Genres are often helpful ways for understanding music outside of the music. But even after listening, having the context of a genre can provide a helpful base from which to consider it. Thinking about it too much can start to get abstract and esoteric – maybe even falling apart a little – but that doesn’t change how knowing genres does help inform how we listen. What artists influenced the players? Who makes up the fanbase? What’s a live show like? What will the next song sound like?
All of which makes understanding Butcher Brown a little more challenging than most. While the quintet started off with the tag of jazz, they’ve reached out into different orbits – maybe furthest on the new, Letters from the Atlantic. Bossa nova, soul, indie, house, funk – jazz is still there, no doubt – but as it historically does, it lends itself to fusion. For their part, Butcher Brown seems to reveal in the hues – creating a sound as familiar as it is singular.
Off Shelf: There’s quite the impressive lineup of collaborators on Letters from the Atlantic, what were you looking for bringing to your sound with the folks you included this time?
Andrew Randazzo: We make a lot of friends in this community of musicians in which we dwell, and we also love embracing the diversity in all the music we dig. As usual, we were just trying to make a dope record and with this one, we really just wanted to bring a bunch of friends into the fold. The product that came with that truly embraces the idea that our music is for everyone. We did lean into the house genre a bit more on this one, but you can find all different types of influences/genres and that’s really a representation of what you might hear in the stereo in our van. The wide range of guests helped to uphold that type of broad range of sounds that we love.
OS: Did anyone significantly shift the song? Bring something different from what you had in mind?
AR: Melanie Charles really did her thing on “Unwind”. We didn’t have many expectations for most of these songs, she just elevated that track so much. Add in the sonic prowess of engineer Alex Dejong and the result is just incredible.
OS: Before I found my way around to a better appreciation of jazz, Solar Music found its way to me with the spot from Pink Siifu. Do you think about the different listeners that a guest can bring with them?
AR: Absolutely! All the guests on this album have their own fanbase. Well, it isn’t our main motivation for including them on the record, it’s an awesome bonus that we may reach the ears of some fans of theirs, who didn’t previously know about us.
OS: Oftentimes, I like to defend genres. How it helps listeners to at first set a context in which they can approach the music. Though, with the fusion of styles you all bridge, I could understand how that could get tricky. What do you see as some of the benefits and shortfalls in how your music is positioned – whether in listening formats or at record store sections?
AR: We often get categorized into the jazz genre, but with the advent of streaming and lots of different playlists, we often get placements in playlists that will bring us to a new crowd. With all of the house influences on this new record, we’re hoping for some killer placements to introduce us to that world.
OS: Do you think it’s harder to find or develop an audience when you exist in these sorts of genre middle grounds? I have to imagine a Butcher Brown live audience is a varied one.
AR: It’s a very eclectic mix in our fan base, but we love to embrace it. That was the whole idea behind the title of our last album, Solar Music. It’s for everybody under the sun. Young, old, pop, jazz, rap, house – there’s something for everyone on a Butcher Brown record, and I love that it kinda represents breaking boundaries and bringing people together who wouldn’t otherwise find themselves in the same room.
OS: The press materials mention you all being producers, having an ear for what would be the sample. What are some of your favorite grooves on Letters from the Atlantic?
AR: “Ibiza” is really the one that we kept coming back to but “Hold You” is a personal favorite of mine. That one really gets the lovers moving at the show.
OS: If you’re dream booking your remixes, who would you like to see take a hand at these songs? What do you think they could bring out in them?
AR: For this record, someone like Detroit music legend Moody Mann. He is a forefather of techno and house music – that electronic sound. Someone like him would just speak our language and know exactly what to do. Whether he’d break it all down or elevate it more. Dude is sick.
OS: When you’re planning out the setlist in support of this album, how are you feeling the energy is different this time around? What is new or further emphasized with the addition of these songs?
AR: New grooves. House, soulful Bossa, Yacht Rock. We’re exploring new sonic territory with this record and can’t wait to bring it to the fans. I hope it can open their ears up to new sounds which they might not have otherwise embraced.
OS: What are you excited to explore further in these songs as you take them out in front of live audiences? How do you see them as continuing to evolve beyond the recording?
AR: Our music always evolves beyond the recording. It’s not really something that’s intentional, it just happens. We’re all improvisers and we all play so many different genres. For the most part, we write the music in the studio and then take it on the road. We have always embraced the natural evolution and change our material as we tour.
