Biography
Analog Players Society, a collective and community of musicians rooted at The Hook Studio in Brooklyn, NY.
The group is led by producer, engineer and percussionist Amon (who has worked with KCRW’s own Jeremy Sole!) and their bio on Facebook is simply this: “state of the art 1970′s technology…Nasty horns..Big drums… Sweaty dance floors..Paradise!”.
It really is paradise as they take on two 80′s classics and give them a funky makeover. They turn Wang Chung’s “Dancehall Days” into a reggae jam and get extra groovy on Nu Shooz’ “I Can’t Wait”.
Deep in the heart of Brooklyn’s sequestered Red Hook neighborhood sits a musical oasis behind a non-descript red brick exterior. Christened “The Hook Studio”, the spot has been an indispensable resource for a revolving cast of musicians (both internationally and locally known), DJs, producers, percussionists, and their friends / extended family. Behind the board of The Hook Studio sits the man known as Amon - constantly taking inspiration for the project you have in front of you now entitled Hurricane Season in Brooklyn by his Analog Players Society.
The Analog Players Society is a collective effort spearheaded and produced by Amon himself, featuring a large ensemble cast of musicians hanging around the studio, the likes of which read like a who’s who list of the wide-open Brooklyn music scene as it stands today. Players from such heavyweights as TV On The Radio, Tortured Soul, Escort, Beirut, Si*Se, Blitz the Ambassador and Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble make up the core of the project, which is eclectic by nature but carries serious strains of the Dub, Funk, Afrobeat, and Soul variety within it. The Analog Players Society vibe is about making people dance even if the power goes out – getting rugged and raw with drums, stand-up bass, piano, and horns…or at least doing it all without a laptop on the stage.
Things kick off on Hurricane Season In Brooklyn with “Free”, a driving horn fueled joint that’s hungrily swallowed the 90s Acid Jazz sound and spit it back out as something so much more live & funky. Next up, the album’s title track bounces willfully to its House & West London influences, with Cecilia Stalin (Koop) vocally soaring above the clouds. Coming around further is a series of three 80s classic covers; No-Shooz’s “I Can’t Wait”, Shannon’s “Let The Music Play”, and Wang Chung’s “Dancehall Days” – reversioned in classic APS dub style. Originally released on a series of 7”s on Brooklyn’s Redbud Recordings, these joints made the likes of Okayplayer, KCRW, Giant Step, LargeUp, Bama Love Soul and plenty of others originally sit up and take notice. Other highlights include the head-noddin’ soulful number that is “Just A Day”, the driving Booker T –visits-Nigeria sound of “The Hippie Don Know”, and the nostalgic downtempo vibes of “Moments Combine” rounding out the album.
Hurricane Season In Brooklyn is one of those albums that manages to carry a timeless feeling with it, alongside a real reflection of exactly what’s happening right now in Brooklyn - all the while keeping one eye on the past. This is studio magic made live!
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