Adrian Younge presents - Something About April - performed by Venice Dawn
(CD/LP/Digital) Wax Poetics Records, 2011-11-29

"It's Me" by Adrian Younge Presents Venice Dawn by Wax Poetics

Tracklisting :
01. Turn Down The Sound 3:13
02. It's Me 2:12
03. Anna May 3:21
04. Two hearts Combine 2:45
05. Thunderstrike 1:56
06. Reverie 2:25
07. First Step On The moon 3:09
08. Dusts Of Gold 1:53
09. Midnight Blue 3:36
10. Lovely Lady 3:53
11. The Sound of a Man 3:09
12. Sirens 2:38
13. Mourning Melodies In Rhapsody 2:39
14. Something About April 5:06

Links :
Check our exclusive interview with Adrian Younge
Adrian Younge and Venice Dawn : discogs | facebook | myspace | twitter
Wax Poetics : official | facebook | myspace | parisdjs | soundcloud | twitter | youtube


Adrian Younge Presents Venice Dawn "Turn Down the Sound"

Press Release :
Los Angeles, CA: As we all know, the soul revival is more than well at hand. In fact, there are some hipsters who may argue that we’re on the downside of the bell curve. But like most notable musical resurgences, it is a beast that comes with its own filter. Only the real deal sticks around to see the end of the day.

In comes Adrian Younge—the real deal. Acclaimed for single-handedly composing, recording and producing the masterful score to Michael Jai White’s cult-classic film Black Dynamite, the multi-instrumentalist tracked Rhodes electric piano, Hammond organ, Hohner Clavinet, harpsichord, synthesizer, vibraphone, guitar, bass, flute, sax, cello, and drums to create an authentic repro of the great blaxploitation soundtracks of the 1970s. The soundtrack was released in the fall of 2009 on Wax Poetics Records.

Younge’s latest incarnation, a bona fide group he’s dubbed Venice Dawn is set to release their first full-length album, Something About April, on November 29th, also on Wax Poetics Records, but the concept’s origins reach back over a decade ago when Younge, the budding hip-hop producer found himself confined by the limitations of the MPC. He began teaching himself how to play various instruments so he could fully realize his vision. First it was keyboards, then drums, sax, guitar, and bass. Fascinated with the sounds of Italian soundtracks by the likes of Ennio Morricone, Younge begins work on the soundtrack to the fictional film Venice Dawn, recording the album intermittently over the course of the next year. What developed was a sound equal parts Morricone and Air. Self-released in 2000, the first album was a moody, synth-drenched offering entirely composed, arranged, played, and recorded by Younge.
Fast forward to the most recent Venice Dawn output, released on September 27th on Wax Poetics as an Official Serato Control Vinyl 12-inch, (in limited-edition chocolate). The technology introduced Scratch Live software, allowing DJs to mix and scratch files from their computer using regular turntables. Control Vinyl in various colors soon became collector’s items among DJs.


Adrian Younge Presents Venice Dawn "It's Me"

Side one, “It’s Me,” features guest singer-songwriter Rebecca Jordan, and recalls the glory days of ’70s soul. Side two, a track exclusive to the Serato release, “ The Niacin,” features virtuoso Shawn Lee (Ubiquity), trumpeter Michael Leonhart (Truth & Soul, Daptone), and Italian cinephiles Calibro 35 (Nublu). The instrumental track expands into a free-form jam session that references both film maestro Ennio Morricone and hip-hop legend DJ Premier. Side one of this release plays as a normal vinyl record, while side two is designed to interact with Serato’s software.

“It’s Me” is just one of the 14 tracks included on Something About April. Overall, the album is uniquely true-to-form masterwork of a heavy, psychedelic mix of dark soul with hip-hop aesthetics and cinematic instrumentals in the vein of the aforementioned Black Dynamite soundtrack. Younge explains, “It’s a concept album that plays as a musical score to the trials and tribulations of a young couple in the 60s.” The album was recorded in a fully analog studio with vintage equipment along with some special guests, including legendary Motown guitarist, Dennis Coffey (featured on “Lovely Lady”).
Putting it mildly, Younge is as close to the epitome of a renaissance man as these times could offer. In addition to the Venice Dawn project and the Black Dynamite soundtrack endeavor (a film for which Younge actually doubled as editor), his other hats are as a law professor, a fiercely busy musical collaborator, the most recent of which is Adrian Younge Presents The Delfonics, details to soon be released, and the co-creator of a brand new custom keyboard instrument called the Selene, akin to a modern Mellotron (waxpoetics.com/blog/the-album/the-selene) which is used throughout Something About April to accentuate its raw, gritty sound.
Younge has also produced, composed and arranged the soundtrack for a series cartoon version of Black Dynamite set to air on Adult Swim Summer 2012.