Sola Rosa, Low and Behold, High and Beyond. Photo / Supplied
Sola Rosa, Low and Behold, High and Beyond. Photo / Supplied
Rich with well-crafted melodic beats that intersect somewhere between hip-hop, jazz, nu-soul and funk, topped with eclectic vocal takes performed by five different contributors, this 11-track album is the fifth studio release from Andrew Spraggon and his band.
It's crisp, warm, and vital, courtesy of production that takes live recordingsof the horns, woodwinds, guitars, strings, percussion, drums, and bass, and effortlessly fuses them with synths and programming.
It's this perfectionism that raises the quality far beyond bedroom beats. Spraggon has also never relied on grabbing "name" vocalists to guest on tracks, preferring to dig for his contributors in the underground of local and international music scenes, and he frequently manages to match the beats and voices with great skill. Longtime collaborator and live band member Spikey Tee makes solid features on three tracks, but it's local RnB electro-soul singer LA Mitchell and animated British crooner Olivier Daysoul who make the greatest impression this time around. Daysoul's irreverent track Wiggle is a cheeky bit of fun, and album opener Promise is the sound of summer come early, while Mitchell's Real Life has something beautifully innocent about it.
Low And Behold is fresh and funky - the perfect soundtrack for a summer roadtrip, or to prep for an always worthwhile Sola Rosa live show.
Stars: 4/5 Verdict: Fresh fifth album from summery beat maestro. Buy this album here.
