Jesse Futerman
Super Basement by Jesse Futerman. Officially, it blends ‘elements of soul and hip hop while retaining a jazz backbone.’ But to break it down a touch more prosaically, it’s simply a beautiful record, a breath of fresh air that’ll make your world a better place for its all too brief twenty minute running time.
Super Basement harks back to another era, a more innocent time around the turn of the millennium. The era of the digger, when labels like Mo’Wax, Grand Central and Quannum ruled the waves and the likes of Aim, Shadow, The Avalanches et al were out mining the world for the samples that would make them into legends. Of course, the quest for the perfect beat is still going on today, but Jesse Futerman is the first person I’ve heard in a long while who’s captured the excitement (and quality) of those days gone by.
As soon as the opening chords of “Funds” drift in, followed by a suitably dusty drum break, you’re lulled into a state of soulful bliss that deepens ever so gently over the course of six heavenly tracks. Everything in Super Basement is in the right place; the drums, the piano, the horns, the flutes, the vocals all come together in perfect harmony to create a record that’ll make your eyes close in delight and get your head nodding in appreciation.
“A Good Man Is Gone” will break your heart, “I Love You So” takes Marvin’s “T Stands For Trouble” and turns into a tripped out masterpiece and, well, if I talk about the individual qualities of each track we’ll be here today. Suffice to say that Futerman has a good ear for a sample and a talent for arrangement that belie his 19 tender years. Watch out for this dude in 2012, if he can build on this, he’s going to be huge.
-Will Georgie
