The finely groomed sounds of this five-piece “orchestra” are back with a modern carnival of elegancy. The Midwestern boys from Steez released Stereovision, December 13th, 2013. This album was produced and performed entirely by the group themselves, with recording/mixing assistance by Landon Arkens from Blast House Studios, and mastered by Steve Berson of Total Sonic Media. Album design/layout by John Engleman of CREATE. CREATE. RELAX.
Diving right into this melodic fairy tale, these “tuxedos of funk” blast off with an impactful abundance of live instruments and electronics, really displaying their true colors straight away with a perfect balance from every member. The tasteful use of the saxophone by Andrzej adds so much and is very well played in this first title-track, harmonizing to the ears. With such a positive beaming portrayal of sounds the listener gets lost in the beauty of the moment. That “eyes-closed sway” sets in and the elegantly sharp flow provides an uplifting enchanted scene, sounding like an entire ensemble. Following through to the finish closing hard and crunchy with a bluesy play out twist sets the mark for this entire album.
Moving onward, ‘Patch’ is in sync and genuinely groovy with just the right amount of funk. The way these musicians work together is in such an elite manor, connecting with utter perfection. This track takes the listener on a journey, the lengthy duration allows one to float about, almost like time is absent, placing him or her in the present moment amongst the fun sounds of this new age jazz. All the layers of this song come together simultaneously, and three quarters of the way in, there is a change of pace. A trancy spin creates the song’s peak about 9m30s in. They cap off this extensive jam going all out with intense collaboration, then little by little collectively disengaging back to a familiar element of reality.
Continuing to lay the foundation of this work of art, ‘Ruffled Feathers’ is easy on the ears with a fashionable mix of interplanetary additions. Breaking into a musical story-time, then right back on track to the mesmerizing frequency, this piece shows noticeable energy for a studio album. The addition of the violin by Kenny Leiser brings in a high vibration attitude to this portion of the voyage.
With a slightly psychedelic entrance, ‘Stain Count’ quickly transforms into a full-on funky blues breakdown session. Matt on the keys plays an evident part in this songs’ legacy. This track has a time lapse to the swing-dancing era. This group of finely tuned raging machines truly has the ability to musically time travel. ‘Stain Count’s’ sincere melody has spacey transitions and a funky retro conversion, which evolves into a lovely harmonized tune. Its’ finalizing sector demonstrates divine elegance.
Taking a slight shift ‘Sixty-Forty’ is the outlier of this compilation. It is a lyrical track containing voice alterations and boppy “humor” with a fun and playful vibe. A catchy sing-a-long. Sending a message and embarking on a musical rampage, this song drifts from the flow of the album’s beginning tracks for a good time jam. Although a completely different swing, this piece still keeps the same tone of the full album.
Traveling through the disc, ‘Blackout,’ a personal highlight of this album, begins with a slow impactful intro. Very loud and profound with a whimsical, peaceful listen, this sophisticated jam was a strong point for this album. Growing…building with intense fast paced electronic interjections and dropping that FUNK! Spiraling into a joyous earful of powerfully concentrated excerpts exploding with emotion. From there it warps through a blissful panoramic of sounds, straight into a mind bending lash-out from every instrument incorporating a vast scale of acoustics. This everlasting song peaked multiple times, leveling out with a delicate feel of perfection. This sensational track allows the listener to go inward…simplify…be grateful…and create.
A clever entry into ‘Brown Lights.’ Utilizing a different style, the inventive and quick, yet controlled enchanted nature of this song makes a well articulated gem. Echoes penetrate, and fade slowly. A very powerful, elegant, and robust masterpiece with trippy interludes, tasteful breaks, and re-entries to jams creates a unique track. Incorporating parts of quieting to regroup, profound light and melodic sections satisfying all parts of the brain. This song showcases on-point connections and cooperative energies between the members. A superb track of this album.
