Now here’s an unusual and spontaneous way to make a record.
Phono 48 brings together Andre Laville, Kitty Durham and Lewis Durham (of Kitty, Daisy and Lewis fame), as well as Amané Suganami, Solomon Douglass and Nick Corbin. They had never met before in a studio setting nor had most of them even met before at all. They had no set agenda or guidelines of what to create. In just 48 hours they wrote and recorded these three tracks—actually one track with three versions—and the music is just as unique as the concept.
“So Pure” starts the listen with Corbin’s mesmerizing guitar, before Laville’s soulful pipes enter alongside Douglas’ bouncy and energetic bass lines that populate soul-meets-jazz-meets-soft-rock ideas that are both retro and contemporary.
The Radio Edit version of “So Pure” falls in the middle, and has the original trimmed down by 90 seconds, but certainly still allows Kitty Durham’s frisky drums and the animated backing vocals to shine amid some funk stabs and Suganami’s finger acrobatics on the Wurlitzer that few could parallel.
The final version, and longest at nearly six minutes, is the instrumental version, which really highlights the precise rhythm section, playful keys and lively guitar playing that’s plenty funky and dreamy in its smooth and dynamic interaction.
A listen that blends neo-soul, modern jazz, and R&B influences with dance-floor-ready funk, So Pure finds nearly everyone contributing to backing vocals, and the attention to detail sure is apparent and appreciated.
The packaging on the physical version—a 12” limited vinyl format with just 1000 copies pressed—comes with many great photos from Dean Chalkey that document the environment that lent itself to a freedom of musical exchange and mutual respect that only enhances the experience.
