– THE CHARM OFFENSIVE –

Julien Chang wants to challenge you. We know this because he doesn’t pronounce his name the way you expect him to (that last name rhymes with ‘wrong’). We also know this because he declares it as his mission statement in the press release that accompanies Of The Past.

But most of all we know it because of the casual spanners he likes to throw into the works on this, his debut single.

Witness the arpeggios that casually pop up in the first chorus, running around like a headless blue-arsed fly. Observe way the classically trained Baltimore native casually gets Jeheiel Smith to drop a tasty jazz piano solo half-way through this 80s-inspired funk jam. Enjoy discovering that this prodigiously talented, clearly well-versed musician is actually only a 19-year-old kid still at University; one who’s typically considered a trombone player.

It makes for a track that appeals as much to the brain as to the bootay and will get both working overtime.

Of the Past is out now through Transgressive.

MORE FROM THIS WEEK’S MIX

SNARKY PUPPY: EMBOSSED
ROBERTO FONSECA: AGGUA
DAYMÉ AROCENA: PARA EL AMOR: CANTAR!
KEVIN HAYS & LIONEL LOUEKE: AZIZA

P.S. You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –