Robert Glasper
Fuck Yo Feelings

On the fourth album of his fusion cycle for the man from the Black Forest, George Duke substantially expanded the number of his colleagues. As before, drummer Leon “Ndugu” Chancler beats as the heart of the rhythm section, and the Brazilian couple, Airto and Flora are again on board. The ten tracks perform a stylistic balancing act. The jittery funk of Chariot and the smooth ballad Someday show off Duke’s soulful vocal flair. Flora Purim crowns the complex Look Into Her Eyes with her spheric sound as she and guitarist George Johnson take care of business on this stratospheric piece with its bluesy electric shuffle. With two high-voltage guitarists (Daryl Stuermer and Byron Miller), That’s What She Said points to the tie between rock and funk. The most eye-opening outing occurs with star guitarist Lee Ritenour stomping on Rokkinrowl, I Don’t Know, and its Hendrix parody. Sister Sirene shows that, naturally, the typical dreamy Duke instrumentals are not left off the album. An almost animistic soundscape is woven into the fabric of Mashavu, and Giant Child Within Us – Ego is a small fusion suite encompassing the spectrum from the classical to the Zappaesque finale. The title piece is indeed a blues, dished out pure and simple – a far cry from the sounds of the preceeding piece with its mountains of synthesizers. Rather, the sultry delta heat, the acoustic simplicity and raw truth of the song prevail – the blues.

The Override Switch gives control back to the musicians. Unrestrained and unshackled by the semiotics placed by conventional dance music, it looks to a frontier beyond what is conditioned by genre.  By infusing the mercurial elements of jazz, it gives electronic instruments the avenue that it always had the potential to travel down; as an unrestrictive genre, exploring the boundless possibilities in which it is capable. It looks to innovation and transcends what has come before; it is a switch in a practical sense, overlooking its past before switching to the future. The album combines the talent of two Detroit natives: Jeff Mills and Rafael Leafar. The latter is a multi-instrumentalist with a strong affiliation to jazz music. His tastes and skills are malleable across a plethora of genres, taking influences from his father and sisters from a very early age. He honed his craft in Sterling Heights High School, DSA, Detroit Civic Jazz Orchestra, & The New School for Jazz. Later developing his music in New York, he has performed with Reggie Workman, Marcus Belgrave, Vincent Chandler, and Jeff Tain Watts. In 2016 he moved back to Detroit, where he met Mike Banks from Underground Resistance, and they began to experiment on music together. Through Mike Banks, he was introduced to Jeff Mills, where the idea for The Override Switch began to manifest.The connection to Mills was evident from their roots, as Detroit musicians are engrained within musical development. Axis records and Jeff Mills have embarked on a journey through electronic music, amalgamating it with live instruments to develop the future of sound and genres. Previously, Mills has combined with the likes of Jean-Phi Dary, Tony Allen and Spiral Deluxe to indulge in an electronic jazz sound. However, The Override Switch gave an unprecedented opportunity to develop a sound within an undisturbed environment, to push something representative of the 21st century. It removed the microscope and fell into place naturally.  The album is a homage to artists like John Coltrane, J Dilla, Kraftwerk and those who inspire experimentation with what can be evoked through music. The track 'The Sun King' perfectly exemplifies this. It flows from the spirit; music pours out like the River Nile as it rises and descends its banks. It represents the day and potential it brings; how the light should be cherished and worshipped for its energy. The soul is encapsulated by the combination of percussions ensnared and buoyed by the enchanting, beguiling and immersive horns and flutes.

David Versace is an Australian multi-genre keyboardist, composer and producer based in Meanjin, Queensland. Growing up in a very musical household it was always important to express and embrace all types of music and sonics. His sound ranges from Jazz and Samba to ambient works and the odd dance-floor heater. David also plays in Meanjin nu-jazz dance outfit First Beige.Since late 2019, he has self released around 20 different tracks and with the most recent signing to La Sape Records David is excited to announce his debut solo album 'Okra' a conceptual body of work that flows through a culmination of raw organic concepts conceived In The Moment, and his most elegant & articulated work yet.