This is the first song that Onyx Collective’s bandleader and composer Isaiah Barr brought to Chromeo for production, the first time Chromeo worked on producing another band and the first record that gave Dave and Pee the idea to start this very label. “Tango” is a true slice of jazz-funk, something harkening back to the Brand New Heavies era or New York’s legendary Giant Step parties and yet, because it is written and performed by a crew of vibrant twentysomethings, everything about this record is firmly grounded in downtown NY’s present. Here, the whole ensemble shines: Princess Nokia’s spoken word intro sets the stage for another one of Julian Soto’s superb harmony-laden vocal performances; Isaiah Barr’s horn arrangements and Isaac Sleator’s keys provide the necessary flourishes and all the while, the rhythm section of Austin Williamson and Felix Pastorius effortlessly bops along, like a sunny strut down Canal St.

Our second single from downtown New York’s polymorphous avant-jazz ensemble Onyx Collective is an early Sly/early Funkadelic-inspired psych-soul number called “Hummingbird.” The band had performed it around town for years and brought it to Chromeo for co-production. It took months of studio iterations to properly immortalize it on record. “Hummingbird” is long, dense, deeply melodic and as such, a total oddity in today’s playlist oriented ADD streaming market…which actually means that it’s doing everything right.

The first Juliet single by New York’s polymorphous avant-jazz ensemble, taken from a forthcoming project co-produced with Chromeo. “Baby” starts off as a sensuous, sinuous love ballad, then transforms into a complex auto-tuned vocal arrangement only to resolve in a three minute free jazz finale. This is downtown kids making music for adults.

1 Baby

2 Baby (Edit)