Music Reviews

Soulstance

Truth, Simplicity & Love

Shakti

Italy’s Enzo and Gianni Lo Greco splash headlong into the lounge of fellow countryman Nicola Conte and mine the music’s soulful depths. Truth, Simplicity & Love is a warmly textured soul-ride covered in blue-water haze and tectonically deep bass lines. The album kicks off with the slow and mellow “Blue Grassland,” which glides along cherubic synths and a gritty, flittering flute that is ubiquitous throughout the album (Herbie Mann, anyone?). “Circle” is a breezy, little continental lounge groove that screams for beachside resorts and fruity cocktails. At times, Soulstance can be melodic to the point of being milquetoast (like with the title track and their Jobim tribute), but most of the time these sibs concoct solid, soul-driven soundscapes that lick your ears with hints of Blaxploitation, Roy Ayers, and creamy lounge atmospherics. This is a late-night joy ride into a dreamy unknown filled with Bill Withers sensuality that’ll ease your mind and tickle your libido.

Shakti Records: http://www.shaktirecords.com


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