Following on from releases The Believers, Broken Toys & Raise Your Head; Soul/Disco supergroup – The Tribe of Good – can now reveal the title of their next release. ’25 Miles From Vegas’ is out now on Ultra Records.
Listen to ’25 Miles From Vegas’ here.
The Tribe of Good are the secret weapons behind your favourite chart hits. Imagine a present-day version of LA’s Wrecking Crew, if they hung out in Ronnie Scott’s, performed live with Dizzee Rascal and knew their way around a synthesiser. These are the talented artists you’ve heard performing with, or on records by artists as diverse and influential as Stormzy, M.I.A., The xx, MNEK, and Kanye West.
A sprawling supergroup that combines vintage soul and disco with modern production techniques, The Tribe of Good are steered by Grammy-nominated producer Hal Ritson (Chemical Brothers, Katy Perry, Duke Dumont, High Contrast). With producers Michele Balduzzi (Phonat – OWSLA), Rich ‘Fiasco’ Adlam (Nas, Cee Lo, Taylor Swift) and Thomas Gandey (Southern Fried, Suara) in tow—alongside a cast of musicians from Basement Jaxx singer Vula Malinga and Jamiroquai guitarist Rob Harris, to Ritson’s long-time drummer Alex Reeves—the group are creating retro-futurist fireworks to light up the pop horizon.
’25 Miles From Vegas’ features the vocals from Daniel Pearce, Elroy ‘Spoonface’ Powell, James Anderson & Vula Malinga (Basement Jaxx), having been produced by core members Rich ‘Fiasco’ Adlam & Hal Ritson.The single continues the groups efforts in the bid to lift listeners amidst times of political uncertainty, yet open their eyes to what is going on in the world.
Responding to Rich Adlam’s original demo for the track, Hal Ritson wrote the “Feels like I’m 25 miles from Vegas” chorus inspired by a sense of imminent change: “I just had a vision of that moment where you suddenly have self belief that everything is about to turn for the better – the opposite of “Oh what’s the use” self doubt – the total confidence that if you go all in, your luck is about to change”, comments Ritson.
But as Hal brought Elroy ‘Spoonface’ Powell in to contribute to the verses, Spoonface’s personal perspective added a deeper layer of meaning with explicit references to the history of slavery and the need to both acknowledge and break from historical constraints (“Bought and sold, Still we got it, Let go the chains – fall away from me”) and the need for positive action to affect change (“Constant chatter, change no matter, action proper bring in the show stopper).
The single will appear on their forthcoming debut album which is due for release on Ultra Records later this year. The record began life as a “party album” say Ritson but, as the world descended into chaos, it took on new depth and meaning. The record was crafted during the initial stages of the Trump presidency, with Brexit and the #MeToo movement later sliding into view. The group’s ethos is one of unabashed positivity and brawny resistance – “feeding the light into society through music”, offers Ritson.
In the model of Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’, “The music is going on in troubled times and the troubled times make their way into the music… Everything’s always affected by the world around you, so it started turning into something a bit more serious – it just didn’t seem like the time to be flippant,” says Ritson of the group’s philosophy.
The album was mixed by Wez Clarke—a Grammy-award winning mix engineer (Beyoncé, Jess Glynne, Clean Bandit, Craig David, Tinie Tempah)—resulting in a cutting-edge sound that looks to the future as well as the past.
“We recorded the drums live so that they sound like they did in 1972, for example, but then we’ve mixed the LP like it’s a modern electronic record,” concludes Ritson. “Musically, there’s a sense of progress where everyone’s moving to the future, but the imperfections of old recording processes just give the record that added spontaneity and integrity.”
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