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BUTCH: for PRINCE/black rock fans project review >
for sound samples & to order BUTCH: https://cdbaby.com/cd/klt This album proves you can make a Prince influenced innovative album without using the falsetto as a lead. Along the way Butch merges HipHop,metal,funk,Rock,R&B,Folk,Hip Hop,Lo Fi electronic,pop,fusion etc BUTCH is a sci fi concept superhero character driven album that is centered on isolation and overcoming the obstacles of life for a better tommorrow. Complete optimism and fantasy blurrin the lines of reality and fiction Track 1-Everybody wants to fly: From Note 1 we are led into the hybridized dimension of Butch somewhere within the walls of Paisley Park and theatrical madness we are cast into a imaginative concept that is way ahead of it's time. We are thrust into the Butch Dimension without warning. It's like the curtain is raised and the master play begins. Beautiful harmonies and great funky lead this theatrical anthem mixing Prince and beatles together. This song is the epitome of the curtain opening in the Butch Epic. You are given angular dissonant layered guitars and theatrical vocals tinged with the spirit of the Beatles. There is a little turntable sounds and mellotron sounds in the background. In other words:Kenny Carter would get David Bowie to rave about for years. 10 to 1 Bowie hears this and Kenny flies out to his castle and talks art and DB asks if everybody in Kansas City is as wicked as you. The dual epic lead guitars bring with it a sense of urgency and anthemic joy. Brian May-esque/Queen comes to mind. Translation;Dat der is a toe tapper. This song gives me a picture of:Remember how 2001 started? Well, this is the birth of this Grunt Galaxy. And in the center of Grunt Galaxy, a spacecraft hovers in space, and its shaped like A Cloud Guitar coming to earth. Track 2-Lamblast This song has a frantic disjointed funky riff with angular lead vocals and some grooving baseline. It's if King Crimson did a hostile takeover on Paisley Park. How is that for a description? Great vocal harmonies and follows well with track 1. A diving into the storyboards to your eyes. There's some cool background keys in the chorus and verse. This bridge will make Questlove pick up the phone and say, "KC, what are you doing? Can you come to Electric Lady right now?" Funky blasts of Hammond organ..penetrate your ears. I love the multilayered guitars on this. There are George Clinton type intro of a high sped voice Sir Nose style Track 3-Tumbling down:This track is mad one at that. It starts out on a middle eastern dronic type intro and goes into this funky mantra in the verse. Kenny sings in this dark cathartic fashion and opens it up in the bridge with this bouncing organ/sustained synth and brings you down into the void with a spiraling riff in the chorus. The drums are done live and the bassline follows well on the guitar. This song is a sick one. The bridge is on some further spiraling with this mad mantra verse with these zig zag dissonant ambient synths. Kenny scats out the melody while playin the riff in the outro. This is a great example of his mind when it comes to melody/rhythm and lyricism all at once. The bassline opens up with the drums for a few seconds Track 4:This is a short avant type funk quickly sung interlude. Think of a Prince b side without Eric Leeds or Bliss just guitar/bass and drums. Track 5:Superstar starts out with flippin of the dial on the radio of various sounds including Bach and Trump Dawgs. Then the song starts and it sounds like Jimi/Led Zeppelin meets King Crimson meets Kenny. Kenny uses a distorted fuzz bass tomesh with the sonic blast of jagged funky guitar riff. The drums are on some of that loose type feel that Bonham and Funkadelic Drummer would have hit upon. Kenny starts playing with the melody on some dissonant riff for a little bit and then switching to this funky clean rhythm with these ambient high end synths playing a melody. And then Kenny cuts across with these zig zag guitars across the track/ starting one and starting another in different channels. Then bringing in another rhythm and bringin in some wavy synth. Also in there is a funky bassline that follows a complex rhythm pattern Track 6:Think Thin Lizzy/Iron Maiden/Queen/Prince double dual lead guitar intro with some boom bap drum machine shuffle on that neck snappin shit. Kenny pontificates Butch's place in the world with some funky rhythms. Kenny brings in the dual lead guitar sound for himself with these epic harmonies. Once again in that funky mid range and occasionally he will blast out on a distorted guitar riff. Kenny starts messing with the harmonies bringing you into that mystic place with these erie chants. A female harmony closes it out... Track 7-Dream: You hear a drum track on some rimshot and then you hear a