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The Colourphonics - The Colourphonics

Thunder from down under? More like a rainy Adelaide as The Colourphonics have been strolling around the oz scene since 2007 where they've angrily sliced through various musical genres, thrown them into a cliff-bound clown car (huh?) and greased the steering wheel. Ehhh, the latter according to their imagitive press-release and not the work of this particular bozo. What to expect from their debut release at ProgRock Records??? The unexpected really as this is a mish-mash of influences and styles. It's jazzy rock (Steely Dan), seventies funk, soul, fusion, the whole she-bang with a horn section and everything, and perhaps even the occasional prog-rock tune (but I wouldn't really expect too much of the latter here even though they're signed to progrock records' sister label). The excellent female vocalist Miranda Maz has clearly been influenced by the sixties heroins (hello Dusty, Joplin, and Jefferson Starship) and it's more in the vein of "Duffy" than "Doro" if you catch my drift? It's the sixties groove all over again and have a listen to "My Daydream" for a perfect display of retro rock. Miranda is top notch while it's not quite as fun listening to their male singer, Tony Minniecon. Don't get me wrong, he's no schmuck and his set of pipes are way above average, it's still no match to the lovely Maz though and I'd rather have her singing all their boppy tunes in the future. With the band's overly sixties, early seventies influences and barrier-breaking music, The Colourphonics are pretty much out on a limb within rock circles and it's difficult to catagorize the songs. I know for a fact that I would not have enjoyed this as a kid, but now it feels now natural and fitting to have playing in the background while working at the PC or whatever. Not bad, not too shabby at all.
rockunitedreviews.blogspot.com/2011/02/colourphonics-colourphonics.html

Even yours truly desires for music that is both esthetically different and pleasing at the same time. Hint, we have here the debut album from Adelaide’s Australia’s own “The Colourphonics”. This nifty outfit falls somewhere in the category of jam band/jazz/fusion and everything in between. The band has been around the Australia scene since early 2008 and have finally released their debut album. I guess if you wanted to know anything about this band’s music just read this quote from one of their sites; “”Interpreters of the munted, chaotic whirlpool that is the prolix collectiveness, distilled down to rhythm, rhyme and reason that piques the conscience first, the feet swiftly following”.. Want to know more? You’ll have to experience it for yourself. Hard to mold what I can compare these guys to, but the female guest vocals of Miranda Maz are something I dug upon first gaze. Her smooth lines on “‘My Dream” balance the fusion shot of cool back into this slow ballad which makes good use of pop synchronicity. The opening track of “Looking Back At It All” is a jam session delight, enforced by the guitars of Corey Taylor. Another ultra jam session evolves when “Sunset” comes down, with a superb job on the saxophone courtesy of Peter Raidel. The evident trace in some songs can be easily marked to The Mars Volta, but really the band manages to incorporate other sounds that transform themselves both musically and creatively. In trying to recognize influences for this band, well it would be audacious of me to try to compare them to any other band, as there simply aren’t many around that can fully claim this style. I hear some Phil Collins solo stuff, some obvious platonic variations trans mixed with your typical prog rock stuff. But these guys really have a unique sound which auto generated my interests instantly. The Recordlabel has released this issue of the band’s debut and for those that don’t know this label is actually a part of Prog Rock records for bands that don’t normally fall into that category. Well these guys don’t fit into many categories but only the good ones. If you like your music melodic, with a little jam and experimental finding in between; look no further then The Colourphonics you’ll be highly surprised at the level of musicianship and production on this stellar release.
myglobalmind.com/2011/01/29/the-colourphonics-–-the-colourphonics

