Mainstream pop has ruined modern music. A majority of the music that is released by current “big-name” artists is made solely for the record label. The music is bland, unoriginal, boring and generated to make money, rather than create anything that will influence the future generations. Just look at Katy Perry’s new bore-fest-of-a-single. I can hardly listen to the radio anymore because so much of the music is absurdly generic; I spend my time yearning for music that is different, music that blends a variety of genres together in a pattern that is profoundly unique and simultaneously fun/intriguing to listen to. That’s why songs from “The Life of Pablo,” “To Pimp A Butterfly,” “Blackstar,” and “Malibu” sound so brilliant to me; it’s music that challenges modern conventions and, most importantly, sounds like music that the artists wanted to make. It’s rare to find an album that satisfies me in this way, but it’s a wonderful experience when it does.
This past spring, the band Small House recorded an album over the course of two days at Elon University. The album: "Purple Funk." Thankfully, this album is a breath of fresh air for any listener that yearns for something different from the mainstream music that we have been provided in these modern times. “Purple Funk” is a brilliant blend of sounds and genres in an album that manages to be well-organized and thoroughly crafted when it so easily could have slipped into the realm of chaotic mess. We have Jazz sounds coupled with rhythmic beats a kin to the type of ebb and flow that A Tribe Called Quest fans would greatly appreciate. But it’s not just Jazz and Hip-Hop sounds that we have on this album; Small House brilliantly combines Jazz with Latino, Chillout, Blues, R&B, Pop, and hints of old-school Rock in an album that is exploding with personality and emotion despite not containing any lyrical content.
It reminds me of the Social Experiment album, “Surf,” in the way that the music is clean, enjoyable, and just fun to listen to. It’s music made by people who enjoy listening to good music. It’s raw, unadulterated artistic exploration into the joys and nuances of music in an incredibly mature manner for musicians of such a young age. Despite everything that is going on in this album, it never feels muddled, scrambled, or overly hectic in its delivery. It knows where it wants to take music and manages to take us along a path that we’ve rarely taken before. So many of the melodies and instrumental blends are unlike anything that I have ever heard, and it puts a smile on my face every time I listen to it.
It’s a rare album that has a little bit of something for everybody to enjoy no matter what type of music you prefer to listen to. I was never a big jazz person until I went abroad to Florence for a semester, but, even now, I don’t listen to jazz on a daily basis. I enjoy the genre but I wouldn’t call myself a die-hard fan. This album, however, not only grabs my attention, but demands my appreciation as I’m completely captivated by the layered instrumental expressions. It is a pure celebration of music and the potential unity that music holds for a global audience. And that’s what all music should be. Give this album a listen if you ever get tired of mainstream pop. It just might restore your faith in the true meaning of music. (Stream for free here).
