and a documentary way.

Sublabels: Chabada, Cinenato, Hope Street, wan + wan

La Folie Du Jour selects natomusic:

I.

GUNTER SOMMER ET TROIS VIEUX AMIS isabel records boxes
(album: Ascenseur pour le 28, 1985)
ALTERATIONS sleeping beauty
(album: My Favourite Animals, 1984)
JAC BERROCAL distinguee

(album: Hotel Hotel, 1986)

JAC BERROCAL minuit la nuit
(album: Hotel, Hotel, 1986)
JACQUES THOLLOT l' au-dela
(album: Tenga Nina, 1996)
STEVE BERESFORD altitude
(album: Dancing The Line, 1985)
BERESFORD, TOOP, ZORN, MARSHALL jayne manshfield
(album: Deadly Weapons, 1986)
CAROLINE GAUTIER & OLIVIER FOY la croisiere immobile
(v.a. album: Godard ca vous chante?, 1985)
THE MELODY FOUR Lydia the tatooed lady
(album: Hello! We Must Be Going, 1987)
LEE KONITZ as tu le cafard
(v.a. album: Vol Pour Sidney, 1992)
DENIS COLIN par rayonnement
(album: Etude De Terrain, 2000)
KAHONDO STYLE werewolf woman
(album: Green Tea & Crocodiles, 1987)
KAZUKO HOHKI rain on the railway line
(album: Love In Rainy Days, 1991)
JEAN FRANCOIS PAUVROS cri de cour
(album: Le Grand Amour, 1985)
JEAN FRANCOIS PAUVROS phillipine
(album: Le Grand Amour, 1985).

II.

BERESFORD, TOOP, ZORN, MARSHALL king cobra
(album: Deadly Weapons, 1986)
COXHILL, THOMAS petite fleur
(v.a. album: Vol Pour Sidney, 1992)
BRITISH SUMMER TIME ENDS la nuit est une sorciere
(v.a. album: Vol Pour Sidney, 1992)
FAT KID WEDNESDAYS bamako love
(album: The Art Of Cherry, 2004)
DENIS COLIN TRIO sing swan song
(album: Songs For Swans, 2006)
TONY COE la legende de l'oiseau
(album: Les Voix D'Itxsassou, 1990)
TONY COE nuit sur une place Helsinki
(album: Les Voix D'Itxassou, 1990)
MICHEL DONEDA, DAUNI LAZRO fla flu
(album: General Gramofon, 1988)
THE LONELY BEARS entre le Tigre et l'Euphrate
(album: Injustice, 1993)
THE RECEDENTS zombie bloodbath on the isle of dogs
(album: Zombie Bloodbath On The Isle Of Dogs, 1991)
PHILIPPE DESCHEPPER choc ou louvre
(v.a. album: Bandes Originales Du Journal De Spirou, 1989)
THE MELODY FOUR working is the job
(album: Shopping For Melodies, 1988)
CLIVE BELL aventure birmane
(v.a. album: Bandes Originales Du Journal De Spirou, 1989)
TONY HYMAS qnr sur bretzelburg
(v.a album: Bandes Originales Du Journal De Spirou, 1989)
AMATI ENSEMBLE sonate en re mineur
(v.a album: Godard ca vous chante?, 1985).

listen here: part I & part II

La Folie Du Jour recommends nato works: