It's no secret that the 1980's brought a shift in how music was being made as the industry focused more on image and performers projecting an attitude than making anything revealing human feeling. There's nothing wrong with artifice for the sake of itself (see The Donnas below) but it can get old after a while. Certain musical styles suffered from this shift, such as folk music and rhythm and blues. Both Rock and Hip Hop music became primarily technological mediums as producers became bigger stars than the performers by auto tuning, looping, song doctoring and sampling the radio to death.
So it's refreshing to see a recent trend of retro soul going around. It started with the demented but soulful Amy Winehouse who scored a big hit earlier this year with "Rehab" and then spent the months after proving why she needs it. But even with Winehouse temporarily out of the picture, her success has brought attention to the Dap Kings who helped with her album.
I never heard of them until EMusic started pushing their album mercilessly on their website. I checked into them and was impressed with what I found: a group of musicians playing real instruments in an analog studio fronted by a singer old enough to remember what 60's and 70's soul sounded like (not an insult to her age). They're authentically retro-sort of like how the Black Crowes are authentically retro but without the fistfighting. I downloaded one song and have been listening to it this week and really like it. And now they have an even more retro video, shot in black and white with 60's tv staging, hand cranked zooms, bad focus and everything. And a singer with a fantastic voice. That's why Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings have the Song of the Moment.
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - "100 Days, 100 Nights"
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