Ignore the rain and the cold, close the curtains, and slide the debut album from Amp Fiddler into the deck. The sun shines from every track of this electro-funk infused piece of feel good listening. With a healthy smattering of inspiration from the likes of the Isley Brothers, Sly Stone and Rose Royce from back in the day, Amp Fiddler brings the funk sound up to date using his experience of recording with artists such as Maxwell, Lucy Pearl, and Seal.

The upbeat positivity of ‘Superficial’ smacks of Funkadelic’s ‘One Nation Under a Groove’, while the moog soaked ‘Soul Divine’ is delivered with such a lazy drawl there’s no option but to sit back and wallow in the groove. The quasi-political ‘Love and War’ offers a Latin beat in the mix and a vocal with the style and range of a Seal offering. As the album progresses more and more references and influences are made apparent from Acid Jazz, to Staxx and Motown demonstrating the depth of musical knowledge and respect the artist has.

Despite the winter release this album is sure to be the soundtrack to many balmy evenings come the summer. Amp’s voice, and soulful arrangements of a variety of musical styles makes the journey through to the album’s close with the title track, featuring George Clinton, an absolute joy.

words: Carl Brooks

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