The eponymous debut album of SugaRush Beat Company was just released in the UK, and it's somewhat surprising that this group is on so few musical radars on both sides of the pond. It isn't so much that they could possibly be as revolutionary as they purport to be -- on their website they hint at redefining modern music -- but that in many ways they are so contemporary. The group, consisting of Rahsaan Patterson, Ida Corr and Jarrad "Jaz" Rogers, has created an album based on hybridity between iconic sounds from the past like '80s synth and '60s soul, playing around with futuristic touches and blurring the lines between a variety of musical genres. Instead of blending them all into a completely unique sound that is integrated into every track, SugaRush Beat Company is a collection of disparate songs, connected by name only.
It's reflective of the diversity of its members: Rahsaan Patterson is
more a soul formalist, Ida Corr is straight Euro Electro/House and Jaz
Rogers is a interdisciplinary multi-instrumentalist. Despite the lack
of unifying theme, there is so much going on that there is something
for everyone. SugaRush Beat Company's experimentation is edgy in the
sense that there is never room to get comfortable, which can be nice.
This method doesn't allow much room for error but when it works the
result is quite good. Still though, the strongest tracks are the ones
that sound closer to the respective genres of either Patterson or Corr
(they are rarely both featured on a song).
Hopefully SugaRush Beat Company will gain some momentum and find an
international audience. Their sound is upbeat, the production is solid
and both leads can hold their own vocally. Watch the video for the
single "L-O-V-E" (one of the less experimental songs off of the album), visit their MySpace where the majority of the album
is available to preview and judge for yourself.
SugaRush Beat Company [Official][MySpace]
SugaRush Beat Company [Amazon UK]
