Proficient drummer Richard Spaven is almost ready to release his first full-length album, “Whole Other*“, on Fine Line Records. It continues where the previous “5ive” EP’s on Jazz Refreshed left off. A lot has happened since then. The track “1759 Outro” of his last EP was picked by FlyLo and was featured in the best selling video game ‘Grand Theft Auto V’. For those that don’t know, Spaven has supplied the drums for artists such as Flying Lotus, José James and Gregory Porter on stage and in the studio.
His new Whole Other* album is rich and genre defying. It showcases the drumming artistry many of us associate with Spaven, combined with his own productions in a realm somewhere between jazz and electronica. Blue Note’s rising son Takuya Kuroda appears playing the trumpet soulfully, while The Hics join Spaven (last minute) on the albums title track.
Our top choice was “SideIISide” featuring Sharlene Hector on vocals and Grant Windsor on rhodes. To us this is a perfect example of how musicians translate soulful jazz into bass-heavy electronic music with the most ridiculous neckbreaking drum patterns. Richard Spaven somehow manages to bridge the gap between two worlds using his drum sticks. We’re honored to exclusively premiere this song and in keeping with Spaven’s passion for the club scene – “Whole Other” will be followed by remixes from Mala (DMZ), Ital Tek (Planet Mu), Falty DL (Ninja Tune) & Frederic Robinson (Blue Mar Ten).
On July 7th Richard Spaven’s Whole Other* will be available digitally, on vinyl and CD via Kudos.
