- Sun Aug 02, 2015 6:05 am
#71544
Will Holland AKA Quantic is one of my favorite artists. If he has a bad record out there I haven't heard it yet. I had the great pleasure of seeing a Quantic show with Nidia Gongora at the Empire Control Room in Austin a while back, just fantastic!
For Euro members, he is doing shows in Belgium, Copenhagen, Germany, Denmark, UK in the next couple of weeks.
Quantic Presents The Western Transient is the latest project from Will “Quantic” Holland, bringing together a handpicked band of some of his favourite musicians to realise a set of new compositions paying homage to the rich, lively and intimate quality of the classic soul and jazz recordings. The resulting album, 'A New Constellation', is out 31st July on Tru Thoughts (with a deluxe, handmade hardback gatefold vinyl edition); in characteristically mercurial fashion this new outing sees Holland following up the explosive, worldly electronic and vocal direction of his last solo album, 'Magnetica', with a suite of traditionally recorded pieces that capture the spontaneous beauty in the old ways of music making.
“A transient is a burst of energy that hits and falls off, leaving nothing behind. It is temporary, momentary in its action, like an ink drop on a page that fades almost as soon as it’s dry”, says Holland; “Music is a muddle of transients or rather, a meeting place for them, where the short lived can become eternal.”
His thirst for musical exploration has seen British born Holland release over 15 albums - ranging from electronic solo productions via the full live funk and soul bands the Quantic Soul Orchestra and the Combo Bárbaro to Latin, African and Caribbean styles - and become renowned as one of music’s modern trailblazers. On moving to New York in early 2014 (from Colombia, where he had been settled for seven years), he started travelling the US more regularly as a DJ as well as with his band. Rediscovering his love affair with instrumental jazz and soul records in which the studio ensemble takes the spotlight, he decided to record a full length album paying homage to recording in this classic sense and also to collaborate with many of the musicians that he had worked with in the city of Los Angeles. “In independent music, LA has always had a sound and ethos that is contagious, and I’ve spent many hours in the city for the odd show, overdub or a quick breeze through on tour”, explains Holland; “So, I returned to the western metropolis enlisting a cast of revered musicians, seven reels of magnetic tape and an Ampex tape machine. It’s difficult not to love anything recorded through an Ampex.”
The lead single, preceding the album on 10th July, is “Creation (East L.A.)”, a song for winding your car windows down, dedicated to many good times in East LA, backed with a remix by The Reflex. Also set for the limelight ahead of the LP is album opener “Latitude”, a beautiful track inspired by the highs and lows of having the freedom to roam, which has been licensed as a theme song by LA’s iconic KCRW (Quantic also plays live at KCRW’s Summer Nights alongside De La Soul).
The compositions themselves were prepared over a series of writing sessions in an autumnal Brooklyn. “The themes reflect the beginnings of living in a new city, a creative intermission and a desire to experiment with an instrumental jazz format on American soil”, Holland elaborates. “Jumble Sale” evokes memories of childhood treasure-hunting, tied into renowned crate-digger Holland’s enduring enthusiasm for flea markets and second hand shops. New beginnings are symbolised by the sonic imagery of a burgeoning galaxy on “A New Constellation”, featuring a transporting Moog solo by Brandon Coleman, while guitar and electric piano meet in circling motifs to celebrate the essence of tranquility on “Requiescence”. “Nordeste” is a melodic portrait of the northeast style heard on a trip to the region of Caruaru and Recife in Brazil; continuing the travel theme, “Bicycle Ride” salutes the many great cycle rides to be had in New York, while the album closes out with an ode to cherished friend and lover in “Mirzan”, and saxophone led electric ballad “The Orchard”.
Band director, producer and rhythm guitarist on ‘A New Constellation’, Holland is joined by Wilson Viveros, whose provocative drumming has contributed to many of Quantic’s live shows and Colombian sessions; greatly admired soloist and arranger Sylvester Onyejiaka (AKA Sly5thAve ), another regular Quantic band member, on sax and flute; trumpeter Todd Simon, with whom Holland struck up a friendship on an early LA trip, sparking a long-time desire to get back into the studio together. Completing the band is the energising electric piano playing of Brandon Coleman, charismatic bassist Gabe Noel and the rhythmic seasoning of Alan Lightner on percussion.
