The Mighty Sceptres - All Hail The Mighty Sceptres! (CD/LP, Ubiquity Records, 2015)
After a few different releases under the Freestyle Records banner in the UK, with Frootful or Angeline Morrison (or that pretentious, insulting guy who thinks he's so big while Paris DJs is so nothing that we should be working for him for free), guitarist/composer/graphic designer Nick Radford is now presenting his new project on the other side of the Atlantic - through Ubiquity Records. Can't say that's not a good move, since we haven't heard from Freestyle Records since the autumn of 2011, while Ubiquity has kept on hitting our media/production unit with records - which resulted in remixes, collaborations, reviews, playlisting, appearances in mixes, worldwide networking, etc.!!
Anyway.
This new, British band is called The Mighty Sceptres and essentially plays 1960s soul in its most classic form. The first single, Siren Call, opens the album and you instantly understand that this record is gonna be a classy, analog, vintage affair of retro soul, funk, jazz and R&B. No new wave synths, no crashy broken beats, nothing annoyingly pseudo-hype here, we're in old school territory, with an eclectic array of authentic sounds. Passionate musicians with feeling. What else would you be asking for? Just don't trust the press release about the standout tracks, this is like a collection of singles, treasures of soul, pure songcraft from beginning to end.
The Mighty Sceptres - All Hail The Mighty Sceptres!
(CD/LP) Ubiquity Records UR338, 2015-02-24
Tracklisting :
01. Siren Call 4:11
02. I Found The Letter 3:16
03. Shy As A Butterfly 3:37
04. Just Didnt Mean It 3:06
05. Jerk Chicken 3:10
06. Nothing Seems To Work Right 4:42
07. Sting Like A Bee 2:47
08. You're Nothing But A Pack of Cards 4:20
09. Gentle Refrain 3:34
10. Land Of Green Ginger 4:19
11. Krazy Kat feat. Ian Dunlop 3:10
12. That Ol' Feelin' 2:45
13. We Got A Problem 3:36
14. Shy As A Butterfly (Kenny Dope Extended Mix) 05:23 *
* digital-only bonus track
Links :
Buy it on bandcamp | juno
The Mighty Sceptres : official | bandcamp | facebook | juno | soundcloud | twitter
Ubiquity Records : official | facebook | parisdjs | soundcloud.com | twitter | youtube
Press Release :
All Hail The Mighty Sceptres! boldly announces the arrival of the band and is also the rightful title of their debut album. Nick Radford and Angeline Morrison have crafted an extraordinary collection of songs showcasing their love of all things "Soul", from funk, R&B, jazz, and doo-wop with just a bit of rock, all informed by the sound and attitude of the '60s.
Already accomplished artists in their own right and having been guests on each others records, the "magic" between Nick and Angeline is fully manifested in "The Mighty Sceptres" as Angeline describes it, "The collaborative element of 'All Hail The Mighty Sceptres' has been really inspiring. Nick and I have had the chance to focus together on writing and arranging, and though we've co-written many songs previously, this was a new level of freedom and responsibility for us".
Getting the "right sound", from the writing through to the recording, engineering, production, mixing and mastering, is of paramount importance to the music of The Mighty Sceptres. By enlisting the help of Chris Pedley (The Baker Brothers) as a producer who in turn brought in Benedic Lamdin (Nostalgia 77) to help him with the final mix of the album, they were able to achieve just that. According to Nick "I think we were all on the same page as far as 'the sound' we were after was concerned, coming from a similar place musically. From the recording (where Kryzsystof Oktalski helped out with signal chains and mic'ing things up), mixing down to tape in the remarkably well equipped Fish Market studios (using the same MCI desk Willie Mitchell used at Hi Records, and an EMT140 plate reverb, among other equipment), through to the final mastering by the well respected Lewis Hopkin; I don't think we have ever used so much authentic equipment, never mind worked with such talent, in the creation of an album!
Stand out tracks include the killer funk stomper "I Found The Letter" and the string-laden, R&B uptempo ballad "Shy As A Butterfly".
Anyway.
This new, British band is called The Mighty Sceptres and essentially plays 1960s soul in its most classic form. The first single, Siren Call, opens the album and you instantly understand that this record is gonna be a classy, analog, vintage affair of retro soul, funk, jazz and R&B. No new wave synths, no crashy broken beats, nothing annoyingly pseudo-hype here, we're in old school territory, with an eclectic array of authentic sounds. Passionate musicians with feeling. What else would you be asking for? Just don't trust the press release about the standout tracks, this is like a collection of singles, treasures of soul, pure songcraft from beginning to end.
The Mighty Sceptres - All Hail The Mighty Sceptres!
(CD/LP) Ubiquity Records UR338, 2015-02-24
Tracklisting :
01. Siren Call 4:11
02. I Found The Letter 3:16
03. Shy As A Butterfly 3:37
04. Just Didnt Mean It 3:06
05. Jerk Chicken 3:10
06. Nothing Seems To Work Right 4:42
07. Sting Like A Bee 2:47
08. You're Nothing But A Pack of Cards 4:20
09. Gentle Refrain 3:34
10. Land Of Green Ginger 4:19
11. Krazy Kat feat. Ian Dunlop 3:10
12. That Ol' Feelin' 2:45
13. We Got A Problem 3:36
14. Shy As A Butterfly (Kenny Dope Extended Mix) 05:23 *
* digital-only bonus track
Links :
Buy it on bandcamp | juno
The Mighty Sceptres : official | bandcamp | facebook | juno | soundcloud | twitter
Ubiquity Records : official | facebook | parisdjs | soundcloud.com | twitter | youtube
Press Release :
All Hail The Mighty Sceptres! boldly announces the arrival of the band and is also the rightful title of their debut album. Nick Radford and Angeline Morrison have crafted an extraordinary collection of songs showcasing their love of all things "Soul", from funk, R&B, jazz, and doo-wop with just a bit of rock, all informed by the sound and attitude of the '60s.
Already accomplished artists in their own right and having been guests on each others records, the "magic" between Nick and Angeline is fully manifested in "The Mighty Sceptres" as Angeline describes it, "The collaborative element of 'All Hail The Mighty Sceptres' has been really inspiring. Nick and I have had the chance to focus together on writing and arranging, and though we've co-written many songs previously, this was a new level of freedom and responsibility for us".
Getting the "right sound", from the writing through to the recording, engineering, production, mixing and mastering, is of paramount importance to the music of The Mighty Sceptres. By enlisting the help of Chris Pedley (The Baker Brothers) as a producer who in turn brought in Benedic Lamdin (Nostalgia 77) to help him with the final mix of the album, they were able to achieve just that. According to Nick "I think we were all on the same page as far as 'the sound' we were after was concerned, coming from a similar place musically. From the recording (where Kryzsystof Oktalski helped out with signal chains and mic'ing things up), mixing down to tape in the remarkably well equipped Fish Market studios (using the same MCI desk Willie Mitchell used at Hi Records, and an EMT140 plate reverb, among other equipment), through to the final mastering by the well respected Lewis Hopkin; I don't think we have ever used so much authentic equipment, never mind worked with such talent, in the creation of an album!
Stand out tracks include the killer funk stomper "I Found The Letter" and the string-laden, R&B uptempo ballad "Shy As A Butterfly".
Original post on Paris DJs