The Budos Band

The Budos Band records for Daptone, so they often get lumped with the "soul revival" crowd, the house that Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson built and that is providing a nice retirement fund for Sharon Jones. But this group is a very, very different one. They describe themselves as "Instrumental...

By Gustavo Turner

August 19, 2010

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The Budos Band records for Daptone, so they often get lumped with the "soul revival" crowd, the house that Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson built and that is providing a nice retirement fund for Sharon Jones.

But this group is a very, very different one. They describe themselves as "Instrumental Staten Island Afro-Soul" and their influences are jazz, deep funk, Mulatu, etc. Also? They're pretty brilliant in a low-key way, without a lot of the pseudo-spiritual (or actual spiritual) trappings and the stonerism their peers with similar collections often showcase. Their new record, The Budos Band III, has not left my player since it arrived. Great work music, vibes music, ambient music—whatever you wanna call it, it's worth getting.

—Gustavo Turner

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