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New Band of the Week: Taylor McFerrin (No 8) New Band of the Week: Taylor McFerrin (No 8)
(about 3 hours later)
Hometown: Brooklyn.Hometown: Brooklyn.
The lineup: Taylor McFerrin (instruments, production, piano, vocals).The lineup: Taylor McFerrin (instruments, production, piano, vocals).
The background: Question: what is the most annoying song of all time? If you answered U2's Pride (In the Name of Love), well done, you win this week's prize, a rubber hammer to bash Bono over the head when you see him. But what's the second most annoying? Correct again: Bobby McFerrin's 1988 novelty hit, Don't Worry, Be Happy, a record so ripe for ribbing it earned McFerrin a cameo in Family Guy. Songs about pride are nearly always horrible (exception: Love and Pride by King), and songs that force-feed you joy nearly always make you want to cry for the wrong reasons, and this time the exception is I'm So Happy by Light of the World, mainly because the person making the titular claim is so obviously not happy at all. The background: Question: what is the most annoying song of all time? If you answered U2's Pride (In the Name of Love), well done, you win this week's prize, a rubber hammer to bash Bono over the head with when you see him. But what's the second most annoying? Correct again: Bobby McFerrin's 1988 novelty hit, Don't Worry, Be Happy, a record so ripe for ribbing it earned McFerrin a cameo in Family Guy. Songs about pride are nearly always horrible (exception: Love and Pride by King), and songs that force-feed you joy nearly always make you want to cry for the wrong reasons. This time the exception is I'm So Happy by Light of the World, mainly because the person making the claim is so obviously not happy at all.
Reading on mobile? Click here to listenReading on mobile? Click here to listen
There's quite a lot of what Tim Buckley called Happy Sad-ness on Early Riser, the debut album by Taylor McFerrin, who just happens to be the son of the aforementioned polyphonous vocalist but hasn't acquired his old man's ingratiating scat-singer DNA. It's not annoying at all. It's a lazy, languorous, sun-dappled Sunday morning of a record that moves fluidly between soul, electronica and jazz, with elements of fusion and prog. It's released on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder, and it hints at what a 2014 Stevie Wonder, nudged back towards his experimental/accessible best, on an appreciative label, might achieve. Like Wonder's peak work, it undercuts buoyancy with a tugging sorrow, and stops things getting too mellow. The music's gentle ebbs and flows can seem laidback; indeed, the Pitchfork reviewer complained that the album's "pleasant swirl" could be "mistaken for complacency", and that, for all the "moments of beauty", there is too much billowy, floaty niceness. There's quite a lot of what Tim Buckley called Happy Sad-ness on Early Riser, the debut album by Taylor McFerrin, who happens to be the son of the aforementioned polyphonous vocalist but hasn't acquired his old man's ingratiating scat-singer DNA. It's not annoying at all. It's a lazy, languorous, sun-dappled Sunday morning of a record that moves fluidly between soul, electronica and jazz, with elements of fusion and prog. It's released on Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder, and it hints at what a 2014 Stevie Wonder, nudged back towards his experimental/accessible best, on an appreciative label, might achieve. Like Wonder's peak work, it undercuts buoyancy with a tugging sorrow, and stops things getting too mellow. The music's gentle ebbs and flows can seem laid back; indeed, the Pitchfork reviewer complained that the album's "pleasant swirl" could be "mistaken for complacency", and that, for all the "moments of beauty", there is too much billowy, floaty niceness.
But listen more closely and you can hear, not stoned stupefaction but an aching desire to communicate sadness and rapture, usually at the same time. Painstakingly assembled by multi-instrumentalist McFerrin, who used to cut up and sample his hippie parents' Beatles, Hendrix and Stevie records, Early Riser is a feat of performing complexity and programming intricacy. There are meandering passages, but also bursts of progressive fervour. The vocals - by McFerrin and a series of guests, who generally bring with them a feeling of quiet intensity - add colour to an already varied palette. The finished product could easily appeal to fans of Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli - artists he has supported live - but also to lovers of '70s jazz-fusion and '00s turntablism. You like Weather Report and J Dilla? Early Riser is for you. We know where he's coming from. It's probably worth sticking around to find out where he's going next. But listen more closely and you can hear, not stoned stupefaction but an aching desire to communicate sadness and rapture, usually at the same time. Painstakingly assembled by multi-instrumentalist McFerrin, who used to cut up and sample his hippie parents' Beatles, Hendrix and Stevie records, Early Riser is a feat of performing complexity and programming intricacy. There are meandering passages, but also bursts of progressive fervour. The vocals – by McFerrin and a series of guests, who generally bring a feeling of quiet intensity – add colour to an already varied palette. The finished product could easily appeal to fans of Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli – artists he has supported live – but also to lovers of 70s jazz-fusion and 00s turntablism. You like Weather Report and J Dilla? Early Riser is for you. We know where he's coming from. It's probably worth sticking around to find out where he's going next.
The buzz: "Early Riser is a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle."The buzz: "Early Riser is a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle."
The truth: Don't worry - he doesn't sound especially happy. The truth: Don't worry – he doesn't sound especially happy.
Most likely to: Be hotter than July.Most likely to: Be hotter than July.
Least likely to: Call to say he loves you.Least likely to: Call to say he loves you.
What to buy: Early Riser is out now on Brainfeeder.What to buy: Early Riser is out now on Brainfeeder.
File next to: Stevie Wonder, Lewis Taylor, Weather Report, Shuggie Otis.File next to: Stevie Wonder, Lewis Taylor, Weather Report, Shuggie Otis.
Links: taylormcferrin.comLinks: taylormcferrin.com
Ones to watch: Johnny Lloyd, Happyness, Jack Garrett, Leon Of Athens, Beverly. Ones to watch: Johnny Lloyd, Happyness, Jack Garrett, Leon of Athens, Beverly.