Yesterday I bigged up Blueprint for sampling classic Soul. Today I’ve gotta give it up to some folks who are recreating that vintage Soul sound the old fashioned way. Yeah, I know, the whole retro-Soul thing is like the biggest fad of the last two years and everything. But being the ubiquitous phenomenon that it is, only some of the people doing it are doing it right. Don’t sweat though, ’cause today’s featuree’s take on the sound is so “right” that she could be running as the Republican candidate for president!
Well, maybe she could if she were an American citizen. But alas, Kylie Auldist, a half-Samoan songstress who’s been singing since she could talk, was born & raised in the Australian outback and still calls Melbourne, Australia home. Between her post-birth crooning and the release of her debut solo album Just Say she spent her formative years singing in country bars before moving to the city and linking up with Soul/Funk orchestra The Bamboos, a partnership that would lead to her signing a deal with UK-based Soul/Jazz/Funk imprint Tru Thoughts, her current label.
She retains the backing of The Bamboos and the production skills of Bamboos guitarist and front-man Lance Ferguson on Just Say, a batch of eleven largely lo-fi, stereo-panned and reverb-soaked Soul tunes. For the most part Ferguson and company seem to favor the uptempo, snap-n-clap happy Detroit Soul sound made famous by Motown Records and its imitators whose records provided the backbone of Britain’s Northern Soul scene. It’s a sound that works well with Auldist’s voice, which has a mature mellow crooning quality that feels particularly attuned to its bright, Pop-influenced melodies, panoramic orchestration and bouncy rhythms.
“Just Say” might be the most “Hitsville” sounding cut on disc, with its snare rolls, ringing bells, plucky strings, xylophones, tambourine chatter, subtle horns and multi-voice harmonies that recall The Supremes. And Kylie & her musician-friends deliver more of the same on the organ-fueled declaration of human unit “Community Service Announcement” and the intricately phrased “That’s Why.” But they get significantly grittier on tracks like “Gotsta Get Me Some,” a Southern/Midwest funky Soul number with an ill drum-break intro, a heavy Funk-influenced horn and guitar groove (reminiscent of Ohio Players and Rick James) on the chorus and sassily sensual lyrics that verge on Betty Davis territory, the Stax-esque heartbreakers “Never Did I Stop Loving You,” “Still Into You” and “No Use,” and “Cut You Loose,” an epileptic James Brown-style Funk workout.
Kylie Auldist “Gotsta Get Me Some”
The later compositions allow Auldist to get a little more passionate, dipping down into a throaty quiver and a raspy growl that gives her sweet, sun-toned voice a rough-hewn edge and hints at the likes of Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and Mavis Staples as possible influences. This is best exhibited on the seductive ballad “Make Me Want More,” a downtempo swirl of horns and strings that pays tribute to the quintissential slow jams of the Memphis and Philadelphia Soul catalogs while batting an eyelash to the similar tributes Prince laced a few of his albums with back in the day.
It’s notable that I’ve made it through this entire feature and haven’t brought up Amy Winehouse once. And that’s for good reason; namely that Kylie Auldist isn’t a throwback Soul bandwagon jumper trying to be “the next Amy.” She’s a completely different species of singer too. But one who just happens to love the same classic Soul artists as Ms. Winehouse and has a similar desire to keep their music alive. If comparisons to contemporary acts are in order previous Blogarhythms featurees Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators and Baby Charles wouldn’t be out of line. However, I’m perfectly comfortable letting the music stand next to that of the old-school heroes being payed homage by all the Soul revivalists instead.
Oh, and if you simply must have your Soul sampled you should probably get to work chopping or looping up that “Gotsta Get Me Some” break.