Following last year’s debut LP, it’s certainly not time yet for a Right-off. New post time!

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Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to make a start to the new week with Monday’s daily track on the blog, as always, since it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Last Saturday, we looked at Charlotte Adigery’s new single from the ‘Foundations’ compilation album that was put together by the DEEWEE label owned by Soulwax & 2 Many DJ’s for release on May 7th. Stratford-born singer-songwriter James Righton has followed in her footsteps, by releasing an exclusive new track for the project of his own. In case you are not familiar, Righton used to be the lead Vocalist and Keyboard player of Klaxons, a ‘New Rave’ band who scored a Mercury Prize win and a few hits in the charts during the mid-2000’s. Since then, he recorded under the ‘Shock Machine’ project that saw him work with director Saam Farahmand. He released his debut album, ‘The Performer’, last March on the DEEWEE label. It’s an album that received generally positive reviews, and an album which I rather really liked too. It looks at the guise of being a ‘Performer’ where one minute you’re playing pop star and the next you’re fathering two children. It does so under an engaging 70’s Neo-Psychedelic Pop sound mixed with delightful String sections and Baroque influences. Righton posted on social media, “Release Party was written in my garage during Lockdown before, completed at DEEWEE studio with Dave & Steph [Dewaele] of Soulwax and 2 Many DJ’s, working together remotely”, about this latest single. Give it a taster down below.

One fun fact about James Righton that you may never guess is that, of all people, he is married to Keira Knightley. The two began dating back in 2011, and were married in the south of France in 2016. Now living in the Islington district of London, they have two children together. Back to the subject at hand, the new bassline-grooving single makes commentary on “tension and release, and the dreams and fantasies we make”, according to Righton, who added that said “Party” is to be confirmed at a later date, hinting that a disco following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions was crucial to his concept of the euphoric Nu-Disco offering. Starting off with a fragmented 80’s Synth line and a propulsive Disco drum machine sequence that wavers and meanders to create a polished electronic groove that feels ready for a retro-futurist dance, his familiar voice greets us with lines like “I wanna see you honey/I wanna meet you on the street” and “There’s no time for us to waste/The precious/Let’s move to the beat now” which add a very instructive vocal to the soundtrack of the party you could be having. Righton’s vocals carry some essence of George Michael in the 80’s, as there’s a sense of flirtation to his mid-tempo tone and spacious breaths, while the chord progression of the track struts and sways it’s way along it’s near five-minute duration. The key hook of “I can feel the release” is kept basic and vague, but a bobbing Keyboard bass creates a slick build and drop-in that adds a lot of shine to the main section. While it may be easy to dismiss compilation-exclusive singles as throwaway efforts or quick promotions, the recent tracks from James Righton and Charlotte Adigery are simultaneously proving otherwise. On Righton’s latest, he continues to establish his name as one of UK Pop’s most criminally underlooked of the scene. He does what he does very well on ‘Release Party’ in making undeniable Pop that has something to it, as opposed to sounding generic and too safe. The smaller touches harken back to Prince of the 90s in the funky Synth undertones, while the erotic quality of his vocals make me think of Lou Hayter. Inspired Pop that’s distinctive and sounds great, and just has something about it, rather than just begging for a quick hit.

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That may be all that I have to say for now. However, if you liked the sound of this, or if you’re new to James Righton and you’re interested in hearing more of him, why not start with my analysis of his single ‘Edie’ from last year’s solo LP, ‘The Performer’? Check it out right here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/04/02/todays-track-james-righton-edie/

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That’s it for now! I’ll be back tomorrow to introduce you to a recent discovery of mine, who described himself as “A guy called Joey from Michigan who makes music for your emotions” in his own artist biography. His latest album, ‘Old Time Radio’, releases this Friday on the Los Angeles-based independent label Alpha Pup Records. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/