Let the celebrating begin, because real music is back. The
multi-talented, Minnesota based band Mint Condition is roaring back
from a six year hiatus with the release of their newest creation, Livin
the Luxury Brown. This time, on their own terms, the band has released
a set of fourteen songs along with some very adventurous musical
interludes and other very special bonus material. The new CD will be
released on their very own label, Cagedbird Records, in a joint venture
with Image Entertainment, a major distributor of home entertainment
products. The independent release is most definitely a luxe experience,
as the talented Twin Cities brotherhood proves that not only have their
musical chops survived intact, theyve deepened with time.
Livin the Luxury Brown is Mints first release since their 1999
album Life's Aquarium. The title of the new CD has a specific meaning
for the group, which has spent the last six years playing spot dates,
woodshedding with new songs and side projects and just living life.
Lead singer Stokley says, "Livin' the Luxury Brown is a kind of
metaphor that celebrates our experience, culture, tradition and
peoplehood. We're just givin' you somethin' honest, creative, fun, deep
and real."
Amazingly enough, the original lineup of the influential band
remains essentially the same since its 1991 debut recording Meant to Be
Mint. Mint Condition once again sports the prodigious talents of
Stokley on vocals and drums, Ricky Kinchen on bass and lead guitar,
Lawrence El on piano and keyboards, O'Dell on lead and rhythm guitar
and Jeffrey on saxophone and keyboards. Beginning as a sextet, the
group now stands at five after the amicable departure of keyboardist
Keri Lewis. Mint Condition's classic soul-meets-rock sound is still in
full effect as a product of being a self contained unit by writing and
producing their own material. Mint Condition also gets support on the
new CD from drummer Chris Dave, as well as a contribution from A Tribe
Called Quest and former Lucy Pearl sound architect Ali Shaheed
Muhammad.
Happily for longtime fans, Livin' the Luxury Brown incorporates the
back-to-basics ethos of a hardworking garage band, while fully
embracing the smooth melodies of contemporary R&B with welcome
touches from the hip-hip, jazz and latin genres. Saxophonist and
songwriter Jeffrey notes that the new album does have some interesting
twists, "Musically we have more guitar on this record than we've ever
had in the past. In addition to Odell, we have Rick playin' guitar,
Stokley playin' guitar, and Larry strums a little bit. So, we've
established more of an organic sound on this record. The first single
from the set is the mid-tempo tune "I'm Ready." With Stokely's
signature skill at infusing a lyric with maximum significance, he
professes a new willingness for long-lasting romance. "I'm Ready"
acknowledges when you've been in a relationship for a long time and
have finally crossed that bridge saying 'let's rise on' and take our
relationship to that next level."
Mint Condition definitely knows how to send it swingin' on the
up-tempo party tip. but it wouldn't be a Mint thang without the bands'
trademark, temperature-raisin' love song like the classic ballad
promise of "Love Your Tears Away," "a dreamy surprise". Adoration is
also the subject of regret on the mid-tempo scorcher "What Happened",
while the Mint machine rocks out on the blazing protest "Doormat.
Livin' the Luxury Brown, the band's first release of the new
millennium, clearly represents a new era for Mint Condition. Their
music itself stands alone and that independence feels right for the
group. With their unique sound and musical expertise, Mint Condition
has long stood apart from cookie-cutter groups and studio-honed boy
bands. After all, this is the group that launched such indelible hits
as "Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)", "Someone to Love", "You
Send Me Swinging", "What Kind of Man Would I Be" and "Pain or
Pleasure". This is also the same group whose awesome stage presence and
songwriting skills so impressed production bigwigs Jimmy Jam and Terry
Lewis, that they immediately signed Mint Condition to their own
Perspective Record label in the mid-nineties. Now, in 2005, comes the
next step in the evolution of the band Mint Condition.
The year 2005 and beyond will include a national tour in support of
the new CD Livin' The Luxury Brown released nationally on April 26th,
an exclusive BET television special on the band to air on April 24th
and the long anticipated release of Mint Condition's first live concert
DVD/CD combo package in July 2005. The group also has plans for their
new label Cagedbird Records, which includes signing new talent and the
exciting prospect of releasing Mint's highly coveted side project, the
experimental Latin Jazz group JOTO which features Jeffrey, Stokley and
Lawrence El.
It's an ambitious slate for the band, but Mint Condition is just fulfilling their destiny of Livin' the Luxury Brown.
Links:
Official Website
Mint Condition on Myspace
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