CB Records and Mophono’s Halftone Society is proud to announce the first single from their new offshoot. Dubbed (the) “Halftone Society Rhythm Section”, it features some of the Bay Area’s most talented live instrumentalists. The project is a refreshing vocalbased departure from Mophono’s usual curiously obscure offerings, as it reimagines two eighties dance floor DJ classics “Don’t Look Any Further” by Dennis Edwards and “Caribbean Queen” by Billy Ocean.
The demand for this music became very apparent when Mophono’s “Cut Form Creator Dub” of “Caribbean Queen” was recently featured on the popular bay area compilation “off the beaten tracks”. On this new single,“The Halftone Society Rhythm Section” aims to pair the infectious sheen of eighties boogie with an inviting minimalism reminiscent of seventies funk standards. Young Aundee’s vocals channel a pop landscape full of rebellious souls, bankrupt lives and crumbling nations.
The HSRS’s unpredictable approach to the A-Side, “Don’t Look Any Further”, finds the listener in a gritty drum heavy distortion bath of lush Rhodes and melodica choruses. On the B-side, with “Caribbean Queen”, The HSRS adds a layer of vulnerable grit to the silky original and expounds upon the island sound with Patrick Korte aka P Dub’s phenomenal drum work, warm dubs and a massive break down that calls for a rewind.