guitar riff that sounds like you might hear on Norwegian Wood. But then Kenny strums out some clean hi end rhythm guitars. Kenny blends the vocal harmonies/rhythm guitars and brings the dual lead guitar pattern in while bringing in this King Xesque type chorus. Kenny beautifully paints a distorted wonderland of melodic guitars singing together Near the end he cuts everything out just the drums and bass and hits these blasts of distorted guitar strums and fades it out. So it sounds like using some notes Norwegian Wood meets Prince meets Kings X meets Kenny Carter? We got a picture of that? Good. Track 8-Wishing Well: Funky funkadelian rhythm guitar sliding on that heavy shit that so many guitarists kill for that kind of feel. he starts dampenin the strings while singin that funky mid range and then in the chorus brings out some of that heavy funk feel. In the background you hear a voice giving you hints to the world of Butch. This song sounds like BUTCH is at a wishing well. Kenny on the bridge starts hitting these funky mid tempo riffs with these funky loud drums. Then Kenny takes a moment to rip a short solo and goes back to the sliding riff but it's changed and then he dives into the deep crankin up the distortion and rides this mantra riff til the end. So this song sounds like Kenny Carter meets Eddie Hazel/Michael Hampton Again he cuts everything out lettin the bass and drums groove for a little bit. You can almost see the storyboards in your mind. Track 9:This is just a funky bass/drum interlude with BUTCH playing cards with some friends. And he contemplates his place in the universe. Then somebody busts through the door and BUTCH brings him down. Track 10-Armageddon:This reminds me of Prince SOTT/Black Album meets Boogie Monsters.It's a abstract hip hop groove with BUTCH rapping. BUTCH on this record sounds like imagine Bob George from Prince but slightly faster pitch. He uses these eccentric synth plinks/sustained synth sounds and its a dark track. It's a cool battle track between BUTCH and his nemesis. Theres also some fractured guitar that you heard played with a funky anchored baseline.The drums are drum programmed Track 11-Introspect :Bring back the cloud guitar here it comes. This is a pop/rock/metal ballad BUTCH sees a brighter day for himself. Kenny plays these ligh distorted guitar rhythms and then blasts out on the chorus like you would hear with Kings X. This song is lyrically saying something alot of people wouldnt do. Kenny starts improvising on the guitar with some phased distortion and then goes to the bombastic epic chorus. I should mention K.C.s Harmonies are amazing to hear on headphones as well. The bassline again holds the fort down while live drums keep the track together and give it that feel of Kings X meets Prince meets BUTCH. This gives you another example of the sonic ideas Kenny has in a single track. There are so many nuances to discuss Track 12-Legend: This sounds like Kraftwerk meets Prince with these dissonant phased synths. Then Kenny switches it to some of that cloud guitar sound with the drum n bass. Going back to the mid tempo with those futuristic ambientscape synths that fit this track well. Goin back to the drum n bass groove. It switches back and forth... This sounds like Prince meets Kraftwerk/Tangerine Dream meets drum n bass- Reprazent. Kenny takes a short cloud guitarian solo while using background synths to accompany him. Then he brings in these mid range distorted guitars so you still hear the lead clearly on the track. Track 13-Wow: This track sounds like Kenny meets Prince meets the Beatles. Kenny starts funkin out the track with these clever vocal harmonies and nice multitrack of guitars again. Kenny then takes a pop Beatlesque turn with the vocals and starts funkin up the riff. But whereas Lenny would copy and xerox Beatles. Kenny just uses a tinge of influence for the Chorus. Kenny rocks out on the guitars in the appropriate places. You know crankin the distortion and lettin go the power of his guitar playing. Kenny has great vocal harmonies. This song is about everything being good for today. Kenny releases the distorted crunch guitars and starts playin some funky distorted rhythms Track 14:Not a girl This r&B/pop song sounds like you are stuck in a timecycle and everythin is goin back and forth at once. a funky Kurt Vonnegutian Timequake-a disruption in time. Kenny sings some funky leads with just a deep hypnotic bass and this headnoddin rimshot beat. Bringin in some background synth. Kenny keeps bringin in guitar rhythms here and there building up the intrigue. When he releases the melodic chorus you dont expect it. And these ringing melodic guitars that you hear in a dream playing this dark melody. This is about contemplating someone you thought you knew. Kenny starts going on the dark open sounding tip with vocal harmonies