Virtual Crate Digging: Bouncing Colors
Folks are always asking about what’s new and upcoming but, as shown by the vital and venerable culture of crate digging, looking backwards can also yield unexpected results and reveal hidden gems. And boy oh boy do we have some hidden gems. Let’s dig through our virtual bins of vinyl and see what we find.
Kaleidoscopic Bass Hooks
It’s time to give the electric bass its flowers. While often underutilized and underappreciated, films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World serve as a reminder that a good bass hook can be a game-changer and that a main character can unironically play the bass. Instead of standing stoically in the background, the electric bass has the potential to take center stage and captivate an audience with hooks that hold a wholly different power than its six-stringed counterpart. And we’re not even going to touch the bass-slapping antics of Paul Rudd.
Let’s dive into an album where the bass is the key element in a kaleidoscope of textures, Bouncing Colors (E&E-015). If you love the power of a melodic, edgy bass riff, this record delivers. When combined with some funky, quirky drums, these grooves can convert even the most skeptical bass holdout (you know who you are.)
The vibes range from from casual summer party to late night hang, all infused with a relatively sunny disposition. The bass leads the way as the primary driver, easily dictating the pace and how mellow or uptempo a track will feel.
“Surfing In The Colorsphere” opens the release with a sleek, caffeinated bass hook over a dreamy synth backdrop and a skittery beat. This track title is a perfect encapsulation of what it sounds like: a vibrant trip in a semi-chaotic environment while retaining a mellow mindset.
Taking a slight turn away from the driving energy of The Colorsphere and heading towards the poolside, “Just What To Say” is a mix of natural flavors and fuzz bass accents. With a definite summertime sound, the dirty bass is given room to explore while acoustic guitars happily strum along. This is one of the tracks on Bouncing Colors that features a vocal hook to give a literal voice to the feeling. Just as different effects conjure different color palettes from the bass, the minimal vocal elements also use vocoders and phasers that help them function as an additional layer rather than a lead in the traditional song sense.
While mostly operating in a quirky, indie pop dreamspace, the drums and bass retain an edge. That balance allows this album to work in multiple applications, including product launches from tech companies with an independent spirit, celebrity endorsed spirits in sunny California, vacation cruise lines and travel ads, or even as diegetic music in an indie coming-of-age indie film.
If you’re a fan of Scott Pilgrim’s edgy basslines in Sex Bob-omb or the whimsical pink-robot-battling Flaming Lips, you might just find a sweet spot with Bouncing Colors. In any case, long live the electric bass.
P.S. For more albums like this from composer Jerry Gruvis, check out Summer Funk (E&E-019) and Plastic Smiles (E&E-017).
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