Kiwi trio Electric Wire Hustle are the latest in a line of funk-fuelled musicians from New Zealand combining expert instrumentalism with samplers and dope beats (see Fat Freddy’s Drop, Shapeshifter), and are causing quite a stir amongst those who like their soul nu and phuturisitc. Gilles Peterson and Red Bull Music Academy are both big fans – two serious stamps of quality there – and we hear their live shows are spectacular. This here be their debut album.
The album kicks off like vintage D’Angelo given a bit more of thump, with the hearbeat rhythm of Waters and the bumping, lolloping beats of Gimme That Kinda laden with Mara TK’s unimaginably smokey vocals multi-tracking their way across the late night rhythm. Horns parp gently in the background before electronic influences begin to creep in, boogie bass and swirling pads caressing the minimalist bump of Experience.
Introspective, instrumental passages like Thank You Steve are executed beautifully, while the addition of female vocalists Stacey Epps (on Walk On) and Georgia Anne Muldrow (on the loose broken beat of This World) provides beautiful contrast to Mara’s immaculate tones.
Burn with Billy TK (presumably Mara’s brother?) sees the album move towards rockier climbs with his relentless electric guitar solo, boshing tambourines and bold bass, while They Don’t Want drafts in classic soul samples and crooning to make for something that sounds like what Daniel Merriwether should aspire to.
The album progresses pleasantly through its various different sub-styles, one segueing quite naturally into the next. It’s a goldmine for lovers of future soul, brilliantly woozy and smooth but with just the right level of phatness. Like having honey poured into your ears.