More than just a record label, Color Red is; a music scene, a curated artist group, a media outlet, a studio, a genre-fluid music platform, a global launch pad of ideas. The label was launched by Eddie Roberts, guitarist for The New Mastersounds and Matador! Soul Sounds, in Denver, CO, 2018, a city that embodies the richness of music and ideas that continually flow through this enlightened U.S. hub. As a concept, the label is dedicated to releasing new music every single week, a loft task that it has been achieving thus far.
One of those tracks is “Camins del Priorat”, which we are excited to premiere on Glide today. The track is the first of the Color Red Allstar session that Eddie put together in April, and this track is the jumping off point. Named after the wine that Eddie and keyboardist Chris Spies enjoyed together the first time they met in 2015. The session/album was inspired by Eddie’s earlier releases under the name Roughneck, and producers like St Germain who combined Jazz and House/Dance music. Camins del Priorat completely embodies that ethos and sound. It’s also a modern-day embodiment of classic Blue Note recordings. The “jazz house” grooves find themselves at the intersection of reviving Roberts’ revered early 00s project ‘Roughneck’ and the acid jazz hypnosis of St. Germain. Like the Blue Note imprint, the musical camaraderie is evident and every musician holds a number of accolades in both their respective projects and as sidemen. In addition to Roberts, The Color Red All-Stars feature Jeremy Salken (Big Gigantic), Aron Magner (The Disco Biscuits), Chris Spies (Matador! Soul Sounds, Honey Island Swamp Band), Charlie Mertens, Gabe Mervine, and Nick Gerlach.
As the lead track of the group, “Camins del Priorat” captures the essence of the project with Salken’s hard bop drums and Mervine and Gerlach’s accentuated horn lines. The initial piano motif was extracted from a riff during an improv set Roberts and Spies played with DJ Logic a couple of months prior and it set the pace for the session. Spies and Magner’s keyboard interplay does a perfect job of juxtaposing classic modalities with modern effects. This is the first track of a series of music recorded at Color Red Studios in spring 2019 with a short documentary and multiple tracks to be released throughout the year.
It’s hard not to get sucked into the energy of the track as the band embarks on a groovy jazz journey. Eddie Roberts offers his own take on the tune:
“This tune captures the essence of the project/band: Hard Bop Jazz drums and horns, grooving upright bass, modal piano rhythmic pattern, modern keys effects, bubbling jazz guitar, all underpinned by a 4-to-the-floor kick and hats. Chris Spies on keys brought the piano motif to the band and we set up the groove with bass and drums. Gabe and Nick worked on a head while the groove was being flushed out, and we ended up recording drums, bass, 2 keys (Aron Magner and Spies) and horns (trumpet and sax on one mic) all at the same time to tape. I then overdubbed the guitar where there was space once I edited the track, added programed drums, and made a rough mix. Look out for the quote from Lee Morgan’s ‘Search for a New Land.'”
For more music and info visit color-red.co.
Photo credit: Jason Melino
