Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Brandee Younger | "Somewhere Different"

Today Harpist and Composer Brandee Younger announces her major label debut album, Somewhere Different, set for release August 13 on Impulse! Records.  The genre-busting set is a seamless fusion of classical music, R&B, hip-hop, jazz and funk with the new bounce-infused single "Reclamation" out now.

Recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studios and in New York City from November 2020 to February 2021 Somewhere Different expertly showcases Brandee's ethos of weaving genres that pay homage to her predecessors while forging new sonic ground. The eight-track collection, Produced by Dezron Douglas, features Allan Mednard on Drums, Rashaan Carter on Bass, Trumpeter Maurice Brown, Tenor Saxophonist Chelsea Baratz, Flutist Anne Drummond, and Drummer & Drum Programming by Marcus Gilmore. The set also features a Special Appearance by legendary Bassist Ron Carter on "Olivia Benson" and "Beautiful is Black", and Guest Vocals from Tarriona "Tank" Ball from Tank and the Bangas on "Pretend." 

Overall, the album touches on a vast number of themes without losing focus.  The lush soundscapes of the musical tracks encapsulate the contemporary musical hybrid that represents Brandee's newfound artistic liberty.  As told to music journalist and author Marcus J. Moore, who wrote the liner notes for the record, Younger states, "I hope it is enjoyable to listen to, not hard to listen to, nothing to be analyzed or over-analyzed, but that people will just enjoy it. Everything has a groove, and that's me." 

Widely recognized as a musician who is willing to push boundaries, Brandee has shared the stage with jazz leaders and popular hip-hop and R&B luminaries including Ravi Coltrane, Maxwell, John Legend, Pharoah Sanders, Common, and Lauryn Hill. Her original composition "Hortense" was also featured in the BeyoncĂ© documentary Homecoming.  Recently, she was featured on Apple's 2021 unprecedented Juneteenth Album, collaborating with Grammy Award Winning Artist Terrace Martin.  

Impulse!: For nearly sixty years, Impulse Records has stood as a label of musical integrity and lasting cultural significance. Known as the "house that Trane built" in honor of its best-selling artist John Coltrane, the label produced music exciting in its experimental charge, and spiritual in its priority. Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, Max Roach, Ray Charles, Alice Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Charles Mingus, Sun Ra, and Pharoah Sanders were but a few of the legendary musicians who helped define the label's sound and message. To this day, Impulse continues to proudly wear its distinctive orange-and-black color scheme, and is home to the new vanguard of creative musicians including Brandee Younger, Shabaka Hutchings and his groups Sons of Kemet, Shabaka & the Ancestors, and the psychedelic jazz trio The Comet Is Coming. 

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