Downtown Rock

The Oldians are on time again for their yearly record rendez-vous this 2013 with their fourth album titled Downtown Rock. The combo, Spanish maximum exponent when musically portraying the intersection between jazz and Jamaican music, are back with a new album with his compass especially magnetized towards Jamaica and locate the KinkyLab factory in the world map of rocksteady, ska and reggae.

Under the direction of Javier García (aka JJ The Oldian, lead guitarist and musical producer), The Oldians are able to release one record per year. And what records! After their first album Old Secrets, their second LP Arts of Seduction (full of jazz standards cooked with Jamaican flavours) and their third record Wandering Souls, which flirted with soul essences, this seven piece Catalan band is back with a bunch of new jewels full of Jamaican references. Downtown Rock is a new step in the career of this special band, a new way to understand that, despite not having invented anything, the group has forged a unique delicious way to jazzly recreate within Jamaican sounds.

Downtown Rock contains twelve new songs, entirely original pieces, and it’s the most Jamaican recording the band has already done so far: a successful final tracklist (some things were kept in the pipeline, as usual) is full of aims to turn upside down any elegant club in the sixties or seventies and deep moments, just as if we were living the more heartbreaking breakup ever imagined.

The Oldians show again their skills to play mid tempos with a warm firmness: magnetic bass lines, heavy stacattos and lovely vocal harmonies. They push our souls with elegant ska tunes, in a way they are one and only. And they play for first time unusual patterns in the group up to the moment, such as nyahbingi riddims and soundtrack echoes. All of that shine again with the skills of JJ The Oldian and all the musicians in the band, which are able to blend improvisation and interpretation in order to dress a song. Add the supreme lead voice of Leire Extarri in more than half of the compositions and you will get something magical!

Downtown Rock new álbum features some special guest stars such as emeritus Jamaican percussionist Larry MacDonald (who walks all along the album bringing a touch of sublime roots), Dutch saxophonist Tommy Tornado, Italian trombonist Mr T-Bone and regular partners of musical adventurs Alejo Peloche on trombone, Victor Laguna on additional percussion and Daniel Lampérez ridding some hammonds.

This 2013 comes with an early new album by The Oldians. Downtown Rock will amaze, surprise and delight the bands’ followers all around the globe. It will receive mentions of the specialized critical worldwide, again. And will bring, for sure, a new bunch of new followers to the band. What is a very clear fact is that there’s no better way to start the year: The Oldians remain true to its principles and their production. What is only left, then, is to turn on the turntable to congratulate and celebrate these rhythms of sweet soul music.