Incognito legend Bluey’s side project Citrus Sun release their fourth album in the form of ‘Expansions and Visions’ and it’s their funked up version of Lonnie Liston Smith’s classic that kicks things off in emphatic style, with vocals from the strong voiced Valerie Etienne. Noel McKoy guests on the cover of ‘California Soul’: tackling such a classic is always going to be hard but they manage to bring something new to it, there are elements of Afro-Cuban influences in the summery ‘Amado O Vehlo Mundo’ while the jaunty ‘Hard Boiled’ has a Stevie feel, not least because of the use of harmonica courtesy of 22 year old Indonesian harmonica sensation Rega Dauna. The album was recorded in Krabi on southern Thailand’s west coast and the feel throughout is of chilled, laid back vibe – the lazy ‘Hey Now’ and ‘Future Visions’ will appeal to those into the smoother side of things while the latin groove of ‘Back To Wonderland’ brings the tempo back up. Deborah Bond guests on the easy, breezy closer ‘Thinking Of You’, a track that distils the essence of the album and is a fittingly positive way to wrap up and album that will please Citrus Sun fans as well as lovers of smooth, jazzy soul.
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Listen
Expansions
A Lust for Life
California Soul
Diamond in the Sun
Stay You
Amando O Velho Mundo
Hard Boiled
Hey Now
Future Visions
Back to Wonderland
Thinking of You
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