Otis McDonald is one funky modern song-crafter and track producer releasing hook-laden pop music for the modern listener. An underground artist renowned for slaying dance floor crowds in San Francisco clubs with his live ensemble projects, Otis McDonald (moniker of Joe Bagale) releases his studio debut album, People Music (TrackTribe), on December 6, 2019. People Music is an inside look into this hitmaker’s blossoming career as a solo artist.
Though People Music is Otis McDonald’s debut album, Joe Bagale is no stranger to the national music scene. He’s a lauded multi-instrumentalist who’s performed with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Fred Wesley, Peewee Ellis, Mike Clark, Lyrics Born, DJ Qbert, Dave Schools, and Gift of Gab (Blackalicious). Bagale has also arranged and performed with Roy Ayers, and produced tracks for Martin Luther (The Roots, Across the Universe).
Producing out of the famous room Studio D at Hyde Street Studios in downtown SF where records were cut by Herbie Hancock, Meshell Ndegeocello, 2Pac, Digital Underground, and Tower of Power, Otis McDonald’s original tracks have recently been placed in videos posted by some of the biggest social media network accounts, including the NBA, People magazine, and Comedy Central. With his debut People Music, a music innovator who performs on all the instruments (except horns and strings) unveils a powerful punch of funk, pop, and soul tracks delivering messages of the times.
People Music marks the first release from TrackTribe, a new independent music company conceived by Bagale and a group of life-long friends and music industry veterans. TrackTribe encourages fans to use tracks from People Music in their online videos for free. By allowing music lovers and video creators to use Otis McDonald’s tracks, they decide which songs become most popular through their videos.
Otis McDonald tested this grassroots distribution model through writing over 100 original tracks for tech giants YouTube and Facebook from 2016-2019. Thus far, McDonald’s copyright-free tracks have garnered the independent artist over 3 million downloads, 3.5 million different videos featuring his music with an astonishing 7.6 billion views, and a rapidly growing online fanbase on Spotify and YouTube.
An homage to both Shuggie Otis and Michael McDonald, Otis McDonald celebrates these musical geniuses within a modern aesthetic. McDonald says, “Even though I am a modern artist, I always pay reverence to all of the greatest artists that have come before me. Call it tangibly rooted in nostalgia while pushing forward. I want to make popular music something that is meaningful again.”
Glide is thrilled to premiere “Had Enough” – a creamy syncopation of funk and soul that touches the wings of Raphael Saadiq, Chromeo and Galactic. McDonald displays an impeccable knack for hooks and grooves, revisiting the classic years of 70’s soul candy and beyond.
“Had Enough is about the changes I’ve witnessed in San Francisco, the city I call home,” says McDonald. “This song isn’t a message but rather just one man’s observation of a city that’s rapidly changing. New money has come in but the middle class continues to disappear. The culture has shifted and it’s losing part of what makes this city magical. I love SF and I’m proud to still live here. I just hope it doesn’t fall apart.”
