(June 2, 2020) Over a decade ago, three musicians came together simply to exercise their passion of music. Little did they realize their artistic impact would blow up in an unexpected way. The collaboration between Jonathan Scott Watson (AKA Smoove) vocalist John Turrell and keyboardist Mike Porter - billed as Smoove featuring John Turrell - produced the now collectors’ item, “I Can’t Give You Up.” Their contagious brand of ‘Northern Soul,’ an indescribable mix that leans on funk and electronica, eventually grabbed the attention of their current label home, Jalapeno Records. Eventually, Smoove and Turrel expanded their personnel, releasing their full-length debut, Antique Soul in 2009. And along the way, our First Listen stories provided props for this U.K. sextet on two occasions.
(June 2, 2020) Over a decade ago, three musicians came together simply to exercise their passion of music. Little did they realize their artistic impact would blow up in an unexpected way. The collaboration between Jonathan Scott Watson (AKA Smoove) vocalist John Turrell and keyboardist Mike Porter - billed as Smoove featuring John Turrell - produced the now collectors’ item, “I Can’t Give You Up.” Their contagious brand of ‘Northern Soul,’ an indescribable mix that leans on funk and electronica, eventually grabbed the attention of their current label home, Jalapeno Records. Eventually, Smoove and Turrel expanded their personnel, releasing their full-length debut, Antique Soul in 2009. And along the way, our First Listen stories provided props for this U.K. sextet on two occasions.
With CD number six on the way entitled Stratos Bleu, we welcome Smoove and Turrell back for their latest single, “It Ain’t Working,” a clever dose of dance ecstasy and conscious lyrics. “It Ain’t Working” stirs the pot with pop, R&B, electronica and jazz frosted with funk dropping the perspective of commuting’s daily grind: “I spend my days on the road/My nights dreaming of home/It ain’t working so they say…” The tongue-in-cheek animated lyric video centers around a caravan of various vehicles and an appropriate ending of an airplane crashing into those vehicles. Managing humor with a winning musical formula, It Ain’t Working” fully works on both counts. Check it out!
By Peggy Oliver
Smoove & Turrell
"It Ain't Working"