After releasing a string of singles for the
Hotpie and Candy
label and one hard to find LP on
Soulciety Records
,
the Poets of Rhythm
come correct on this long overdue worldwide release on
Quannum Projects
. Founded a decade ago in Munich, Germany, these innovators in the
rare groove
style are seven and sometimes eight musicians deep with lead vocalist/percussionist/musical director
Boris "Bo Baral" Geiger
; guitarist/musical director
JJ Whitfield
; bassist
Jan Krause
; organ/moog stimulator
Till Sahm
; alto saxophonist
Malte Muller-Egloff
; alto-saxophonist
Wolfgang Schlick
; trumpet player
Treetop
; and drummer
Max Whitfield
. After raising eyebrows on the
"I Changed My Mind"
single on the
Quannum Spectrum
recording backing up
Lyrics Born
and riding the wave of interest from early-21st century
hip-hop
fans in
old-school funk
and
James Brown
-era breakbeat,
Discern/Define
modernizes
space jazz
over big-beat,
soul
harmonies, and kinky guitar rhythms with psychedelic tendencies. But the luscious music aside, the overwhelming production by
the Soul-Saints
is what distinguishes this record from other faceless
funk
records put out in the '90s and the early 2000s. With earthy room sounds that compliment the organic nature of the drums and bass with just a slight hint of feedback, all the best elements of
classic soul
(see:
You Got It Bad Girl
-era
Quincy Jones
) and the liveliness of live
are blended together to give the record a timeless quality. ~ Nic Kincaid