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24 February 2024

Credit: Jason Chinnock

Back in 1976 one-hit wonder band Wild Cherry jumped on the Sly and the Family Stone train and had a massive hit with Play That Funky Music (White Boys). Great tune, great ode to the music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s. Like rock ‘n’ roll, funk came, never went away and still influences musicians today and will do so in the future.

Enter SILVER SKYLARKS, featuring songwriter Danny Balis and producer Jeff “Skin” Wade from Austin, Texas who just dropped their superb debut single POWER MOVES. I’ll feature on their debut album, named Number One Set and Sound, out on May 3rd.

Album artwork

Bails about the single and the musicians on it “The demo of this song was intended to be emblematic of a ’70s car chase scene out of “The Streets of San Francisco,” but Skin [Wade] had other ideas. Very good ideas. What once would have been Blaxploitation background music took a major left turn by adding Jordache Grant’s incredible Moog and Clavinet play, Adrian Quesada’s signature guitar figures and wah expertise, and by far my favorite David Pierce horn arrangement. Austin-based singing duo US! absolutely smashes this jam with a vocal hook that evolves this tune into B-boy territory. And no matter what, I’ll never stop reimagining the bass line from James Brown’s ‘Get Up/Sex Machine.’ It’s the combustible engine of grooves.”

Power Moves is a master blaster of a song mixing the good old funk days with modern hip-rap-hop vibes. Sultry horns, wah-wah guitars, sexy vocals, hip-shaking rhythms, pizzazzy dynamics, and Hammond organs, all ingredients are here for a super-duper dance floor filler. Get up, stand up and feel so good with your best James Brown moves.

Press play.

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