So, while living in Los Angeles, it was only natural that I would tune into the country’s BEST radio station, KCRW. I recall loving this really funky, soulful track and soon learned it was The Quantic Soul Orchestra feauring Alice Russell’s ‘Pushing On’. I had NO concept of what or who the members were, who was “Quantic” or his history…I just sheerly loved the song a lot and bought the album.
Cut to a couple of years later, while at Nacional Records and working with Bomba Estereo on their trip to Austin for SXSW 2009 (their first time there). By that time I had familiarized myself with Will Holland AKA Quantic more; he was a producer, multi-instrumentalist + band leader from the UK, licensed a monster track for a iPod commercial that you definitely recall and he had moved to Colombia where he had a love affair with cumbia, salsa, music del pacifico and all her different influences.
I figured he would be an excellent person to reach out to about Bomba Estereo (haha, I may still have the Myspace interaction we had). That trip, I introduced Simon Mejia to Will at the SXSW Colombia showcase at The Speakeasy and separately I met Will while at the Mochilla screening of their Timeless films (I was with Ana Tijoux, where we were jammed out to all the Dilla + Slum Village tunes, reciting verses while sitting together – total geeks!) Will was super cool and sweet, and a couple of years later, it’s been such an honor to have the opportunity to work with him. DUDE IS PROLIFIC (do the homework and your ears will thank you!) Anyhow…that’s how I started my trip with Quantic.
Tru Thoughts is releasing a ‘Best Of’ album (Out September 5th in Europe, September 13th in USA). It can be pre-ordered here.
Robert Luis, Tru Thoughts head of A+R, recently went through his own history with Quantic on the verge of the album dropping and it’s a gem of a podcast. Robert drops some unreleased demos of Will’s and also shares some amazing stories about shows, collaborators and more. Listen to that here.
He’s also touring the USA/Canada in Sept/Oct (more dates to be announced):
September
21 Buffalo NY at DBGB
23 Ottawa ON at Mercury Lounge
24 Toronto ON at Small World Music Festival
29 Seattle WA at Neumos (Decibel Fest)
30 San Francisco CA at Som Bar
October
04 Costa Mesa CA at MESA
07 Chicago IL at The Mid (w/ Cut Chemist)
10 Athens GA at New Earth Music Hall
13 Tallahassee FL at The Engine Room
14 Brooklyn NY at Southpaw (w/ Nickodemus)
15 Atlanta GA at The Sound Table
Quantic is constantly PUSHING THE STYLES. With the release of this ‘Best Of,’ it’s a good time to reflect, celebrate this music, but most importantly, continue evolving. This about sums it up from a recent interview with CMU:
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
Quantic: I hope it will both celebrate and draw a line under the last ten years, as there is much more music to make! I’m excited about my forthcoming collaborations with singer Alice Russell and recording more projects in Colombia, where I am based.