Kicking off a new occasional feature on the website, we bring you a first listen to a new jazz funk fusion group called The Expansions. The South London-based quartet (auspiciously named after the Lonnie Liston Smith jazz funk classic) debuted their first official track earlier this week, and we instantly fell in love with it. A sultry little number with a distinctly sun-kissed vibe, ‘Lavender’ features brilliant work on keyboard and analogue synths from Dave Koor while bandmates James O’Keefe (guitar), Matt Summerfield (bass) and Jonny Drop (drums) each add their own individual touches to the track to make a truly lush and soulful soundscape. It’s the first self-penned material unleashed by the band and we’ve been reliably informed that there’s more to come shortly.
The band’s influences are firmly pinned on their sleeves when it comes to music, starting with an overarching interest in the gritty groove based street sounds of the early seventies, whether it be jazz, funk, soul or the soundtracks to the Blaxploitation films that bumped from the automobile speakers of the time. With a love of vinyl and crate-digging at the group’s heart, the plan is to pay homage to this classic era while respectfully updating the sound for a modern dancefloor, and with the guys already in the studio prepping a steady stream of their own tunes, you can also expect a few obscure covers from the likes of John Scofield, Billy Cobham, Manzel and noughties soulgroove trio Soulive to maybe make an appearance along the way too.
On the live front they’re slowly picking up the pace with a support spot for Aylwin Steele and The Zealots at The Garage in Highbury and Islington on July 12th. For more news on that and their other forthcoming dates, hit them up on their Facebook page. In the meantime, check out a full stream of their ‘Lavender’ single below and if you dig it, make sure to grab your own personal copy FREE via their Bandcamp page, then kick back, relax and soak up the sunshine in audio form!