"Jack Powell (Guitar) and Nick Carusos (Bass) cookin' up scrumptious morsels"
The pulsating wonk, whimsy and proggy retro neo funk slaps and tickles of "Melt the Wind" by the wonderful wonky funkadelic revisionist rock outfit Hot Mustard, the core project of guitarist Jack Powell and bassist Nick Carusos, is so charmingly sideways and lovingly nostalgic as to lift you out of the truly terrifying muck in America and give us a cool escape, a respite to fuel up and even realize that things are going to be ok (eventually).
One of the final single releases before the album release on June, Friday the 13th of their latest third album "Monster Season", "Melt the Wind" has a dancey vibe, attitudinally upbeat, even uplifting and oh so cool. There is a kind of funk fusion tropicalia and as I said last time, in reference to their aesthetic, "oozes 70's funk /street soul / blues / jazz rock that recalls everything from grindhouse movies to Dirty Harry / Serpico or the 70's music or soundtracks created by composers like Keith Mansfield or Thomas Elerth" and AND the psyche here feels similar, there is a nostalgic sound that is unmistakingly old school analog and leaning towards an avant garde notion even if the song feels pretty universally inviting and purely cinematic.
"Kate and I almost connected on another project years prior and had kept an ongoing conversation about a collaboration; when this track came along, it felt like the right piece to use her artwork to tell a visual story. In one of our early conversations, we had talked about grief and I knew that I wanted the video to feel really sad but beautiful, so I let those things guide the process. That’s how this piece of music feels to me, it’s the end of the album and often endings are sad but we still have the journey to reflect on - and even when we don’t get that, we can try to leave something for others. That’s what this whole project is about to me.” – Jack Powell
The "Melt the Wind" animated Official video is created by Opus Thimble, the visual artist moniker of half of Hot Mustard, it's guitarist Jack Powell. I love the look that somehow has me flashing on Terry Gilliam who designed all the animated segments for film and the Monty Python Flying Circus AND, for some reason, Modest Mouse's industrial age aesthetic on some of their early videos (Float On).
About the Song and Video (Liner Notes excerpted):
[...the final course paired with an emotionally charged animated music video created by Opus Thimble, visual art moniker of Jack Powell, who alongside bassist Nick Carusos form the Hot Mustard duo. They two have steadily built a loyal following thirsty for their cinematic retro-boom-bap-soul-funk style which is heavily fueled by the dynamic horn arrangements of legendary NYC trumpeter Jordan McLean (Antibalas) featuring Dave “Smoota” Smith (TV on The Radio, The Bogmen) on trombone. Making another alluring contribution to Monster Season is the enigmatic Via Mardot whose theremin parts resemble a synthy pedal steel producing fluid slidey harmonies alongside dramatic tubular bells strikes. New Orleans cellist Helen Gillet builds with her bow before erupting into fiercely funky plucked passages deep in the track while drummers AJ Hall (John Cleary and the Monster Gentlemen, Left Field Drum Breaks, Alchemist) and Wes Powers hold down the percussion precisely.]
[For the 'Melt The Wind' music video, Powell departed from his typical public domain sources, and instead pulled from paintings of local muralist Kate Barattini whose oceanic themed works are bright, colorful and delightfully surreal. The video uses Barattini’s painting style to draw the viewer into a state of joyful bliss, before digging deep into heavier themes of loss and grief. A bittersweet, masterful work that once again illustrates the deeply intertwined nature of Powell’s visual work with the Hot Mustard sound, his wild, unpredictable and often transcendental imagination adding profound meaning, context and connectivity to the musical experience.]
"Kate and I almost connected on another project years prior and had kept an ongoing conversation about a collaboration; when this track came along, it felt like the right piece to use her artwork to tell a visual story. In one of our early conversations, we had talked about grief and I knew that I wanted the video to feel really sad but beautiful, so I let those things guide the process. That’s how this piece of music feels to me, it’s the end of the album and often endings are sad but we still have the journey to reflect on - and even when we don’t get that, we can try to leave something for others. That’s what this whole project is about to me.” – Jack Powell
When it comes to Hot Mustard, you simply have to trust fall into their escapist retro / futuristic sound and you will be just fine and loving every second of it.
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://www.instagram.com/opusthimble/
https://www.facebook.com/hotmustardsound
"Melt the Wind", alt rock, composers, funk, Hot Mustard, indie rock, orchestrated jazz pop, soul, new album "Monster Season", guitarist Jack Powell and bassist Nick Carusos, assorted amazing guest players, (Official Video),
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/opusthimble/
https://www.facebook.com/hotmustardsound
https://solo.to/hotmustardsound
Recently featured on KCRW and KUTX, as well as Relix, Glide Magazine and Jazz Weekly, HM has emerged as one of the hottest and most creative new artists on the scene. The duo draws influence from late 60s/early 70s funk/soul/library music and blends it with the building blocks of golden era boom bap hip-hop resulting in a unique musical identity that is nothing short of astounding and utterly addictive.
Recently featured on KCRW and KUTX, as well as Relix, Glide Magazine and Jazz Weekly, HM has emerged as one of the hottest and most creative new artists on the scene. The duo draws influence from late 60s/early 70s funk/soul/library music and blends it with the building blocks of golden era boom bap hip-hop resulting in a unique musical identity that is nothing short of astounding and utterly addictive.
"Melt the Wind", alt rock, composers, funk, Hot Mustard, indie rock, orchestrated jazz pop, soul, new album "Monster Season", guitarist Jack Powell and bassist Nick Carusos, assorted amazing guest players, (Official Video),
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