If you find yourself looking for peace, Strata is a good place to start. In their musicianship Skúli Sverrisson and Bill Frisell are twin souls, whose playing is so complementary that it's remarkable that this is their first time recording together. Strata is a hypnotizing album. Speaking on their collaboration Frisell remarks, "Skúli was tapped in to something I dream of. When we did the recording, it took it to 100%. It felt like something that was in my imagination, but even deeper and further.” Strata features ten original compositions by Sverrisson. Skúli is a prodigious composer, and can write music of startling complexity. Here, the songs have a fairy tale simplicity that almost belies their depth. With Skúli and Bill there’s a shared internal language that produces a sense of inevitable logic — hypnotizing and surreal. Recorded by Marc Urselli at the esteemed EastSide Sound studio in New York City, Strata has been produced to the exceptional audio standard for which Newvelle Records is renown. This album captures the transportive and sacred nature of the recording session itself. Strata was previously released exclusively on vinyl as part of a Newvelle Records limited-edition Season Three box set, which sold out in record time. This release will be the first time Strata is available digitally on streaming platforms and for high quality digital download.
Max Kaplan basks in the long lineage of music born out of Memphis in his first Color Red single “Mind on My Heart.” Steeped in retro horn lines, nostalgic guitar strumming and chord movement, and pop-soul vocals, it is evident that Kaplan has done his homework taking notes from iconic labels like Stax and Hi Rhythm while carving out a style of his own and veering away from derivation. Lyrically, “Mind on My Heart” is about finding balance between allocating time and energy to support your relationships while being immersed in a big project or entrenched with work. Kaplan is on the trajectory to initiate a new sound in the Memphis music scene and will steadily release new music in collaboration with Color Red.
Noa continues to earn her status as a musical chameleon in her tantalizing third Color Red single “Rare.” Maturity, evolution, and vulnerability can all be attributed to trust and Noa entrusted both her fellow musicians and animator Fumihito Sugawara to add layers and supplement the creative process and final product with talents of their own. With only a melody and basic chord progression, each musician added whatever they wanted to the original blueprint one part of the time. In a similar manner, Noa created a simple storyboard, presented it to Sugawara, and absorbed the unhinged process of letting go to let the final product organically unfold. With bewitching vocals similar to modern icons like Erykah Badu and Emily King, the lyrics mirror surrendering to the flow as they speak to strong feelings, energetic pulls, and accepting that authenticity truly is a voice of your own.
“Tulum” by Brothers of Brass was composed on the spot at Color Red Studios with each musician improvising to arrange their parts in real-time. Bandleader Khalil Simon spent a bulk of time in Tulum during COVID and as the parts gelled together, it reminded him of the music he’d hear down there. The band’s bombastic brass band-fueled arrangements mirror the style of iconic ensembles such as Rebirth Brass Band and Hot 8 Brass Band and the tune is supercharged with Latin and Cuban-influenced melodies reminiscent of Arturo Sandoval. “Tulum” is the group’s second single off of their upcoming full-length record ‘Street Life Volume 1’ released on Color Red in September 2021.
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