Blogarhythms

Considering I spend a portion of every day looking for new music, then either writing about it, or playing it for people on the public airwaves, it should be evident that I love modern music. And since I also spend a portion of at least one day a week writing about music from two-or-more decades ago, and a portion of another playing music from decades-past for people on the public airwaves, it should be just as evident that I love “old-school” music too. Admittedly I sometimes reminisce fondly on the music of bygone-eras, and readily repeat the tired “they just don’t make music like they used to” cliché. But unlike some cranky music snobs, my willingness to admit modern music is different doesn’t mean I hate it or think it’s intrinsically inferior. That said, when new artists make music embracing the spirit and sonic quality of the “old classics,” my ears perk up a little bit. And lemme tell you, my ears are feeling mighty perky today.

Though they’ve been around for more than a minute, the New York-based collective whose members fill the ranks of bands like The Dap-Kings, Dujeous, and The Budos Band (among others) has risen to new prominence recently thanks to session work with producer Mark Ronson, and live gigs backing British sensation Amy Winehouse. Though I wasn’t lucky enough to catch The Dap-Kings backing Winehouse, I can say without hesitation that seeing them fronted by their long-time lead vocalist Sharon Jones was one of the best concert-going experiences of my life. And for lack of a better description, eleven-member unit The Budos Band, with whom they share members in kind, are sort of like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings‘ all-instrumental cousins. They too lay down greasy, gut-bucket Soul and Funk grooves fueled by hard drum-breaks, and drenched in horns, recorded lo-fi, as to sound authentically vintage. They just forgo the vocal pyrotechnics. Even so, tracks their new album, The Budos Band II, will still set your shit on fire.

Boasting a resumé (including work with The Brand New Heavies, Dee-Lite, TheThe, Curtis Mayfield, and Maurice Fulton) far longer than the aforementioned musicians, New York-bred singer Nicole Willis really hit her stride a few years ago when she joined forces with a crack team of Finnish musicians known as The Soul Investigators. Crafting throwback Soul heavily influenced by the “Motown Sound” and it’s many lesser-known imitators whose music found favor in the UK’s Northern Soul scene, complimented by a side of James Brown-style Funk, Nicole Willis and The Soul Investigators‘ output rivals that of the Daptone, Soul Fire and Truth & Soul stables for raw, balls-out, grooviness, while also providing a less-mainstream, more classically innocent alternative to fans dabbling in the milieu via Winehouse or Ronson. The album, Keep Reachin’ Up, has been out for well-over a year overseas, so modern Funk junkies should be acquainted, but those unwilling to pay import prices, or succumb to file-sharing, should note it’ll finally see release stateside this week via Light in the Attic Records.

Seriously though, get “perky.” It’s what’s “hot in the streets” right now.

-El Keter