Eyes Rest Their Feet

by Thaba

Overview

What was intended to be a one-song collaboration for producer Gabriel Cyr's Teleseen project bloomed into Eyes Rest Their Feet, a fluid synthesis of transcontinental sounds centering the meditative lyrics and comforting voice of Khusi Seremane (who died months before it was released). Cyr and Seremane's musical bond was forged through MySpace over a decade before the album reached the public. Their work together entailed remote communication, 2016 sessions in Seremane's native Cape Town, South Africa, and Cyr's later refinement of the results in New York. Back in the States, Cyr sought and received input from musicians, most significantly brass and horn players who are rarely focal, adding punctuation and shading, attuned to the producer's inclination for mixing African and Latin sounds spanning generations. Eyes Rest Their Feet consequently melds, with a moderately dubwise production approach, oft-related styles such as mbaqanga-derived bubblegum, kwaito, reggae, sophisti-pop, and downtempo electronica. In addition to Seremane's voice, which exudes wisdom, empathy, and patience, the material is connected by warm low end, whether streaming or burbling through lapping downtempo house, romantic fusions of Jamaican lovers rock and South African bubblegum (two forms with roots in American soul), or art-pop recalling early-'80s Sly & Robbie sessions at Compass Point. The purest song of all, the breezy and amorous "Throw It All Away," could actually pass for something originally recorded by the Style Council, "internationalists" themselves. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	12/18/2020
Label:	Soundway
UPC:	5060571361080

Tracks

1. Old Tapes
2. Warrior
3. Vaya Le Nna
4. Confided
5. Mungu
6. Resilient
7. Severin
8. Throw It All Away
9. Tsoma
10. Brew

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Thaba   Primary Artist
Jonathan Granoff   Bass
Morgan Greenstreet   Drums,Congas,Percussion
Peter Matson   Guitar
Andre Marmot   Congas
Khusi Seremane   Vocals
Keenan Ahrends   Guitar (Electric)
Marcus "Odara" Rodrigues   Congas
Lucas Freire De Oliveira   Drums
Atibon Nazaire   Congas,Percussion
Morgan Wiley   Piano,Synthesizer,Piano (Electric)
Jay Jennings   Trumpet
Morgan Price   Saxophone,Clarinet (Bass)
Kevin Moehringer   Trombone
Gabriel Cyr   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Synthesizer

Technical Credits

Jonathan Granoff   Engineer
Khusi Seremane   Composer
Phillip Kramer   Engineer
Jakob Dwight   Cover Art
Alter Echo   Mastering
Alap Momin   Engineer
Renato Godoy   Mixing,Engineer
Gabriel Cyr   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming
Dan D'Errico   Mixing