As one third of the visionary indie band, Dispatch, Pete Francis inspired legions of fans with an aesthetic that was as accessible and inviting as it was artistically uncompromising. Now, he embarks on a new era of inspired creativity with a multitude of new projects, including an invigorating hip-hop flavored band, Dragon Crest Collective, whose debut, Vol. 1, drops June 2nd; a vibey studio open to the public; and through offering his own unique production services to recording artists.
Dragon Crest Collective is a homespun, collaboration-fueled foray into the most groove-heavy territory the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist has ever explored. On Vol. 1, Francis drew much inspiration from the fusion of groove-powered instrumentals and lo-fi hip-hop that the Beastie Boys offered up on their 1992 classic Check Your Head. Dragon Crest Collective finds the Dispatch co-founder teaming up with Danny “dbone” Golden (keyboards, drum programming), Paul Maddison (guitar, bass), and Kenny Shaw (drums) to create a joyfully hip-hop-inspired take on alt-rock. Special guests on the album include guitarist Darian Cunning (who tears through a transcendent solo on the bass-soaked, ultra-danceable “King Kong”) and the Funky Dawgz Brass Band (who heat up tracks like the chant-along-worthy party jam “Dance Dance Dance Dance” with their fiery horn work). The album release will be preceded by the first single, “Turn Me On,” an unbridled paean to family life, bursting with joyous and revelatory rhymes and atop’ hip-hop grooves.
Glide is premiering the first single “Turn Me On” off Vol. 1, a hard hitting track that showcases the band’s natural hip hop grooves, arena rock bombast and a taste of almost everything genre wise. “My inspiration musically for “Turn Me On” was creating a blend between big Nirvana-like chords with a Snoop Doggish flow while also hinting at Led Zeppelin in the bridge, says Francis about the track. “Lyrically it touches on keeping the love light on in a relationship while balancing day to day family life. It kind of transforms the ordinary into a dream-like party state of mind.”
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