"I wasn't feeling too inspired in 2016. I’d been in a seemingly unbroken cycle of recording and touring for 6 years. I know, you're saying to yourself "that's so cliché, all musicians complain about being tired..." But wait, there's more! Not knowing exactly what type of album to make, I was feeling pretty low. But at that very moment, my long-time manager and confidante Robbie Lackritz called and said "dude, you should make an album with D'angelo's rhythm section." And just like that, the juices were flowing and the songs started coming.
I wrote songs about having success, having kids, and having depression. I wrote songs about going on tour, going back in time and going in circles. I wrote songs about my otherworldly wife, my jerk dad and my garbage relationship with my brother. Crazy right?!
In Sept of 2016 I flew to Los Angeles and spent three days in the studio with the bass boss Pino Palladino and the titan of time keeping, Mr. James Gadson. No rehearsals, no charts, no rules. We worked fast and came away with 10 songs that sounded fresh and strange and warm and free of any genre. The results were so inspiring to me that I quickly pulled my road band (Felicity Williams, Christine Bougie, Darcy Yates, Jason Tait, Don Kerr) into a Prague studio to record a few more songs. And here's the best part...the whole thing is produced by my long-time producer and confidante Robbie Lackritz, so you know the sound is correct, totally modern and completely familiar at the same time.
Whoa! I know! You're saying to yourself "wait what? The same Robbie from earlier??" Yes! It's a story about friendship come full circle, and how great it is to have someone in your life that can lift you up when you're feeling down. It’s a very positive album about having a joie de vivre for the joys of life.
Okay, full disclosure…there’s a few slow jams too…
Hope you enjoy the music as much as I enjoyed making it.”
- Afie
