The Eminent Stars |
|---|
Sittin’In
New LP / single & cd @ Tramp Records – spring 2014
The Eminent Stars were founded by saxophonist Ben Mendes and drummer
Toon Oomen. They both share the love for the great music emerging from cities
like New Orleans in the 60's and 70's: Dr. John, Freddie King, The Meters and
many more! Just mix up some soul, Rhythm and Blues, funk and Blues and there
you have it: a record that consists of authentic elements: it's danceable,
intriguing, vibrant and fresh!
New Orleans
Drummer Toon Oomen decided to live and studied in New Orleans some years
ago just to capture the unique vibe and sounds of this region. When he came
back to Amsterdam he wanted to share this musical richness. He found a great companion in saxophonist and producer Ben
Mendes and they soon started to work intensively on fresh and original material .
Vintage
Then the moment arrived when Toon & Ben planned a recording session (2012) in a rusty old farm in the middle of the French
Ardennes. Here the basis-recordings for the new album 'Sittin In' found place: all live, together in one big old dusty room, all
vintage equipment was brought down there. Just to capture the authentic sounds & vibes of the songs.
Vocalists
Soon the great American singer-songwriter Bruce James joined the team, later other vocalists such as Imelda, Lana Gordon and
Steffen Morrison jumped on board. All blending in with the Eminent Stars!
The Eminent Stars on stage are:
• Toon Oomen - drums, percussion and
guitars (Beans & Fatback, Gumbo Night)
• Ben Mendes – saxophones (Mendoza
Dance Parti)
• Mischa den Haring – guitars (T99)
• Andert Tijsma – bass (Coco Jones, Jett
Rebel)
• Dirk Beets – trumpet (B-movie Orchestra)
• Emiel van Rijthoven - piano, hammond
(Luzazul, Waylon)
• Imelda – vocals
• Bruce James – vocals
• Steffen Morrison – vocals
• Lana Gordon - vocals
Liner Note: live line Up up of the band may change occasionally due to availability of the musicians.
Press / Quotes - Sittin’In – The Eminent Stars
Gerard Ekdom - Dutch Radio presenter: 'Geweldige sound hebben jullie! Alsof het album daadwerkelijk begin jaren 60 is opgenomen. Love it.' - Great sound you guys have! Like it
really was recorded in the 60's.
Airplay highlights:
BBC Radio 6 - The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show
East Village radio - New York - Jon Oliver - The Main Ingredient
Radio 6 Netherlands – DJ’s Gerard Ekdom/ Giel Beelen
TVL1-fm Tel Aviv! – World Flight
Dinamo FM Istanbul – The Basic Soul Show by Simon Harrison
MDR Deutschland – Sputnik Soulfood
Podomatic – Saturday Soulmine with Jonny Layton
SamuraiFM - Tokyo -Japan
Polski Radio - Poland
Radio Bulgaria National
Tilos Radio, Budapest FM90.3, Hungary
KCRW 89.9 FM , USA
KDHX - St. Louis - USA
Inspiration 107.8fm - Funk By Funk - UK
Radiu Kraków - Poland
Reviews:
Eminent Stars: An Old But Not Forgotten Groove March 18, 2014• by DJ Prestige : 'When the founders of Eminent Stars gottogether in some old, dusty room with analog equipment to lay down some tracks for a record, they had one sound in mind.
That sound was the 60's and 70's coming out of New Orleans, when a certain breed of bands were churning out special music from a special city. It’s a distinct sound, one that by today’s standards is old, but not forgotten. Why is that? It’s all about thegroove baby. Their debut record on Tramp, Sittin’ With, echoes that groove of yesteryear and moves just like its forefathers. This record digs deep into the soul of the sound, drawing from Funk, Gospel, Soul, and R & B while taking the listener back to the sweaty Bayou clubs and rocking them until dawn like it was done before. One of the founders, saxophone player (plus engineer and producer) Ben Mendes surrounded himself with some top notch musicians such as Toon Oomen on drums, percussion, and guitar, Mischa den Haring on guitar, Andert Tijsma on bass, and Dirk Beets on trumpet to lay down one bad ass funky record.
