Confection
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | INDIE
Music
Press
BARRY TOWLER REVIEW
If you have a sweet tooth like me, a bit of Confection is always going to be welcome. Soulchoonz has already given us a tasty treat with the exclusive 12” single of “Fantasisin'” and “I Choose You”. That rightly got a few pulses racing – mine included. I have been since very eager to hear more – and here it is, just in time for the jolly rotund man in a red suit to deliver you a copy for Christmas. I always felt that the closing of the 80s saw the demise of proper soulful dance music. Swingbeat was a totally new beast and sounded increasingly outdated and embarrassing with every week that passed, and today's modern – sharp intake of breath! - R&B is totally devoid of anything that may make it memorable or special. The 80s, you see, may have been the decade of mechanisation as far as music was concerned, but it was also, for me, the decade of the feel-good groove. Van McCoy once said that “I am always mindful of groove, but why can't the groove be elegant?” The answer is that it can be. Here we are in 2007 with this wonderful duo, Confection, made up of Josh Beagley and Juanita Tippins from all the way Down Under. The music on here is exactly what this doctor ordered: soulful, dancefloor friendly grooves with plenty of elegance and kick-ass melodies. If you still adore the sounds of the 80s – up to, say 1985, then this will be up your street. Memories of Paul Laurence, Kashif, Juicy, The SOS Band Evelyn King are all brought to the surface. The tapping rhythms, the synths, the slap bass and real lyrics and real singing all auger well for our listening pleasure.
The Flyte Tyme styled groover “Fantasisin'” is one of THE releases of 2007 and the edited (and for these ears the preferable) version is here in all its CD glory. Within seconds I am transported back to the summer of 1984. How wonderful is that? NEW music that feels happy and evokes such happy feelings?! “I Choose You” - the Paul Laurence sound revamped for the 21st Century – is a serious basspin trembler and toe-tapper; again one of the strongest efforts of 2007. Of the new songs...oh yes, I am in 80s heaven here, folks!!!! The cheeky “Flirt” is, perhaps, a bit on the poppy side BUT the cheeriness and infectious edge will surely win you over. I was blown away by the quirky “I Gotta Thing (4 U)” resplendent with spacey keyboards and percussion courtesy of Sunil de Silva. Furthermore, the superb “Feel It Comin'” has its roots in the mid-80s Chic sound. Bernard Edwards would surely be pleased with what the guys have done here. For me the absolute stonking KILLER is the modern classic “You Got The Love”. All I needed was to hear the opening guitar and the rollickingly good rhythm and I was immediately in soul music heaven. You can poke all your R&B and Rap and what have you. The whole lot can go to hell in a hand basket via next day delivery as far as I am concerned – all for the sake of this one song. This should be massive on the dancefloors. The kids have already rucked up the shagpile to it, and proves to me what children of admirable taste they are. This is a remarkable set and I heartily recommend it as one of the guv'nor releases of the moment.
Barry Towler
- soulchoonz.com
UK Soulchoonz 12” Single, 2007
If you, like me think that 90% of what pours out of America today is absolute rubbish, and you yearn for the days when you could buy soulful club-orientated music, then look no further than this essential and exclusive UK 12” single from the excellent Soulchooz stable. Now, the name Barry Towler and vinyl records are not a happy pairing and give me a CD single or an mp3 any day of the week. However,if you have sore misgivings as I did, then please prepare to put some talcum powder on them, swallow the old pride and shell out for what has to be one of the most essential UK release singles for a VERY long time. The most interesting, if not surprising thing about this group is that they are from Australia! Yes, the home of dodgy soap operas finally gives up something I am proud to be in the company of! LOL.
If you hark back to the tunes of the SOS Band, Mtume, Kashif, Evelyn Champagne King, Change, Loose Ends and so on from the mid 1980s then, boy, is this single for you! The opening beats really smack of The SOS Band's “Sands Of Time”. The groove is soulful, funky and full of live instrumentation – check out the slap bass! Simply delicious! Let's face it, the song simply grooves. If you missed the jams of Jam & Lewis before they lost their ability to make memorable music, then check out “Fantasisin'”. A quick hit on the sound file at www.soulchoonz.com or www.crazybeat.co.uk will have you hitting the purchase button immediately. I guarantee it. A song that was designed for the hot summery weather we are currently experiencing here in the UK. I confess that the 12” extended version is a bit long for my taste, but the flip side has an “LP version” which is about 5 minutes long. This is sheer heaven.
