VIDEO: Daptone 10th Anniversary
Directed by Rufus Campbell. Celebrating 10 years of Soul! Daptone Records Co-owners tell the story of how the "House of Soul" came about, and what makes Daptone stand out from the rest. http://www.daptonerecords.com
Directed by Rufus Campbell. Celebrating 10 years of Soul! Daptone Records Co-owners tell the story of how the "House of Soul" came about, and what makes Daptone stand out from the rest. http://www.daptonerecords.com
After winning the hearts of New Zealand audiences in 2008 with their incendiary performances at WOMAD in New Plymouth, soul-funk sensations Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are returning in December to play two dynamite shows in Auckland and Wellington. Now in her 50s, ex-prison guard Sharon Jones has been singing all her life. Born in James Brown's hometown of Augusta Georgia, Jones moved to New York at an early age, but often stayed with family down south and learned to sing gospel in church. She worked as a backing vocalist in the 1970s but was knocked back at every attempt to further herself in the music industry. She drifted back into regular paid day-jobs, working as an armoured security guard and as a corrections officer at New York's Rikers Island prison. It was only when she hooked up with an early incarnation of Brooklyn-based eight-piece soul act the Dap-Kings that she was thrust well and truly into the spotlight. That band was the Soul Providers, a late nineties New York soul act whose roster included guitarist Binky Griptite and bassist Bosco Mann.
From this nucleus of players they recruited more members, including drummer Homer Steinweiss from The Mighty Imperials and saxophonist Neal Sugarman of the Sugarman 3. With the vocal powerhouse of Sharon Jones out front they released Daptone Records' first long player, 2002's Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. They're now acknowledged as being the leaders of a global soul revival and Jones has legions of fans all over the world. Little wonder, for onstage she not only sings up a storm, she's a prowling, gyrating ball of energy and she's fronting a true soul revue.
As for the Dap-Kings, who also backed Amy Winehouse on her 2006 hit album Back To Black, they're every inch a classic soul-funk house band. They come on stage dripping in cool, wearing 1960s suits and skinny ties, and throwing down a fast-paced, funky instrumental groove before their MC and guitarist Binky Griptite welcomes the "Queen of Funk" Sharon Jones onto the stage. Over four albums, including Dap-Dippin', Naturally, 100 Days, 100 Nights and their 2010 release I Learned the Hard Way, this extraordinary band, led by bassist producer Gabe Roth (AKA Bosco Mann) has remained completely authentic, like they dropped right in from the sixties and landed on a vinyl groove. They are the genuine article, a contemporary band playing timeless soul originals that will transport you to Harlem's Apollo Theater, to the relative isolation of Muscle Shoals, Alabama and Memphis, Tennessee, and from James Brown to Aretha Franklin to Ray Charles in one fantastic set. File them under Soul, sure -- but more importantly, you can file Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings under NOT TO BE MISSED!!
SATURDAY 18 DECEMBER // THE POWERSTATION, AUCKLAND w/ guests and DJ Murray Cammick Pre-sale tickets available from Thursday 23rd September 9am until Sunday 27th September Midnight General tickets on sale Monday 27th September 9am from Ticketmaster & Real Groovy Ticketmaster purchase page link Go to www.muchmoremusic.co.nz for all show and ticketing info and to register for presales. FRIDAY 17 DECEMBER // OPERA HOUSE, WELLINGTON w/ guests and DJ Riki Gooch Pre-sale tickets available from Thursday 23rd September 9am until Sunday 27th September Midnight General tickets on sale Monday 27th September 9am from Ticketek & Real Groovy Ticketek purchase page link:Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are already well known as one of the most exciting acts in the nation for both their explosive live shows and their prolific output of gritty studio recordings. Their breakout release, 100 Days, 100 Nights, sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. This Spring the band will release I Learned the Hard Way, their fourth full-length on Brooklyn’s independent Daptone Records. The record marks a bold step forward for a band who almost singlehandedly stewarded today’s return of soul music to its more traditional sound.
Produced by Bosco Mann and recorded on an Ampex eight-track tape machine by Gabriel Roth in Daptone Records’ House of Soul studios, the record drips with a warmth and spontaneity rarely found since the golden days of Muscle Shoals and Stax. Sharon’s raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command set her firmly alongside Tina Turner, James Brown, Mavis Staples, and Aretha as a fixture in the canon of soul music. From the lush Philly-Soul fanfare that ushers in “The Game Gets Old†at the top of the record, to the stripped down Sam Cooke-style “Mama Don’t Like My Man†at the tail, the Dap-Kings dance seamlessly through both the most crafted and simple arrangements with subtlety and discipline. I Learned the Hard Way is the “Daptone Sound†at its finest.
Tracklisting:01 | The Game Gets Old | clip | ||||
02 | I Learned the Hard Way | clip | ||||
03 | Better Things | clip | ||||
04 | Give it Back | clip | ||||
05 | Money | clip | ||||
06 | The Reason | clip | ||||
07 | Window Shopping | clip | ||||
08 | She Ain't a Child no More | clip | ||||
09 | I'll Still Be True | clip | ||||
10 | Without a Heart | clip | ||||
11 | If You Call | clip | ||||
12 | Mama Don't Like My Man | clip |
If you can possibly make it we very much recommend you make the trip to Australia to see these guys, The Menahan St Band are touring Australia next month. The shows include special guest soul champion Charles Bradley who has featured on some of The Menahan St Band's 7"releases.
TUE 22 SEP – Prince of Wales MELBOURNE www.princebandroom.com.au THU 24 SEP – Gaelic Club, SYDNEY www.lovepolice.com.au
More details here
The Menahan Street Band is a collaboration of musicians from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Dave Guy, Homer Steinweiss, Fernando Velez, Bosco Mann), El Michels Affair (Leon Michels, Toby Pazner), Antibalas (Nick Movshon, Aaron Johnson) and the Budos Band (Mike Deller, Daniel Fodder), brought together by musician/producer Thomas Brenneck (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Budos Band, Amy Winehouse) to record hits in the bedroom of his Menahan St. apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn. With influences reaching beyond the funk/soul/afrobeat architecture of their other projects into the more ethereal realms of Curtis Mayfield and Mulatu Astatke, the Menahan Street Band creates a unique new instrumental soul sound that is as raw as it is lush. Their debut album, Make the Road by Walking will be released on Dunham Records, Brenneck’s new imprint of Daptone Records, a joint venture devoted to bringing the Menahan Street sound from Brenneck’s bedroom out into the world. The album is marked by eerily quirky arrangements, featuring vibes, horns, piano, organ, percussion and even a strange bling sound that Brenneck creates by tuning and plucking the strings of his guitar on the wrong side of the bridge. However, it is not the textures themselves that make the new sound of Menahan Street so exciting, but rather the way the sounds are incorporated into the heavy rhythms and bold melodies of the compositions. Read On Here
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