In 1990 Ronald Lee Trent Jr. was the teenage creator of Altered States
– a raw, futuristic techno-not-techno anthem, which in retrospect was
something of a stylistic anomaly for the young artist. Across subsequent years, with time spent in Chicago, New York and Detroit, came
the development of his signature sound, and renown as a world class
purveyor of deep, soul infused house/garage. This story has already
been told, and on casual inspection, the well-worn platitude ‘house
music legend’ is an old shoe that still fits. However, in fact, he’s actually
so much more, and has been for quite a while. A genuine musician,
songwriter, and ‘producer’ in the proper, old-school sense, the artist
today has more in common with Quincy Jones than he does your average journeyman DJ track-hack.
To those in the know, these broader skills haven’t gone unnoticed,
which is why on the highly collaborative, career-topping new LP ‘What
Do The Stars Say To You’, it took little persuasion to recruit serious star
power. Brazilian royalty Ivan Conti and Alex Malheriros from Azymuth,
violin maestro Jean Luc Ponty, ambient hero Gigi Masin, hype band
Khruangbin and more performed, whilst NY cornerstone François K
provided mastering duties. At various points Ron himself played drums,
percussion, keys, synths, piano, guitar and electronics.
Harking back to the 70s and 80s boom in adventurous, luxurious albums, WDTSSTY is a love letter to the longplayer, where rich musicality
and a liquid smooth, silky flow make seemingly odd genre bedfellows
acquiesce harmoniously. Each song its own high-fidelity odyssey, Trent
incorporated a broad range of live instruments and electronics into a
sophisticated, euphonic whole. Described by him as being “designed
for harmonising with spirit, urban life and nature”, this is aural soul
food, gently easing you into balmy nights, where everything is alright.
Originally wanting to be an architect, Trent’s views his approach to
collaboration and music in general as having the same principles. A firm
believer in the nourishing qualities of sound, he sees direct parallels
between the two disciplines, being as the purpose of good architecture
is to improve quality of life. “With WARM, through sound design, I built
frameworks for the musicians, who furnished and occupied these structures beautifully, which was a big compliment for me”, he comments.
The conditions required for a good collab are more than simply structural though, as Trent expounds, “I’m a huge fan of everyone on the
record, especially Jean Luc and Azymuth, who’re part of my DNA. Each
track was made with that guest in mind – for example, when I started
writing ‘Sphere’, I immediately thought ‘this IS Ponty’. I played the keys
in his style, and did a guide violin solo using a synth, which he then redid, amazingly. ‘Cool Water’ is based around Azymuth themes, so when
I sent it to Ivan, he could immediately see himself in the piece; He got
what I was going for straight away. For ‘Melt Into You’ I hit up Alex on
Instagram, sent him the track, he liked it, and within 24 hours he’d sent
back six different bass passes!”
“Conversely, Admira began with a sketch sent by Gigi and became
something combining Jon Hassell-esque chords and the feel of ‘Aquamarine’ by Carlos Santana, which links back to Masin’s recurrent
nautical theme”, he adds.
With community, history and the need for racial equality never far from
Ron’s mind, ‘Flos Potentia’ translates from Spanish as flower power,
but rather than promoting some hippy idyll, instead it refers to plants
which drove the slave trade: tobacco, sugar and cotton. Joined by
Khruangbin, together they propel Dinosaur L, Hi-Tension and afrobeat
into an ethereal, clear-skyed stratosphere.
Aside from these esteemed guests, other key influences cited by Trent
include ‘Gigolos Get Lonely Too’ by Prince, ‘Beyond’ by Herb Alpert, David
Mancuso, Jan Hammer, Tangerine Dream, The Cars, Trevor Horn, Alan
Parsons Project and pre-Kraftwerk incarnation Organization. A multitude
of others are audible too, including George Benson, Vangelis, Loose Ends,
Maze, Flora Purim, Weather Report, Atmosphere, Grace Jones, James
Mason and Brass Construction.
On the subject of influences, although opposed to the fences
erected by genre tags, to understand where Ron is coming from,
and where he’s at, it’s important to acknowledge just how big the
palette is from which he paints. Traversing jazz funk, quiet storm,
sophisti-pop, new age, new wave, kosmische, Balearic, samba,
afrobeat, Latin rock, soft rock and yacht rock, his deeply entrenched digger’s knowledge pays off in dividends.
TRACKLIST:
A1. Cool Water feat. Ivan Conti (Azymuth) and Lars Bartkuhn
A2. Cycle of Many
A3. Admira feat. Gigi Masin
A4. Flowers feat. Venecia
A5. Melt into you feat. Alex Malheiros (Azymuth)
B1. Flos Potentia (Sugar, Cotton, Tabacco) feat. Khruangbin
B2. Sphere feat. Jean-Luc Ponty
B3. WARM
B4. On my way home
B5. What do the stars say to you