‘Fish & Chicks’ enters with a sepia setting and a stylish flashback, then gains momentum into a new aged focus. Incorporating trinkety sounds and piercing alterations they set the mood barreling straight into another spot on flow of lucid rhythms from all members. These guys really know how to work together! Taking the pace back to a chill, down tempo flow, the serenading pitches and lose playful jams create this scene of a floaty circus. They sure know how to change direction and tie it all back together.
Moving further into the album ‘Tap Into That Roast’ begins with a funky, yet solid and grimey undertone then levels out to a groovy and easy going beat. Again, the violin adds that special twang to the already vibrant mix. Following with a wobbly, out there improvisational piece, Steez plays with the mechanics and creates a smooth balance of captivating illustrative audio. These musicians are able to tastefully “lose it.” Converging wild and reckless riffs with the reserved and exquisite demeanor of sincerity really displays the true talent of this group. Tapping into a blues mood groove, this song lays it all out there simulating a walk through New Orleans in the 1950’s.
‘Interluder’ breaks up the last portion of the album with a peaceful and symphonic-ly joyful short that is soulful and easy on the ears. A surrendering melody relaxes the listener before finalizing the album.
Not wasting any time busting back into how these boys play best, ‘Houseboats’ is coined a “jazzy-funk-grass tune!” It is a powerful collective of all the tracks mashed into one, a quick-paced dance track to get that blood runnin’. This carnival of chaos, a rebirth of sounds, creates a twilight of tornadoes and cosmic convulsions. ‘Houseboats’ lashes out with a pleasantly penetrating out of control momentum. A classy finish to an on-point piece of art.
This group of musical geniuses produced a diverse album with a constant variable of spunk. The entire project is tied together seamlessly. The collaborative nature of this group shows prominently, and their in studio communications are solid. A journey through a current era of funk, blues, jazz, and jam styles of playing sets these boys apart. High energy, rambunctious beaming solos and collaborations, stylish-simple sections, bizarre-spacey jams, and perfectly harmonized melodies make this album shine. Steez holds a rare, yet ever-evolving genre of their own with a unique pizzazz. Stereovision, is a compilation of tracks that flows impeccably from beginning to end. These gentlemen are audio architects.
Album available @ http://steezcreepfunk.bandcamp.com/
Diving right into this melodic fairy tale, these “tuxedos of funk” blast off with an impactful abundance of live instruments and electronics, really displaying their true colors straight away with a perfect balance from every member. The tasteful use of the saxophone by Andrzej adds so much and is very well played in this first title-track, harmonizing to the ears. With such a positive beaming portrayal of sounds the listener gets lost in the beauty of the moment. That “eyes-closed sway” sets in and the elegantly sharp flow provides an uplifting enchanted scene, sounding like an entire ensemble. Following through to the finish closing hard and crunchy with a bluesy play out twist sets the mark for this entire album.
Moving onward, ‘Patch’ is in sync and genuinely groovy with just the right amount of funk. The way these musicians work together is in such an elite manor, connecting with utter perfection. This track takes the listener on a journey, the lengthy duration allows one to float about, almost like time is absent, placing him or her in the present moment amongst the fun sounds of this new age jazz. All the layers of this song come together simultaneously, and three quarters of the way in, there is a change of pace. A trancy spin creates the song’s peak about 9m30s in. They cap off this extensive jam going all out with intense collaboration, then little by little collectively disengaging back to a familiar element of reality.
Continuing to lay the foundation of this work of art, ‘Ruffled Feathers’ is easy on the ears with a fashionable mix of interplanetary additions. Breaking into a musical story-time, then right back on track to the mesmerizing frequency, this piece shows noticeable energy for a studio album. The addition of the violin by Kenny Leiser brings in a high vibration attitude to this portion of the voyage.
With a slightly psychedelic entrance, ‘Stain Count’ quickly transforms into a full-on funky blues breakdown session. Matt on the keys plays an evident part in this songs’ legacy. This track has a time lapse to the swing-dancing era. This group of finely tuned raging machines truly has the ability to musically time travel. ‘Stain Count’s’ sincere melody has spacey transitions and a funky retro conversion, which evolves into a lovely harmonized tune. Its’ finalizing sector demonstrates divine elegance.
