PERSONAL LIFE-ONE STEP CLOSER.

dereksmusicblog ♦ July 8, 2013 ♦ Leave a comment

PERSONAL LIFE-ONE STEP CLOSER.

With so much music being produced using synths, samples, sequencers and drum machines, it’s no wonder music has lost its soul. Sadly, that’s been the case since the eighties. Since then, much of the music being released has a cold, clinical and sterile sound. That’s resulted in many people losing interest in new music. Instead, they return to the music of the past, back to what many people consider music’s heyday, the sixties and seventies.

Back then, producers and artists didn’t have the technology that’s available nowadays. 64-track studios, auto-tune and Logic were a generation away. Despite that, artists and producers created sophisticated, hook-laden and timeless music. Much of this music was recorded quickly. Albums didn’t take years to complete. Instead, artists regularly released two albums a year. These albums were critically acclaimed and commercially successful, often being certified gold and platinum. They’ve also stood the test of time. So much so, that rather than buy modern music, many music lovers would rather listen to music from the past. That’s no bad thing. Much of the music has of the past has soul, something that’s missing from modern music. Thankfully, some musicians are beginning to realize that the modern way of making music isn’t necessarily the best way. This includes London based soul and jazz collective Personal Life, whose new album One Step Closer will be released on Tokyo Dawn Records, on 8th July 2013.

When Robert Strauss formed Personal Life in 2010, he was a man with a vision. His vision to make music that paid homage to music’s glory days. For Robert, the music should be full of poppy hooks, slick, sophisticated, commercially successful and have cultural significance. It should also have integrity. That’s something that so much modern music lacks. Nowadays, music is almost disposable, like so much of modern society. That didn’t use to be the case. Think of the music of Gamble and Huff. Their music was sophisticated, slick, culturally significant, was commercially successful and had that all important integrity. To achieve all of these things, Robert Strauss realized that three things were important, songwriting, production and musicianship. So, in his attempt to recreate music that can be compared with the music glory day’s. Stuart surrounded himself with talented songwriters and musicians.

For One Step Closer, Robert decided to surround himself with talented personnel. Robert cowrote the ten tracks on One Step Closer with Stuart Lisbie, Personal Life’s lead vocalist. Stuart, like many other members of Personal Life have worked with some of music’s biggest names, including Amy Winehouse, Jill Scott, Roy Ayers, Prince and Maceo Parker. The experienced and multitalented lineup of Personal Life headed to London’s Wax Recording Studio, to record the ten tracks that became One Step Closer.

At Wax Recording Studio, Personal Life’s lineup for the recording of One Step Closer included drummer Nathan Allen, percussionist Alselmo Netto, violinist Anna Croad and saxophonist Max Grunhard. Multi-instrumentalist Xantone Blacq played Fender Rhodes, while Scott Baylis played trumpet and piano. Adding backing vocals is Frida Mariama Touray, who many people believe is the future of Nu-Soul. Arranging and producing One Step Closer at Wax Recording Studio in London, was Personal Life’s founder, Robert Strauss. Did Robert achieve his aim and create an album the encompasses the qualities and values of music’s heyday? That’s what i’ll tell you, when I tell you about One Step Closer.

Opening One Step Closer is Morning Light, where soul and funk combine. The production has a slick, sophisticated sheen. A fusion of percussion, drums, Fender Rhodes and backing vocals accompany Stuart’s vocal. Heartfelt, impassioned and joyous describes his vocal, while stabs of blazing horns and swathes of strings drift in and out. Ever-present are the percussion and pounding drums. They create a pulsating heartbeat, as Stuart delivers a soul-baring vocal.

There’s a dramatic, funky backdrop to Classic Lady as it unfolds. A flourish of keyboards and bursts of horns signal the entrance of Stuart’s feisty, sassy vocal. Enveloped by stabs of braying horns, he delivers a powerful, strutting, old-school vocal accompanied by harmonies. Later, his vocal becomes a vamp. Soul, funk and Latin music combine, as Personal Life create a slick, hook-laden and dance-track.

The tempo drops slightly on Distance Can Be Sweet, but the drama and emotion increases. This meandering arrangement is sometimes, reminiscent of seventies jazz-funk, albeit with a Latin twist. Driven along by a bass, bursts of rasping horns and swirling strings accompany Stuart’s vocal. It’s needy. His needy vocal is filled with hurt and emotion. It grows in power as this heartbreaking and soulful song reaches its dramatic crescendo.

Unaccompanied and drenched in echo, Robert’s dramatic vocal opens Give Into The Night. Soon, Personal Life fuse jazz, funk, soul and hooks aplenty. Powered along by a funky rhythm section, stabs of blazing horns and keyboards, Robert’s vocal is delivered with power, passion and drama. Multi-tracked backing vocals accompany him, as this irresistible and infectiously catchy track wins you over.