fillin up the space. This song is a SINGLE. You have to listen to it on headphones to appreciate the sheer magnitude of this beautiful song. Track 15-Ice Cream: The pop rock feel is back on this one. Kenny chases the Ice Cream truck with the cloud guitar while the P-funk Guitar army and Kings X chase it with him. A simple pop rock tune with some heavily distorted guitars. Some flute synth here and there on the verse. Kenny starts funkin up the riff on the bridge and ties it all together with a childlike vocal taunt about how he got his ice cream and you cant have any. Track 16:This sounds like Bob George Meets Tupac. Remember Souljas Revenge/Somethin to die 4 on Strictly for my Niggaz? Thats what this reminds me of. Cool lil vocal interlude Track 17-Smile Again:Drum machine rhythm comes in and you hear some of those gothic sounding surreal synths that Prince likes to use. Kenny then brings in some funky rhythm and lead vocal on the verse. This song is a perfect ballad to close this album with.It gives a sense of optimism of love and joy. Kenny has this beautiful weaving of guitars on this which is part of what makes BUTCH so captivating. I can almost see these visuals drifting off into space. Kenny gives you another sign why there is more to discover with this artist the next time. Also in the mix is some acoustic/electric guitars combination adding to the sustained synths and the weaving of the melody. When you try to describe a musical multi tracker it becomes hard to do. Heres another example why Kenny is a recording genius. These beautiful vocal harmonies only add to this tapestry. Kenny is a multi tracking magical wizard. He paints you these beautiful sounds to make you ponder the existence of this Grunt Galaxy and what lies in there. Which brings a interesting question But let's put it this way:Kenny plays this for Prince and all of a sudden Kenny is in Paisley Park given a guided tour. The Outro:This is a Cloud guitar moment with some of those funky drums and rhodes. It has these angelic harmonies that Kenny does so magnificently. This is a great closer because it has alot going on in different sections. Kenny starts improvising on the theme and changin it little by little distancing itself from it until he goes back to earth. There's some turntable scratches in the background too. He starts scatting this melody. kenny just improvises like mad on this outro. Its a good use of guitars/vocal harmonies/keyboards This hypnotic sliding bassline keeps things locked in. Near the end of this piece Kenny plays this beautiful orchestral synth passage ending the Epic that is BUTCH. He isn't probably what you have bought all year...but theres somethin beautifully profound in Kenny Carter and his music that will make someones day brighter. And that in the end, is all that matters. How do we know BUTCH isnt real? Because we can't see him, or know him, or touch him? Kenny questions what imagination and fantasy is like any great artist conceptualist before him has done, such as Prince,David Bowie,Peter Gabriel, George Clinton or J.R. Tolken for that matter. It could be a author it could be M.C. Escher. Anyone that taps into that dimension BUTCH is real in the universe of imagination but it also brings up a question If you can see this character and it is familiar to you then maybe BUTCH is part of your existence. After you hear this album if you are struck by it you will want to know more about BUTCH. But earthly themes of alienation and finding your way permeate Kennys work. BUTCH reminds me of Max from Liquid Television a bit. He is a loner from a distant world with super strength. BUTCH is ahead of it's time album, but unlike other epic stories it invites you rather than distances you and tries to confuse you. Kenny Carter is a black M.C. Escher with a cloud guitar,keyboards and a voice. He has fleshed out a galaxy with his tonal colors He has shown a light on our conscience about a galaxy that was meant to be discovered. Who knows...maybe there is a Grunt Galaxy. Maybe you have seen this place in your dreams. I hope this makes all industry lurkers to check this imaginary vivid project out, and see you don't just have a potential roster artist, you have a sonic visionary on your hand, who has a engaging story to tell for children and adults alike. If BECK,D'angelo,Outkast get these forerunner titles? Oh my, the music scene in general better give it to BUTCH. The Grunt Galaxy awaits you. And BUTCH beckons you to look right into the eye portals of him. Dont be surprised if you see a reflection of you lookin back at you. Your journey starts when you press play. Personnel:Kenny Carter-Vox,Guitars,Basses,Keyboards,sound efx Drums and Drum Programmin:Trump Dawgs Alumni 4 n half out of five stars. to order BUTCH: https://cdbaby.com/cd/klt | |
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