The Great Dane

posted in: Artist Features • Urban

When Danish songwriter Jonas Rendbo set out to record his second release as Jonasoul, he did something few musicians would dare do in the studio ” he introduced his band to the songs only when the recording session had begun, sometimes arranging material on the spot. His methodology, harkening back to the old days of Motown recordings, produced WAITT (an acronym for We Are All In This Together), an album of organic and spontaneous R&B and soul whose rough edges make it all the more appealing. The spare R&B ballad, As Good As It Gets, opens with cricket chirps, and builds layers verse by verse with soft arpeggios, finger snaps, warbling keys and dusty percussion. Things Gotta Change keeps the tempo slow, but introduces the funk with backup soul singers and an elastic horn section that stretches and snaps throughout the groove. Whether he’s singing odes to romantic love, brotherly love or interracial love, Rendbo’s daring heart gives these slow jams a rawness that cuts to the quick.