Bruno Bavota "For Apartments: Songs & Loops (Temporary Residence Ltd.)"
From Temporary Residence:
In the early months of 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak ravaged his home country of Italy, prolific composer Bruno Bavota did what we all would eventually do: isolated and waited. What followed was a year of fear, anxiety, and dread. Eventually, fear gave way to fatigue, and the anxiety metamorphosized into nervous energy. The compulsion to create became more powerful than the compression and weight. And so were born Apartment Songs and Apartment Loops. Representing two separate but intersecting paths of Bavota’s creative journey, Apartment Songs is a suite of sparse solo acoustic piano works, while Apartment Loops are expansive explorations for synthesizers and outboard effects processors. Though in theory the two sets should sound disconnected and unrelated – given their disparate creative approaches and instrumentation – it’s Bavota’s uncanny sense of melody and space that easily unites them as two halves of a singular vision.
Danko Jones "Power Trio"
Yann Tiersen "Kerber (Mute)"
From Mute Records:
The follow up to 2019’s Portrait (acollection of 25 newly recorded tracks from throughout his career), Kerber is very much a new chapter in the Breton artist’s work, one that begins with his most overtly electronic material to date. True to Tiersen’s nuanced and subtle approach, this isn’t a U-turn-like thumping piece of dance music but instead a beautifully textured, highly immersive and thoughtfully constructed electronic world to step inside of.
It is both an evolution of what has come before, as well as a new space to explore. On the new album, the piano is the source, but electronics are the environment that they exist within. Tiersen explains, “You may get this intuitive thinking of, ‘oh it’s piano stuff’, but actually it’s not. I worked on piano tracks to begin with but that’s not the core of it, they are not important. The context is the most important thing – the piano was a precursor to create something for the electronics to work around.”
Kool & The Gang "Perfect Union (Omnivore)"
From Omnivore Recordings:
Formed in 1964, The Jazziacs would play with McCoy Tyner, Pharoah Saunders, and other jazz greats. They would change their name to Kool & The Gang in 1969, sign with De-Lite Records and release their self-titled debut the following year. 1973’s Wild And Peaceful featured the Gold singles “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging.” The end of that decade and beginning of the next saw them collaborating with producer Eumir Deodato for a string of Platinum albums—Ladies Night, Celebrate!, and Something Special. They continued through the 80s with more Platinum albums, including Emergency, which featured four Top 20 singles.
The use of “Jungle Boogie” in 1994’s Pulp Fiction brought a new generation of fans to the group, and David Lee Roth invited them to open for Van Halen’s A Different Kind Of Truth tour in 2012, after catching their set at Glastonbury. 2016’s Kool & The Gang And Friends! had them collaborating with artists including Sean Paul, Angie Stone, Redman, Jamiroquai, Lisa Stansfield, and more. Kool & The Gang have won multiple Grammy® and American Music Awards, have been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and have sold over 70 million records worldwide!
Over five decades since their formation, Kool & The Gang returns with their 25th studio album—Perfect Union. Produced by Ronald Khalis Bell (a founding member of the group who passed away in 2020), this CD / Digital release contains 10 tracks including the new single “Pursuit Of Happiness” and “Sexy (Where’d You Get Yours),” which hit #16 on the Adult R&B charts and a rap version of “Pursuit Of Happiness.”