This release by The Colourphonics is an interesting and eclectic collaboration of songs that shows off a group of talented musicians who aren’t afraid to take a walk on the wild side. No surprise given their influences include artists as varied in style as ABBA and ZZ Top. The trouble however with including numerous genres and ideas in the one album is that you can lose a sense of cohesion and risk leaving the listener without something to hold onto. The music on this album includes blends of rock, funk, fusion, blues, reggae, jazz and latin. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. The first track on the album; ‘Looking Back At It All’, is an explosion of fusion, rock, soul and funk. The lead vocal is shared between the female and male vocalists in an interesting contrast of styles, when she sings, the music supporting her is soulful and energetic, when he sings it transforms into a rock anthem. A strong opening track. Up next is ‘Good Within You’, a track that rolls along for the first 40 seconds sounding like a funky rock jam when suddenly out of the blue, horns kick in and the song begins to channel a blues/reggae vibe. The male vocal sounds great on this track as his voice lends itself to a more laid back style of song. The Colourphonics have an interesting habit of changing tack mid song and completely throwing you off the vibe you thought they were running with. This is particularly evident on track 3, ‘Find A Home’; it begins with the kind of choppy wah wah guitar that would make Shaft feel at home. Soon after however, the tune merges into a dreamy little ditty where the female vocals shine through. She carries the tune well and it’s a pleasant little venture away from the first two tracks. Keys are the feature of this song and provide a pleasant counterpoint to the vocal melody. ‘My Daydream’ for me is the highlight of the album, it is immediately a lot less full than the other tracks on the record, which isn’t a slight on the other songs, but sometimes less can be more and in my opinion, for all the smoke and mirrors one can incorporate to razz up a song, there is nothing more powerful than simple melodies, utilising space and knowing what to leave out rather than put in. This track achieves that. It’s simple and suits the lyrics perfectly. ‘Sunset’ is an instrumental mix of Santana-esque guitar solos, Latin horn lines and funky keys contrasted with heavy rock overtones. It’s certainly impressive, but seems somewhat out of place in relation to the rest of the album. As a live track to show off the instrumentalists undeniable talents I’m sure it would be very successful, but in this setting feels a little off kilter. Other highlights on the album are ‘Blossom Haze’ which features Nick Sverdloff on saxophone. This track is soulful, eclectic and has a real live feel about it. Nick, of course tears it up. I have had the pleasure of working with Nick in other musical ventures and he is a very talented individual. The album is rounded off with ‘Underwater’ a mellow, somewhat trippy ballad. The sparse, barely there backing vocals give it a real spooky vibe as it builds and builds and builds into a desperate and emotional plea. A roaring guitar solo to finish off this track would be perfect but instead, it reaches its musical peak and is then gently brought back to earth. This is definitely a band that would shine in a live setting. However, capturing that same level of energy and intensity on an album is never an easy thing to do. The Colourphonics have given you a taste, I suggest you go out and sample the whole thing.
www.musicsa.com.au/articles/reviews/2011/colourphonics.aspx

Information on The Colourphonics is sketchy but it appears they were formed in Adelaide, Australia around 2007 from The New Translators by Corey Taylor (vocals, guitar), Steve Deer (drums), David Merigot (keyboards) and Shaun Martin (bass). They now also include saxophones and trumpets with vocals from Tony Minnieconn and Miranda Maz. With an original aim of integrating numerous musical influences and breaking free from genre-based music they integrate elements of funk, motown and soul into their uptempo sound. There is a definite ‘70s vibe involved but not one that will be familiar to retro prog fans. The percussion clatters, the guitars are funk with added rock and the vibe is all important. Tony’s vocals are smooth and soulful with Miranda having a more powerful edge and they split the vocals between themselves, sharing the opener where the vocal styles mesh quite nicely. The Sunset trilogy is noteworthy as Sunset itself, Found and Blossom Haze are played in sequence as one long piece but this is not clear on the CD sleeve and only apparent in the press release. The opening and closing instrumental sections are the best. Sunset has a driving pace and Latin horns, changing track to add a brief, dissonant drum and piano section; Found is up-tempo and motown influenced with a vocal from Tony; Blossom Haze ties the 15 minute “piece” together nicely with some blues and jazz influences, solo sax taking the melancholy lead. Also interesting is the brooding Underwater. Sung by Miranda there is a rocky vibe and the horns are not used making this one stand out from most of the rest. The album has a variety of sound and overall it suggests that The Colourphonics would be a very entertaining live band but, to me, this isn’t very prog at all. Throughout the playing is good but the material stays too close to its soul/funk roots to be overly interesting. I enjoy the texture of brass instruments and the colour they add when used sparingly but here they are employed too frequently. The rating for this album would be higher if reviewed by a site with more interest in funk and soul but for a prog fan this is pleasant at best and never going to be a frequent visitor to the CD player. Nevertheless, those looking for something a little different may find what they are looking for here.
www.dprp.net/reviews/201068.php#colourphonics