You know when you hear something and it grabs you? It just fucking tugs on your shirt collar and says: “Yo, I’m right here man. Where ya going?” That’s how we felt the first time we heard this record. We’re talking about the latest release from Kiefer entitled When There’s Love Around on Stones Throw Records.
Not a newcomer to the scene, Kiefer Shackleford gave us the classy Kickinit Alone in 2017, earning kudos for crossing up hip hop, R & B, and other genres as only this soulful and jazzy keyboardist/ producer can do. This classicaly trained pianist mentored by luminaries such as Kenny Burrell, James Newton, and Tamir Hendelman has grown quite a bit since the days of UCLA, adding in improvisation and electronic beats to his quiver of sounds. His latest release, When There’s Love Around , available on August 27th looks to be something really special. With a sneak peek of the record, we get the breezy track “When There’s Love Around”. Giving off some serious CTI vibes but updated, we find Kiefer just coolin’. This track is a pre-cursor for what’s to come: a dope ass full length that will get maximum spins everywhere. We’re not talking dance floor bangers but rather straight up chill vibes from start to finish. This is what we need right now. Everyone is going full blast because we’ve all been cooped up, but we need some Kiefer right now to get us where we need to go. Slow and steady wins the race and Kiefer has the right idea. Some great keyboard work all around and some head nod/ headphone vibes for sure. Listen to the track below and pre-order after the stream.
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