Brian Jackson (Gil Scott-Heron) Features On Trip-Hop Pioneer Eric Hilton’s New Single; New EP, “Present Past ​and​ Future”

Montserrat House Music and veteran producer/artist Eric Hilton are excited to announce the Friday, November 18 release of Present Past and Future, the downtempo pioneer’s forthcoming EP. Sonically, Present Past and Future shifts between jazz-tinged drum-n-bass and laid-back urban funk, with a dusty ambience throughout that will tick the trip-hop genre box for many. But Hilton’s crate-digging, vinyl connoisseur aesthetic brought disparate influences into the creation of this new offering, with nods to trumpeter Donald Byrd, jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron, and legendary American record production team the Mizell Brothers.

"Music defies time,” Hilton says. “It can linger in the present moment, move forwards or backwards. Music can be part of all these realities.” And on this new EP, the Thievery Corporation co-founder takes the listener from inner city sidewalks of the 1970s to the edges of the Universe … and back. 

Leading the collection is “Something for Byrd,” a tune that gets a big bump in pedigree via a guest appearance by Brian Jackson, the sonic architect of Gil Scott-Heron’s most classic recordings. Gil was the genius jazz poet — and Brian Jackson wrote the music — their partnership lasting from 1974 to 1980, the period considered to be Scott-Heron’s most fruitful. In recent years, Hilton developed a friendship with Jackson, culminating in a guest appearance on Present Past and Future, along with other as-yet unreleased music. 

"I’ve been immersed in the music Brian’s involved in for my whole life, it blows me away that we’re working together,” says Hilton. “He created the intro on ‘Something for Byrd’ on a Fender Rhodes. He has a unique style of inverting chords and putting things together — the song was so different after he touched it, so much tastier.”

The Mizell Brothers — producers of classic ‘70s Blue Note jazz fusion albums and huge hits like A Taste of Honey’s dance funk classic “Boogie Oogie Boogie” via their company Sky High Productions — were renowned for making records with a lush but edgy sound. It was a sonic sensibility Hilton pursued when crafting Present Past and Future. 

“The Mizell Brothers records were such a huge part of my musical journey, especially the work they did on Donald Byrd’s incredible ‘Places and Spaces’,” Hilton adds. “Something for Byrd” pays tribute to both the Mizells and Byrd; the track is beautifully expansive with a stone-cold groove; it’s clear that Hilton achieved his goal.

Other standout tracks on the EP include the percolating “Put Em’ Down,” the bell-bottomed bass of “Cold Gemini,” and the deep funk of "E Plays It Cool,” a tongue-in cheek reference to the Marvin Gaye classic “T Plays It Cool.” The album closer, “Mind Archeology,” may be the most transportive cut on the EP — a distant siren sets a scene. The shifting tempo and hard-coiled funk slam bring forth visions of neon-illuminated street corners, crowded with souls eager for the pleasures night can bring. This is music that brings you on a journey, high and beautiful.