Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you’d recall that the past two years or so have been both incredibly productive and prolific for the critically applauded bassist, vocalist and JOVM mainstay Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner. He made guest appearances contributing bass and/or vocals to Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy Award-winning To Pimp A Butterfly and Brainfeeder Records labelmate, Kamasi Washington’s The Epic, and he followed that up by releasing what arguably may have been one of 2015’s best albums The Beyond/Where Giants Roam, an effort that I think further cemented his reputation as a dexterous bassist, who carefully walks a tightrope between jazz fusion, contemporary jazz and funk in a way that’s reminiscent of the late and great Jaco Pastorius — but while nodding at Stevie Wonder’s 70s and early 80s output, as it possessed a retro-futuristic sound.
Last year, I wrote about “Bus In These Streets,” the first bit of music from the renowned bassist and vocalist in over a year, and the single was a comedic and playful ode to our reliance and dependence on technology in which Thundercat’s dexterous and sinuous bass lines with Louis Cole (keys, drums and programming) contributing shimmering and twinkling keys and propulsive drum programming and frequent collaborator Flying Lotus contributing more programming and editing in a song that evokes a dreamy, distracted self-absorption as the song’s narrator spends their time staring at their smartphone, not noticing the world pass him by — or the inherent danger he might be walking into as he stupidly stares into his phone.
Bruner’s third, full-length effort Drunk was released earlier this year and the album is reportedly an epic journey into the bizarre, hilarious and sometimes very dark mind of the singer/songwriter and bassist, and the effort find Bruner collaborating with an All-Star list of guests and friends including Kamasi Washington, Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell Williams, Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. While the album will feature fan favorites “Bus In These Streets” and “Them Changes,” Drunk‘s first official single “Show You The Way” is a sleek and soulfully jazzy track in which shimmering arpeggio cascades of synths, stuttering drums, and Bruner’s imitable bass lines are paired in an incredible collaboration that features Bruner’s sultry falsetto with the imitable vocals of Kenny Loggins and Micheal McDonald. Sonically speaking the song is an uncanny synthesis of Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)” and Bruner’s signature funky, retro-futuristic jazz fusion.
So how did such a high-powered collaboration come about? Thundercat has publicly mentioned his love of Loggins and his work during interviews to promote both The Beyond and the tour for the album — and it lead to his keyboardist Dennis Hamm introducing Bruner to Loggins. According to both Bruner and Hamm, Loggins then suggested bringing in Michael McDonald on the track. And as Bruner adds in press notes “I think one of the most beautiful moments of it was realizing how amazing Michael McDonald was. He would go through so many ideas and have so much to offer.” As for the song, Bruner says “That song to me is about going down the rabbit hole, taking you to another place . . . On the edge of dark, there’s the brightest light. It means a lot to me in the sense of . . .the experience that I’ve had growing up with friends and people that I’ve been around where it’s inventing them into where I come from emotionally. Sometimes it’s a pretty intense thing. The point is how weird things can get. ”
Check out Thundercat, Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins performing “Show You The Way” one of my favorite songs this year, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. I think the footage should be a nice little taste of Thundercat’s live sound; in fact, the renowned bassist will be on a rather extensive world tour that begins later this month and includes two NYC area dates — August 26, 2017 at Afropunk Fest and September 30 at Brooklyn Steel. Check out the rest of the tour dates below.
THUNDERCAT TOUR DATES
06/17 Barcelona, Spain – Sonar Festival
06/18 Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands – Best Kept Secret
06/20 Warsaw, Poland – Brainfeeder presents @ Progresja
06/22 Vienna, Austria – Brainfeeder Presents @ Arena Open Air
06/24 Glastonbury, UK – Glastonbury Festival
06/25 Chicago, IL – Mamby On The Beach
07/14 Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre * w/ Beck
07/15 San Francisco, CA – Independent
07/21 Seattle, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party
07/22 Los Angeles, CA – FYF Festival
07/23 London, UK – Afropunk
07/30 Yuzawa, Japan – Fuji Rock
08/11 San Francisco – Outside Lands Festival
08/26 Brooklyn, NY – Afropunk Festival
08/30 Tuscon, AZ – Club Congress
08/31 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
09/02 Pomona, CA – The Glass House
09/05 Arcata, CA – Humboldt State Universtiy
09/06 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
09/08 Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
09/10 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
09/11 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
09/12 Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
09/14 Denver, CO – The Ogden
09/15 Mishawaka, CO – Mishawaka Amphitheatre
09/16 Omaha, NE – The Slowdown
09/17 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
09/19 Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
09/20 Lawrence, KS – The Granada Theatre
09/21 Champaign, IL – Pygmalion @ Krannert Center
09/23 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
09/24 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
09/25 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
09/27 Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
09/29 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
09/30 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
10/03 Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
10/04 Columbia, SC – Music Farm
10/06 New Orleans, LA – Tipitinas
10/07 Austin, TX – Austin City Limits
10/08 Baton Rouge, LA – The Varsity Theatre
10/10 Orlando, FL – The Beacham Theatre
10/13 Miami, FL – III Points Festival
11/14 Glasgow, UK – ABC
11/15 Manchester, UK – Albert Hall
11/16 London, UK – Shepherd’s Bush Empire
11/17 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
11/19 Antwerp, Belgium – Roma
11/21 Paris, France – Elysee Montmartre
+new tour dates noted in bold
