Metal Fingers
Special Herbs Vols 1&2

Hip hop beats, chiming Rhodes piano, squelchy synth lines, and trippy guitar riffs, straight from Portland !

Anglo-French RnB singer songwriter with expertly crafted Love songs charting the course of relationshipS. A new take on the alternative RnB and Neo Soul genre with instrumentally daring arrangements, melancholic soundscapes, sumptuous jazz harmonies and effortless mantra-like soulful melodies. appolonie - vocals (all tracks)barak schmool - keys, programming (all tracks); alto flute (3)joe lee - bass (all tracks)lyle barton - keys solo (2)todd oliver - guitar solo (5)aviv cohen - guitar (1 2 4 5)greg sanders - guitar (3)words/music appolonie, arrangements barak schmoolengineering - aviv cohen, tom cc, julius johanssonproduction - barak schmool, aviv cohenmixing, mastering - aviv cohenphotography - cinqcentquarante

After a sling of instantly sold-out 45s through his Bandcamp (we're talking minutes here), it's tempting to say that Soul Supreme got a Midas touch. But that doesn't do justice to his hard work and carefully crafted reinterpretations of music by A Tribe Called Quest, Madvillain, Mos Def & others. The newest addition: not one but two 45s around Jay Dee a.k.a. J Dilla.The Amsterdam-based keyboardist/producer takes on 'Let's Ride' (Q-Tip) and 'Runnin' (The Pharcyde) on the first donut. This other 45 contains a medley of 'The Official' (Jaylib) and 'Fall In Love' (Slum Village), and two unsung Jay Dee beats: 'Still Shining,' as produced for Busta Rhymes, which has never seen the light of day as an instrumental. Another never-before-released Jay Dee beat is 'Feelin' Good', an essential case of Dilla's unparalleled ear for swing. Sidetrack: look up the Bling47 Breaks video later with House Shoes's story on giving Jay Dee the Frank Cunimondo Trio record, with a VHS video of T3 and Baatin going crazy in Detroit's The Shelter to Jay Dee's 'Feelin' Good' flip. Pure gold.The Detroit visionary reimagined 'groove' and sampling. On his turn, Soul Supreme takes on Dilla's timing, rhythms, and harmonies. Think of how in the final part of "Runnin'," the keys start to follow the well-hidden, heavily filtered sample on The Pharcyde's original, instead of the main melody. Or how there's punch to J-Zone's drumming on "Let's Ride" as there's punch to the MPC3000. How Jonny Murray improvises on trumpet rather than replaying the sample. The marriage of Rhodes and synths on "Fall In Love" resemble Soul Supreme's trademark sound as showcased on last year's self-titled LP. Built on top of that, the two 45 releases (sold separately) are all-original takes on Jay Dee-produced classics.

totally OG !

Approchez...L'histoire commence...