“PRESS RELEASE
Dub Narcotic Sound System meets The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in a Dancehall Style!
Sideways Soul
release date: 20 September 1999
track listing:
1. Banana Meltdown 2. Frosty Junction 3. Sideways Soul 4. Chicken Legs 5. Banana Version 6. Love Aint On The Run 7. Diamonds 8. Fudgy The Whale 9. Calvin’s On A Bummer
Olympia! New York City! Here it is, the long-rumoured project two years in the making. The synthesis between two blazing rock/r’n’b/garage blow-out hybrids: Dub Narcotic Sound System meets The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in a Dancehall Style! Throwdown the funk-ass booty shake and get loose! Go horizontal! Get your Sideways Soul saved out on the dancefloor where it belongs!
The history of Sideways Soul the basic tracks were recorded in a blitzkrieg session with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion when the band hooked up with Calvin Johnson (Dub Narcotic Sound System, Halo Benders, Beat Happening and K’s grand poobah) at his Dub Narcotic Studios in Olympia, Washington during the Spring of 1997. But the seeds were planted for the collaboration much earlier than that. In 1995 Jon Spencer, fueled by his admiration for Beat Happening, called up Calvin Johnson out of the blue and asked him if he would contribute a remix for an upcoming project. Calvin agreed and picked the track “Soul Typecast”, which appeared on the JSBX release Experimental Remixes the same year, billed as the Dub Narcotic Sound System remix. Calvin’s only stipulation for the fruits of his labour was that the JSBX had to come to Olympia and do a recording session – adequate compensation, to be sure. While on tour in 1997, the band made good on their promise, returning the favour with two days of full-on track burning, leaving Calvin with more than enough songs to do with as he wished. In 1998 the JSBX released Acme, an album featuring rotating producers and engineers. JSBX used the basic tracks from their Olympia sessions for three songs on that record, and even paid tribute to the Dub Narcotic influence, succinctly naming the album’s opener “Calvin”. Also in 1998, offered a tantilising taste of those JSBX sessions with the inclusion of “Blues Explosion Attack” on the Selector Dub Narcotic compilation.
Sideways Soul has a similar collaborative launch pad to the Halo Benders (Calvin with Built To Spill’s Doug Martsch), but using high octane garage/funk as the fuel. With The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion as the ultimate wild, sexy and flamboyant house band, the patented baritone-gone-mental of Dub Narcotic Sound System smears raw freaky tirades across the musical canvas. These frenetic party grooves get lowdown and dirty, a primitive display of soul and punk gone crazy. There’s only one true way to describe Sideways Soul. Dub Narcotic Sound System meets The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in a Dancehall Style!
The Players:
Jon Spencer Guitar, Voice, Organ
Russell Simins – Drums
Judah Bauer – Guitar
Calvin Johnson – Voice
Jeff Smith – Organ
For further information contact Jeff, UK promotion:
Southern Studios Ltd., Unit 3, Cranford Industrial Estate Tottenham Lane, London N8 9DG
web site: http://www.southern.com email: jeff@southern.com”