“I Choose You” is a tad more pop-orientated but bounces along very nicely and again hits the 80s dance scene perfectly. Fans of Reggie Lucas should appreciate this style of crossover boogie. This duo, from what I hear on their MySpace page sounds really top-draw and they have won the respect of this individual whinging pom. This will be the first of a number of singles you may see from me on these pages. Who would have thought it?
Barry Towler – Soul Express
- soulexpress.net
Discography
12" single "Fantasisin'"/"I Choose U", (2006) released on Soulchoonz throughout UK and Europe. (Order on soulchoonz.com)
CD single "Feel It Comin'" + Remixes (2006) released in Australia, physical and iTunes (Australia)
Debut album "Confection"(2007) out now in UK, France, Holland, Australia, coming soon to Benelux, Japan, and USA
Photos
Bio
Confection started with the simple desire of restoring 80's style synthpopelectrofunk to it's former glory, inspired by the Minneapolis productions of Jam and Lewis, Prince and their proteges, and other classic soul/boogie like Cameo, Evelyn Champagne King, Melba Moore and Patrice Rushen. So we spent 18 months writing and recording and now lots of people like our record cos it reminds them of those old tunes, and hopefully because they're cracking songs in their own right.
We've got 10 songs on our debut album, I don't really like to describe them so here is a review from Barry Towler in the UK (Soul Express), one of their most respected reviewers of this genre.
BARRY TOWLER REVIEW
"If you have a sweet tooth like me, a bit of Confection is always going to be welcome. Soulchoonz has already given us a tasty treat with the exclusive 12” single of “Fantasisin'” and “I Choose You”. That rightly got a few pulses racing – mine included. I have been since very eager to hear more – and here it is, just in time for the jolly rotund man in a red suit to deliver you a copy for Christmas. I always felt that the closing of the 80s saw the demise of proper soulful dance music. Swingbeat was a totally new beast and sounded increasingly outdated and embarrassing with every week that passed, and today's modern – sharp intake of breath! - R&B is totally devoid of anything that may make it memorable or special. The 80s, you see, may have been the decade of mechanisation as far as music was concerned, but it was also, for me, the decade of the feel-good groove. Van McCoy once said that “I am always mindful of groove, but why can't the groove be elegant?” The answer is that it can be. Here we are in 2007 with this wonderful duo, Confection, made up of Josh Beagley and Juanita Tippins from all the way Down Under. The music on here is exactly what this doctor ordered: soulful, dancefloor friendly grooves with plenty of elegance and kick-ass melodies. If you still adore the sounds of the 80s – up to, say 1985, then this will be up your street. Memories of Paul Laurence, Kashif, Juicy, The SOS Band Evelyn King are all brought to the surface. The tapping rhythms, the synths, the slap bass and real lyrics and real singing all auger well for our listening pleasure.
The Flyte Tyme styled groover “Fantasisin'” is one of THE releases of 2007 and the edited (and for these ears the preferable) version is here in all its CD glory. Within seconds I am transported back to the summer of 1984. How wonderful is that? NEW music that feels happy and evokes such happy feelings?! “I Choose You” - the Paul Laurence sound revamped for the 21st Century – is a serious basspin trembler and toe-tapper; again one of the strongest efforts of 2007. Of the new songs...oh yes, I am in 80s heaven here, folks!!!! The cheeky “Flirt” is, perhaps, a bit on the poppy side BUT the cheeriness and infectious edge will surely win you over. I was blown away by the quirky “I Gotta Thing (4 U)” resplendent with spacey keyboards and percussion courtesy of Sunil de Silva. Furthermore, the superb “Feel It Comin'” has its roots in the mid-80s Chic sound. Bernard Edwards would surely be pleased with what the guys have done here. For me the absolute stonking KILLER is the modern classic “You Got The Love”. All I needed was to hear the opening guitar and the rollickingly good rhythm and I was immediately in soul music heaven. You can poke all your R&B and Rap and what have you. The whole lot can go to hell in a hand basket via next day delivery as far as I am concerned – all for the sake of this one song. This should be massive on the dancefloors. The kids have already rucked up the shagpile to it, and proves to me what children of admirable taste they are. This is a remarkable set and I heartily recommend it as one of the guv'nor releases of the moment."
Barry Towler We are currently released in Australia through One Stop Funk Shop/MGM, in the UK and other parts of Europe through Soulchoonz, in France through Boogie Times, the Benelux through Vinyl-Masterpiece and are currently negotiating distribution for Japan and hopefully USA in the near future.
Links