Taking a slight shift ‘Sixty-Forty’ is the outlier of this compilation. It is a lyrical track containing voice alterations and boppy “humor” with a fun and playful vibe. A catchy sing-a-long. Sending a message and embarking on a musical rampage, this song drifts from the flow of the album’s beginning tracks for a good time jam. Although a completely different swing, this piece still keeps the same tone of the full album.
Traveling through the disc, ‘Blackout,’ a personal highlight of this album, begins with a slow impactful intro. Very loud and profound with a whimsical, peaceful listen, this sophisticated jam was a strong point for this album. Growing…building with intense fast paced electronic interjections and dropping that FUNK! Spiraling into a joyous earful of powerfully concentrated excerpts exploding with emotion. From there it warps through a blissful panoramic of sounds, straight into a mind bending lash-out from every instrument incorporating a vast scale of acoustics. This everlasting song peaked multiple times, leveling out with a delicate feel of perfection. This sensational track allows the listener to go inward…simplify…be grateful…and create.
A clever entry into ‘Brown Lights.’ Utilizing a different style, the inventive and quick, yet controlled enchanted nature of this song makes a well articulated gem. Echoes penetrate, and fade slowly. A very powerful, elegant, and robust masterpiece with trippy interludes, tasteful breaks, and re-entries to jams creates a unique track. Incorporating parts of quieting to regroup, profound light and melodic sections satisfying all parts of the brain. This song showcases on-point connections and cooperative energies between the members. A superb track of this album.
‘Fish & Chicks’ enters with a sepia setting and a stylish flashback, then gains momentum into a new aged focus. Incorporating trinkety sounds and piercing alterations they set the mood barreling straight into another spot on flow of lucid rhythms from all members. These guys really know how to work together! Taking the pace back to a chill, down tempo flow, the serenading pitches and lose playful jams create this scene of a floaty circus. They sure know how to change direction and tie it all back together.
Moving further into the album ‘Tap Into That Roast’ begins with a funky, yet solid and grimey undertone then levels out to a groovy and easy going beat. Again, the violin adds that special twang to the already vibrant mix. Following with a wobbly, out there improvisational piece, Steez plays with the mechanics and creates a smooth balance of captivating illustrative audio. These musicians are able to tastefully “lose it.” Converging wild and reckless riffs with the reserved and exquisite demeanor of sincerity really displays the true talent of this group. Tapping into a blues mood groove, this song lays it all out there simulating a walk through New Orleans in the 1950’s.
‘Interluder’ breaks up the last portion of the album with a peaceful and symphonic-ly joyful short that is soulful and easy on the ears. A surrendering melody relaxes the listener before finalizing the album.
Not wasting any time busting back into how these boys play best, ‘Houseboats’ is coined a “jazzy-funk-grass tune!” It is a powerful collective of all the tracks mashed into one, a quick-paced dance track to get that blood runnin’. This carnival of chaos, a rebirth of sounds, creates a twilight of tornadoes and cosmic convulsions. ‘Houseboats’ lashes out with a pleasantly penetrating out of control momentum. A classy finish to an on-point piece of art.
This group of musical geniuses produced a diverse album with a constant variable of spunk. The entire project is tied together seamlessly. The collaborative nature of this group shows prominently, and their in studio communications are solid. A journey through a current era of funk, blues, jazz, and jam styles of playing sets these boys apart. High energy, rambunctious beaming solos and collaborations, stylish-simple sections, bizarre-spacey jams, and perfectly harmonized melodies make this album shine. Steez holds a rare, yet ever-evolving genre of their own with a unique pizzazz. Stereovision, is a compilation of tracks that flows impeccably from beginning to end. These gentlemen are audio architects.
Album available @ http://steezcreepfunk.bandcamp.com/