Solid Bronze “The Fruit Basket”

Description

Psychedelic funkateers Solid Bronze from Delaware Valley are releasing their debut album The Fruit Basket after having great success with their first single release in June, The Invisible Man including the B-Side Dub Mix by Lee Scratch Perry.

The album was recorded at a relaxed pace from Spring 2017 to Spring 2018 by Mickey Melchiondo (Ween, Dean Ween Group, Moistboyz) at his studio in Lambertville, NJ with additional tracking done by the core band members in their respective home studios. Melchiondo produced the record along with singer/songwriter Chris Harford and mastered by Tom Ruff (James Brown, Lester Young, Screaming Females) for Asbury Media in Asbury Park, NJ.

The songs that make up The Fruit Basket draw influences from a wide spectrum of musical styles. The Funk and Soul from of 70s artists like Curtis Mayfield and Sly Stone loom large into the aesthetic of the group along with forward-thinking Jazz artists like Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis during their respective electric periods. The mellow yet intricate percussion of vintage Reggae and wild guitar expressionism of the Rock Psychedelic era are baked in as well. More esoteric sources like Arthur Lyman’s exotica and latterday Hip Hop productions also helped mold their final sound.

The founding members are Ian Everett and George Miller, who composed these songs as bass and drums duo, using naked rhythm as the focus and cornerstone in the recording process. Miller provided all the drums and percussion and Everett was responsible for bass, guitar and lead vocals. Typically starting with a rhythm track, they would begin building arrangements up layer by layer performing the bulk of the music themselves on a wide variety of instruments.

The album also features several notable guests including guitarist Michael Kidd Funkadelic Hampton (Parliament, Funkadelic), saxophonist Dana Colley (Morphine), and Atlanta-based hip hop artist CLEW. Harford and Melchiondo added vocals and a range of instrumental touches. The end result sounds like the output of group twice the size of number actually involved, a massive nasty get-down groove with all players giving everything they have got.

Ian and George grew up outside Trenton, New Jersey. The father of Miller played drums in local Jazz and Psychedelic bands in the 1970s. He introduced his son to the likes of Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix early on and George has been soaking up inspiration from drumming visionaries ever since. The first musical love of Everett was hip hop but in his early teens he discovered Punk Rock prompted him to teach himself to play bass guitar. Years of exploring new music followed and he developed a taste for Hippie rock, taught himself guitar, keys and whatever else it took to make tracks in his bedroom.

Several bands, genres and years later, these two found themselves in a band together and bonded over music they dug as well as respect for each other as players. When that act disbanded, the pair began Solid Bronze as a recording project to delve deeper into music they were fans of but had not had a chance to play.

Drawing on so many diverse influences and featuring notoriously genre-bending musicians, it would be as misleading to call The Fruit Basket a Funk record per se as pigeonholing it as Rock or R&B. This music was designed to exist in its own time and space, not be crammed into any pre-existing mold.

Tracklisting and Credits:
PAPAs BUG
Ian Everett – vocals, bass, guitar, synth
George Miller – drums & percussion
Michael Hampton – guitar
Glenn McClelland – clavinet
Chris Harford – vocals
Carol Brooks – vocals
Kerrin Pantelakis – vocals
Sam DeFalco – tambourine

THE INVISIBLE MAN
Ian Everett – vocals, bass, guitar, synth & keys
George Miller – drums & percussion
Christopher CLEW Lewis – vocals
Michael Hampton – guitar
Kerrin Pantelakis – vocals
Sam DeFalco – Roland TR8

HARD TO KEEP THE FAITH
Ian Everett – vocals, guitar, bass, keys
George Miller – drums & percussion
Dana Colley – saxophone
Chris Harford – vocals
Mickey Melchiondo – vocals
Sam DeFalco – tambourine

SWANGIN
Ian Everett – vocals, bass, guitar, synth & organ
George Miller – drums & percussion, melodica, vocals
Michael Hampton – guitar
Glenn McClelland – bass synth
Anibel Rojas – saxophone

BRONZE MAGIC
Ian Everett – bass, percussion, harp
George Miller – drums & percussion
Dana Colley – saxophone
Glenn McClelland – Fender Rhodes

MIDNITE GOOSE
Ian Everett – vocals, bass, guitar, synth, Dub Siren
George Miller – vocals, drums & percussion, synth, jaw harp
Kerrin Pantelakis – vocals

MUMBO JUMBO
Ian Everett – bass, guitar, organ
George Miller – drums & percussion
Dana Colley – saxophone
Mickey Melchiondo – guitar
Michael Hampton – guitar solo
Chris Harford – guitar

THE CRITTER WALK
Ian Everett – bass, guitar, synth & keys
George Miller – drums & percussion
Carol Brooks – vocals
Kerrin Pantelakis – vocals
Anibel Rojas – saxophone

PARADISE LOUNGE
Ian Everett – guitar, synth & keys
George Miller – drums & percussion
Mickey Melchiondo – bass
Dana Colley – saxophone
Glenn McClelland – synth, Fender Rhodes
Anibel Rojas – flute

LIKE THAT OL SAYING GOES
Ian Everett – vocals, bass, guitar, organ
George Miller – drums, vocals
Carol Brooks – vocals
Chris Harford – vocals
Mickey Melchiondo – vocals
Glenn McClelland – Arp Odyssey