UK's Anna Stubbs, of the iconic broken beat duo Brotherly, steps up as a producer on her first solo project Kinzoogianna. Sophisticated songwriting, divine harmonies, and mind-expanding grooves are majorly prevalent on this 2nd single.
Anna Stubbs aka Kinzoogianna is a London-based, multi-talented vocalist and keyboardist who represents one-half of the groundbreaking nu-jazz/broken beat duo Brotherly. The other half is world-renowned bass player Rob Mullarkey (Jacob Collier, Jordan Rakei), who is also on mixing duties for Anna's upcoming solo album. The last piece of the puzzle is a frequent collaborator and a real maestro of effortless drumming, Richard Spaven. Richard has played with a wide range of artists, such as Guru (Gangstarr), Flying Lotus, Cinematic Orchestra, José James, and the Netherlands' own Jameszoo. Don't matter if you need neckslappin' hip hop beats or other-world jungle/drum&bass rhythms, the man plays it all with ease. Richard has also been instrumental in London's broken beat scene and played countless nights with Brotherly since their rise in 2005. Most of the Brotherly tracks never had a vinyl release at the time, but that changed last year with the Analects double album on Whirlwind Recordings. These masterpieces sound just as fresh as when they were created and the fact that it still sounds mindblowing shows how far they really were in terms of originality. Next to many of their greatest tracks the anthology album also featured a couple of previously unreleased tunes, such as the magnificent 'Raindown' featuring the almighty Kaidi Tatham.
Anna's new alias Kinzoogianna comes from the Japanese word 'kintsugi', which means 'joining with gold'. It is the art of repairing cracks but also has a deeper philosophy. It symbolizes that if you were once 'broken', you can actually return stronger and can embrace those flaws. I always loved that philosophy in Japanese culture and the fact that Anna picked this name, and that her beats are considered broken as well, really makes it all fall into place.
As Kinzoogianna she steps into her role as a full-on producer for the first time.
The songs on her forthcoming Gold For The Hungry Souls album were written while transcribing and improvising over songs she loves by artists such as Rotary Connection, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Wayne Shorter & others. Having to record at home, in isolation, she threw herself into the process, using various gear like her trusty Nord, an SM7 mic, a UA 6176 pre-amp, Logic Pro X software, YouTube tutorial videos, and, so we heard, lots of red wine. Must have been some fun solo sessions.
'Cinnamon Bun' came out a month ago and is the first single off her upcoming debut album and it instantly grabbed my attention with the beautiful chord progressions, rich harmonies, and adventurous songwriting. Right off the bat from the opening chords and her warm welcoming lyric "good moooorningggg" you know why you pressed play and as the happiness enters your eardrums there's no way your mood didn't improve in the process.
The 2nd single 'Night Train' is a tale about a good friend leaving the hometown to the big city lights, and returning to do a search and rescue for the ones left behind. It builds on a programmed drum pattern with quartal piano chords, building into a multi-layered vocal chorus. The harmonies are rich, at times unexpected and Richard's impeccable drumming really lifts the tune into a true West London broken beat dance floor banger with a jaw-dropping solo behind it. This trio is fully in sync and are true champions in their field.
The album Gold For The Hungry Souls is getting its release in August 2022.
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