A Fender Rhodes, finger-clicks and Robert’s scatted vocal open Bring It Back. Soon, braying horns and lush strings join pounding drums, which sometimes, seem too loud. An ethereal backing drifts in and out, as Robert unleashes a jazzy vocal. When his vocal drops out, a sultry saxophone solo takes centre-stage. This demonstrates Personal Life are no one man band. Then when the baton passes back to Robert, the rest of Personal Life join forces and fuse musical genres to create a slice of musical sunshine, one that has a real summery vibe.

One Step Closer literally bursts into life. A myriad of frenzied percussion, growling horns, Fender Rhodes and bass propel the arrangement along. Spurred on, Robert’s vocal is matches the rest of the band every step. To do this, he combines power, emotion and drama. Stabs of horns, percussion and the bass march the arrangement along as Robert’s emotively and dramatically vamps, accompanied by backing vocalists.

I Remember is a melancholy and moody track that meanders along. Cooing harmonies, percussion, Fender Rhodes and rhythm section accompany Robert’s heartbroken vocal. As memories come flooding back, hurt and emotion fills his vocal. An ethereal backing vocal reflects the sadness in vocal. Later, backing vocalists reflect the power and drama in his vocal, as the tempo quickens, drama grows and memories come flooding back causing Robert to remember.

Just wistful strings open It Is What It Is. Slow, spacious and pensive, the arrangement gradually shows another side to Personal Life. The slower tempo really works. So too does the much more understated arrangement. That doesn’t last long.  Taking their lead from Robert’s vocal, the arrangement grows in power and drama. In some ways, this helps gets across the emotion and hurt in the lyrics.

The unmistakable sound of a Fender Rhodes opens Rainy Day In London (A Rainy Day in Monterey). Slowly, the thoughtful arrangement meanders along. Then, it’s all change. Robert scats, drums pound and the arrangement bursts into life. Not many people will see that coming. Jazz, funk and soul combine with Latin percussion. Robert is accompanied by a backing vocalist, while the rhythm section propel the arrangement along, as Personal Life provide the perfect remedy to a Rainy Day In London (A Rainy Day in Monterey).

There’s A Time For Everything closes One Step Closer. Like other tracks it has a summery sound. Stabs of braying horns, a funky rhythm section and Fender Rhodes provide the backdrop for Robert’s impassioned vocal. Lush strings sweep is as Robert sings: “seasons come and season go,” their wistful sound providing the perfect accompaniment as this jazz-tinged, funky, soulful track, where old and new unite closes One Step Closer.

Robert Strauss, realizing that right now, music is at a crossroads, decided to try to do something to rectify this. He wanted to create an album that could proudly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with music from music’s glory days. This was the sixties and seventies. Back then, music slick, sophisticated and filled with poppy hooks. It was also culturally significant, commercially successful and. That wasn’t going to be easy. Bringing together some of the best musicians and vocalists he knew, he created Personal Life. They recorded ten tracks that became One Step Closer. However, was Robert One Step Closer to achieving his aim?

Certainly the music on One Step Closer is slick, sophisticated and full of poppy hooks. It also has integrity. That’s something so much modern music doesn’t have. One Step Closer is a fusion of musical genres and influences. There’s everything from funk, house, jazz, jazz-funk, Latin, rock and soul on One Step Closer. Among Robert Strauss’ influences are seventies jazz-funk, Masters At Work, Incognito, Light Of The World and Gamble and Huff when it comes to production. The musical influences on One Step Closer are disparate and eclectic. They’re then combined by producer Robert Strauss. He produced what he perceives as an album that pays homage to, and hopes, will sit side-by-side albums from music’s glory years. Is that the case though?

If One Step Closer is to sit at music’s top table, it has to be a timeless, culturally significant and commercially successful. That’s the criteria Robert Strauss, founder of Personal Life set. Only by answering these questions will we know if Robert’s achieved his aim. One Step Closer is quite unlike so much of the music being released just now. It’s an innovative, exciting fusion of musical genres. It should, age well. That doesn’t mean One Step Closer is necessarily a timeless album. That’ll only be apparent in a few years time. 

Is One Step Closer culturally significant? It features some well crafted songs. These songs will speak to people in 2013, and will be relevant in the future. Love songs and songs about hurt and heartbreak never go out of fashion. Hearts are always being broken. 

Finally, will One Step Closer be a commercial success? It should be a commercial success. One Step Closer, musically, is a breath of fresh air. There’s not a sample, synth or drum machine in sight. While all around them are releasing sterile, soulless and synthetic music, Personal Life returned to the past to create the music of the future. This should strike a chord with disillusioned music lovers who are tired of disposable music. One Step Closer is One Step Closer to what music used to sound like, when music had a soul, and was made by musicians rather than machines. Standout Tracks: Morning Light, Classic Lady, I Remember and Rainy Day In London (A Rainy Day in Monterey). 

PERSONAL LIFE-ONE STEP CLOSER.