CANADIAN jazz/soul/groove octet Busty and the Bass came together during their first week as students on the jazz program at Montreal’s McGill University back in 2011.
Beginning as an instrumental act, they played any and every gig they could, taking $100 for a three-hour set or exchanging tunes for wine and hors d’oeuvres at a cocktail party – fair reward to be out there, playing. A brace of EPs led to a full-length set, Uncommon Royalty, in 2017.
And with a new album on the horizon, it’s fair to say they are now working with uncommon musical royalty. None other than George Clinton made an appearance on the bright Philly groove of their last single, “Baggy Eyed Dopeman”; and for their new single, “Out Of Love”, out today, June 24th, the boys are working with Macy Gray, responsible for swoonsome soul crossover hit, “I Try”.
It was actually that tune amongst tunes that brought them together. Busty and the Bass covered “I Try” for a living room session back in 2015. Their slowed-down, cosmic organ funk jam on it proved a viral hit, currently standing on just under 200,000 views on YouTube. Among the fans was Macy herself, who saw it and tweeted about it. When the band began work on the forthcoming album, producer Neal Pogur was able to get them together.
The result? “Out Of Love”, an electric-piano driven glimmering break providing a swinging framework for Macy’s smokiness: listen below.
The single also comes with an accompanying electronic remix from British producer, Harrison, which follows a week later, on July 1st.
Busty’s Nick Ferraro says of the tune’s bittersweet theme: “‘Out of Love’ started as a remix, but the song’s vocal idea quickly became its own thing.
“I was getting a lot of hot and cold communication from someone and this song is me airing out a bit of that frustration.”
With a home on that Canadian curator of the eclectic, Arts & Crafts – home to Broken Social Scene and Andy Shauf – expect a secure and interesting future for Busty and the Bass.
You can stream and buy “Out of Love” at https://bustyandthebass.bandcamp.com/track/out-of-love-feat-macy-gray
Keep up with the Canadian jazz groove at https://bustyandthebass.com/
