Quantic Soul Orchestra

When DJs get bored of producing music on their own with various electronic gadgets, they tend to get some friends together and play some live jams for a change. Will Holland has been doing an exceptional job at creating funky down-tempo bliss under the name Quantic, and now he’s gathered a full-band to produce some live, gritty funk that will grab you tight and never let up. Sounding very much like Poets of Rhythm and Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Holland picks up his guitar and bass and is joined by a wall of sound with instruments ranging from flute, horn sections and various percussion, all with beautiful results. Stampede is a compelling listen from start to finish, but you have to witness their cover of 4-Hero’s "Hold It Down” where Alice Russell takes Dego’s original work and truly makes it her own with her soulful vocal chords. One of the strongest moments on Stampede has to be Holland’s brilliant cover of Bonobo’s "Terrapin” in which he takes a down-tempo dream and lays hard hip-hop beats with fuzzed guitar lines and a spine-tingling saxophone loop. After borrowing from the originals for years, Stampede seems almost like a payback to all the fantastic funk and soul legends in which Holland and his fellow producers have been lifting loops from. Who knows, maybe in 20 years time the break specialists of the future will be trying to get their hands on these sensational rhythms.