In Search of a Revival

The second album of retro instrumental cinematic soul and funk from Toby Pezner’s crack team of NY session players, In Search of… features twelve tracks of brass laden Spaghetti western grooves, faux blaxploitation themes and Kung Fu movie soundtracks  for films that don’t exist. It’s a late sixties/early seventies sound and features the organic, multi-layered live instrumentation of the period with none of the tripped out Moog solos, slap bass, Bernie Worrell synth licks or pristinely recorded electric pianos of later-funk. The mood ranges from stately to sunny, and at times the tracks almost sound like hip hop sampling in reverse, as though The Olympians have not only absorbed Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield, but also how artists like Wu-Tang Clan and J Dilla repurpose old soul via sampling into something newer, darker, slightly haunted; there’s that similar kind of low level, narcotic queasiness and eeriness to some of the tracks. Having said that, there’s plenty of swaying, sweet soul moments too in an album of soundtrack-soul excellence.