From the huge drum break on “Ready To Fly” (featuring Imelda), to the Dr. John influenced “A Good Woman” (featuring Bruce James), to The Meters echoing in “My Baby Is Hot”, and other stand out tracks like the organ heavy “Tune In” (someone has been listening to Touissaint McCall) and bubbling “Slow Cooking Baby”, Sittin’ With has a serious ‘Nawlins vibe and feel. It’s cool to see bands emulating this era, N.O. had its own sound, and when a song starts, you know exactly where you are, even if you’re 10,000 miles away. This music is associated with heavy players, from Eddie Bo to Lee Dorsey, Professor Longhair to Jellyroll Morton, and Eminent Stars represent the sounds emanating from AM radios during that time period quite well. This is a sound we could never forget.'
Monkeyboxing.com / feb 2014: “Now I don’t know exactly which town in the Netherlands the band hails from but I wouldn’t mind betting that in the band members’ heads they like to think of it as ‘Nieuw Orlijns’. That’s certainly the message I’m getting from tracks like the Meters pastiche of funky chicken-scratch opener Ben’s Dungeon and fast/ slow funk instro My Baby Is Hot, not to mention the gris-gris-infused Voodoo Do Mar which owes a little something to the work of a certain Mac Rebennack. Also helping the band out during the recording session though was a veritable constellation of guest vocalists: Bruce James, Aricia Mess, Lana Gordon, Imelda and Steffen Morrison – whose turn on the northern soulful stomp The Club betrays yet another of the band’s musical influences. The Eminent Stars then – you might be sitting in with them but you’re unlikely to be sitting down with them…”
Wasser Prawda.de / feb 2014: “Der Bandname ist schon mal passend: Mit einer derartig tanzbaren, mitreißenden und frischen Musik sollten The Eminent Stars eigentlich bald überall dort bekannt werden, wo man handgemachte Soulmusik liebt. Die von Saxophonist Ben Bendes und Schlagzeuger Toon Oomen nach dessen Aufenthalt in New Orleans gegründete Band spielt so ziemlich den feinsten Funk und Rhythm & Blues jenseits der Dap-Kings, der mir 2014 vor die Ohren gekommen ist. Stücke wie „Jumping Beans“ mit seiner prägnanten Gitarrenlinie, die von den Bläsern fortgeführt wird, sind eine faszinierende Mixtur aus dem aktuellen Sound der Brassbands mit Jazzklängen aus eleganten Clubs der 70er. Und wenn Bruce James mit seiner rauhen Stimme zu singen beginnt, entsteht feinster Soulblues. „Sittin‘ In“ ist ein Pflichtkauf! “
Mos Eisley Musicblog / jan 2014: „Die Band, die maßgeblich durch den New Orleans Sound der 70er beeinflusst ist, präsentiert rauen Funk & Soul in Instrumentalform und in Unterstützung von talentierten Sängern. Aber was heißt hier talentiert, viel mehr als die Vocals von einem wie Bruce James ist wohl kaum aus dem menschlichen Körper zu holen. Die weiteren Gäste heißen Lana Gordon, Imelda und Steffen Morrison. Doch auch die Grooves dahinter haben es in sich, wie sich in dem Opener "Ben's Dungeon" oder "Jumping Beans" zeigt. Die Gründer und Köpfe hinter diesen Songs, Ben Mendes und Tom Oomen haben ganze Arbeit geleistet, eine mehr als solide Soulplatte aufzunehmen, mit allem was dazugehört.”
Soul and jazz And Funk .com / feb 2014 : “On their new 13 tracker there's plenty of their Meters-inspired workouts – notably the opening 'Ben's Dungeon' and the feisty and sparse 'Jumping Beans'. However bringing real variety and freshness to the Eminent Stars' sound is a team of vocalists who notch up the soul quotient no end. American Bruce James guests on the bluesy, down-home 'A Good Woman' and the Southern styled 'Hearts Are Jumping'. His voice has just the right amount of gruff edge to make the tunes convincing. Lana Gordon's out front on the scratchy funk of 'Write Me' while the simply named Imelda takes lead on 'Ready To Fly'... maybe a little too rocky for soul sensibilities. However, died-in-the-wool soul folk will have no problems with 'The Club'. Big and boisterous, the lead vocal's handled by Steffen Morrison and the cut's a great Northern soul pastiche... one of the most authentic recreations I've heard in a long while. I tell you if it was burned onto a 7" 45 and covered up you could kid anyone that it was a long lost Loma or Mirwood classic. Morrison also features on the country soul of 'Smokey One'. That
leaves the LP's oddity...'Voodoo Do Mar'. This one's fronted by Aricia Mess and its slippery, snaky sound is a proper New Orleans gumbo.”
All promo photo’s free of use, use name of photographer: Ron Beenen