Multi-genre bassist, singer, and producer Thundercat – aka Stephen Bruner – is releasing a new mini-album, The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam. His new album will be out on Monday June 22nd, 2015, via Brainfeeder.
The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam is the follow up to Thundercat’s 2013 album, Apocalypse. The album’s release on Brainfeeder may have a few readers’ wondering if Flying Lotus makes any appearances on the album, and the answer to that is yes. He has co-produced half of the tracks on the new Thundercat mini-album. Additionally, Flying Lotus appears on the album’s funky first single, “Them Changes.” Apart from his work on this album, Flying Lotus has released a new video, collaborated with Kendrick Lamar, and put out a new song that’s called, “Transmolecularization.”
Jazz musician Kamasi Washington is also lending his talents to “Them Changes.” His appearance on the album in effect returns the favor, as Thundercat recently came in and played on The Epic, Washington’s latest Brainfeeder release, according to Brooklyn Vegan.
So, what does “Them Changes” sound like?
The song opens with a very funky-yet-catchy bass line that is bound to get you nodding your head along to the beat. Then, Thundercat’s clean and clear vocals come in, but the story that he telling in the lyrics is not a happy one, despite the deceptively upbeat funky music. “I’m sitting here with a black hole in my chest / A heartless broken mess,” he sings seemingly descending into misery.
Another clear part of the instrumentation in the mix of “These Changes” are the synth parts that bubble up throughout the track, along with some tinkling notes from a piano. But, while the vocals, bass line, and synth parts standout, it is sometimes a challenge to hear the saxophone parts played by Washington, unless you listen very closely, because they are subtly placed within the final mix of the song.
Check it out:
In addition to Flying Lotus and Kamasi Washington, The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam features “contributions from Herbie Hancock and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson,” according to Brooklyn Vegan.
Check out the cover art and the tracklisting for The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam, below.
Thundercat, The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam (2015) Tracklisting:
01. Hard Times
02. Song for the Dead
03. Them Changes
04. Lone Wolf and Cub
05. That Moment
06. Where the Giants Roam/Field of the Nephilim
Lastly, don’t miss Thundercat’s appearances this August! He will be performing at Pickathon in Happy Valley, Oregon, the Low End Theory Festival in Los Angeles, and Brooklyn’s Afropunk Festival.
