In the four years since Adrian Younge's Something About April album
first appeared, the Los Angeles-based producer and
multi-instrumentalist has become his own musical cottage industry.
Not only has he collaborated with musical legends ranging from The
Delfonics to Ghostface Killah, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and The
Souls of Mischief, his work has also been sampled by such rap giants
as 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Common.
In an equally impressive twist, DJ Premier produced an entire album with Younge's work as his only source material (including
multiple samples from April, of course): 2014's PRhyme, with MC Royce Da 5'9".
Something About April is an album that flaunts all of the trademarks that have made Younge an in-demand name as a composer
and sample source-point. His work oozes raw, analog soul and the primal sonic edge of psychedelic rock, sitting nicely alongside
Ennio Morricone's best soundtrack work, Pink Floyd's early catalog and Parliament's Osmium.
Younge's songwriting is what truly makes this album unique and keeps ears engaged. While many of his tunes are initially
vamp-driven, there are changes and aural twists that lurk around every corner, as evidenced on stand-out cuts including:
· The intense, deep groove and stripped-down vocals of "Turn Down The Sound"
[sampled for Common's "Out On Bond"],
· The turns of both tension and beauty on "Reverie" (with all TWELVE instruments per
formed by Younge) [sampled on Jay-Z's "Heaven," with Justin Timberlake],
· The gorgeous, cinematic ballads "First Step On The Moon" and
"Two Hearts Combine",
· The breakbeat fiesta of "Sirens" [used by Jay-Z for "Picasso Baby"], and
· The new millennial soul/doo-wop of "Lovely Lady," complete with lead guitar by funky
soul legend Dennis Coffey.
This deluxe reissue vinyl on Younge's Linear Labs imprint includes a bonus instrumental song from the
original album sessions – "Niacin."
first appeared, the Los Angeles-based producer and
multi-instrumentalist has become his own musical cottage industry.
Not only has he collaborated with musical legends ranging from The
Delfonics to Ghostface Killah, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and The
Souls of Mischief, his work has also been sampled by such rap giants
as 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Common.
In an equally impressive twist, DJ Premier produced an entire album with Younge's work as his only source material (including
multiple samples from April, of course): 2014's PRhyme, with MC Royce Da 5'9".
Something About April is an album that flaunts all of the trademarks that have made Younge an in-demand name as a composer
and sample source-point. His work oozes raw, analog soul and the primal sonic edge of psychedelic rock, sitting nicely alongside
Ennio Morricone's best soundtrack work, Pink Floyd's early catalog and Parliament's Osmium.
Younge's songwriting is what truly makes this album unique and keeps ears engaged. While many of his tunes are initially
vamp-driven, there are changes and aural twists that lurk around every corner, as evidenced on stand-out cuts including:
· The intense, deep groove and stripped-down vocals of "Turn Down The Sound"
[sampled for Common's "Out On Bond"],
· The turns of both tension and beauty on "Reverie" (with all TWELVE instruments per
formed by Younge) [sampled on Jay-Z's "Heaven," with Justin Timberlake],
· The gorgeous, cinematic ballads "First Step On The Moon" and
"Two Hearts Combine",
· The breakbeat fiesta of "Sirens" [used by Jay-Z for "Picasso Baby"], and
· The new millennial soul/doo-wop of "Lovely Lady," complete with lead guitar by funky
soul legend Dennis Coffey.
This deluxe reissue vinyl on Younge's Linear Labs imprint includes a bonus instrumental song from the
original album sessions – "Niacin."
A1 | Turn Down The Sound | |
A2 | It's Me | |
A3 | Anna May | |
A4 | Two Hearts Combine | |
A5 | Thunderstrike | |
A6 | Reverie | |
A7 | First Step On The Moon | |
B1 | Dusts Of Gold | |
B2 | Midnight Blue | |
B3 | Lovely Lady | |
B4 | The Sound Of A Man | |
B5 | Sirens | |
B6 | Mourning Melodies In Rhapsody | |
B7 | Something About April |