Release Day Picks: May 31st New Album Highlights

Each week Release Day Picks profiles new LPs and EPs Team JamBase will be checking out on release day Friday. This week we highlight new albums by Keller Williams, Sinkane and Freekbass. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.

Keller Williams – Add

The Scoop: Multi-talented multi-instrumentalist Keller Williams adds to his ever-growing catalog of single-syllable releases with his latest studio album, Add. “I look at my 20-something releases as simple documentation of where my head and musical ideas currently reside,” Williams told JamBase. “The addition of Add was brought on by an unexpected flurry of inspiration which led to songs writing themselves. Attention Deficit Disorder has nothing to do with this record. I like squirrels.” KW and Jeff Covert co-produced the nine-tracks on Add, which is made up of seven new and previously unrecorded originals and covers of “All I Want” by Joni Mitchell and “Brave Captain” by Firehose. The follow-up to last year’s instrumental release Sans was recorded in Fredricksburg, Virginia and features Keller contributing vocals, acoustic and bass guitars, upright bass, keyboards and percussion, while also supplying drum samples and other effects.

Sinkane – Dépaysé

The Scoop: Sinkane leader, guitarist/vocalist Ahmed Gallab, who was born in England to Sudanese parents and raised in the United States, returns with the follow-up to 2017’s Life & Livin’ It. Rounding out Sinkane’s membership is keyboardist Elenna Canlas, guitarist Jonny Lam, bassist Ish Montgomery and drummer Chris St. Hilaire. “Dépaysé is a French word that basically means ‘to be removed from one’s habitual surroundings,’” Gallab stated. “Sinkane is an American band comprised of people from all over the world. Our collective experience as children of the diaspora helped bring the music to life in the most honest way possible. ‘Dépaysé’ is the story of an immigrant’s journey of self-discovery in the Trump era. The music is loud and raw, and it’s bursting with an energy unlike anything I’ve ever done before.”

Freekbass – All The Way This. All The Way That.

The Scoop: All The Way This. All The Way That. was recorded by Freekbass in two locations. The All The Way This half was tracked in Cincinnati with co-producer Itaal Shur and captures, “the vibes and rich history of the Ohio funk sound both Freek and Shur grew up with.” The All The Way That half of the album was recorded at Color Red Studios in Denver with Color Red founder Eddie Roberts of The New Mastersounds. Guests appearing on the album include Sammi Garett of Turkuaz, keyboardist Sky White and drummer Rico Lewis. “Recording half of the album in Cincinnati and half of the album in Denver was the perfect way to bridge the earth with the stars,” Freekbass said. “This album could have been recorded in 1972 and some of it in 2072. The funk is timeless to me, and that is what I always want to try to create, both live and in the studio. The combination of a producer like Eddie Roberts with his pedigree and Itaal Shur with his vision, makes for a very eclectic and hopefully, groundbreaking take on groove-based music.”