As fresh and
as clean as the Modernist Style it hails from, PM Warson’s raw-cut 45 ‘Every
Day (Every Night)’ sheds new light on Vintage R&B. This winter, if you
pride yourself on having a fine ear as well as a sharp eye for Mod sound
details, be sure that this is one British invasion you’ll be glad to welcome
with open arms.
PM Warson,
London-based musician and producer, released ‘Every Day (Every Night)’ on
Legere Recordings earlier this year. Recorded at Soup Studio, London, Warson’s
crisp and filigreed arrangements are accompanied with a lonesome lyricism which
speaks directly to the heart of lockdown London life, “Been down so long feels
like up to me,” yet broils alive beneath the neon optimism of a modernist’s
appreciation for Wurlitzer and organ.
The heat from
this record is clear, like most of us, Warson’s working through some things “I
been searching every day, I been searching every night” but instead of letting
himself be blown away by wintery blues, romantic parliamentary I.O.Us, or
shoe-gazing through the rainy days of the furlough scheme, Warson blasts back
with his own antidote of baritone and tenor sax, until the street-lit sidewalks
we once knew surrender and shakeout their glittery pockets for a much-awaited,
doo-wop, starry refrain — “I need a reason… I need a reason…”
Warson’s ear
for an arrangement is undeniable. Far from the musky, insipid incense-logic of
vintage collectors, this ‘60s-soul-enthusiast is moving away from mere
revivalism and appears to be operating on a more intrinsic belief: quality not
quantity. There is a feeling for the material of music here, which is
unmistakable. Like someone who knows how to dress for the occasion and walk the
beat of modern metropolitan streets, Warson is putting the flaneur back into
today’s flannel suits. His records come with the marks of keen empiricism, as
well as a deep sense of musicology, where every dent, scratch and dingle in his
brass section is not ignored or forgotten, but becomes part of the huge hanging
history of putting the right chord in the right place.
Tradition is
here (Ike Turner, Ray Charles, to name but two) yet it is a tradition that
wants to break from the past of Atlantic soul. There is a solid aesthetic at
play which goes beyond the record and centres for the listener on the music’s
action: a blend of live performance, analogue playing and a bluesy heat.
What PM
Warson has is either a feel for good musical accompaniment or a good deal of
good company to choose from. His record is something we get from our closest friends
at those knowing moments, like the nudge of an elbow, when we are standing on
the subterranean edge of our next step into the mainstream. ‘Every Day (Every
Night)’ is precisely what you need this coming New Year — a sharp, pointy
invitation to get us all dancing, once again, together in time.
With a new album scheduled for Spring 2021, look out for PM Warson’s feature as a backing track on Fred Perry’s ‘Soul Boy’ edit.
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