Folk music is alive in Brooklyn and it is off the cuff and unconventional and we all dig it!
Sunshine Nights is a Country folk vocal duo consisting of Stephen Sunshine and Amy Priya [Pitti on drums and Kayla Radomski on backup vocals/tambourine for recent releases and live shows]. This duo is set to be a defining force in the current music scene as their compositions and musical presence brings back to life a style of music that the public is anxiously waiting to embrace – songs that have vocal harmonies, surgical music arrangements, fully developed hooks, and meaning.
The gist of the duo’s latest release “Soldier Notorious” speaks to the human condition so articulately. Its lyrical premise tells of how life is nothing short of normal and how the demands, commands, and drills of life from youth to adulthood makes one feel like a soldier. One who has been everywhere and has taken on battles, war, and confusion, and now the only need is “to call something my own” as Stephen so rhythmically puts it.
Sunshine Nights’ real-life approach to writing and executing songs makes for easy listening; and Stephen’s frank way of singing allows for a more tongue-in-cheek appeal giving way to radio-friendly music. Moreover, Amy’s breathy soprano timbres are so alluring and compliments the harmony of the band.
The breakdowns are spot on and adds texture and a reboot just when needed; pay attention to the music break at the two minute 13 second mark.
The melody of this track is nostalgic in sound bringing to mind the music of the 1960’s, and the layers of harmony, vocal trills, and linear symbolism is reminiscent of the Folk artists of that era, but this track nowhere dated. Much like the music heard on mainstream radio today, i.e. Mark Ronson's “Uptown Funk” (feat. Bruno Mars) and Meghan Trainor’s “All About that Bass” it features nostalgic melodies but its vocal delivery is solely modern – take for example Stephen’s doubled-tempo (almost rhythmic) final lines to the verses and the command to the beat of the percussions.
The ability to blend Woodstock with today’s musical tastes takes talent and a concrete lineup of professional musicians to pull it off and Sunshine Nights is just that. Actually, they are all that and a bag of chips as they have given us the perfect song to feature at a rooftop party with the shots being passed, the lights bleeding into each other, and a copasetic vibe. This is our springtime into summertime soundtrack – a track that has a Brooklyn backbone mixed with a laid back California vibe!
Listen to this track and head over to www.facebook.com/sunshinenights to hear more from Sunshine Nights.
Photo courtesy of Evan Mann.