Search - Soul Ballet :: 2019

Electronic club music/Nu Jazz at its best.

steamy blues | 08/04/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Check out the tasty new release from the actor/producer/arranger/programmer and multi-instrumentalist Rick "R.K."

Kelly returns with his 8th album, "2019" with some saucy originals that are ever so smooth and offer up cool grooves with a sweet glide.

It is a set that sits between chill and smooth jazz and which Kelly himself describes as a cross between "hip jazz and smooth hop".

The album contains gently funky smooth grooves with numbers like "Boom!It's On" and the title track.

If you like 80's electronica fused into your smooth grooves, this guy goes all the way with it.

With its instantly recognizable sound, "2019" alternates between sleek, strong instrumentals and hypnotic club electronica, re-affirmimg Soul Ballet's own style of Smooth Jazz.

Very enjoyable, it will please the romantics among you.





"

Time to get hot

C. Sotelo | VA | 08/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're familiar with Soul Ballet's past albums, RK might surprise you with this one. I know that when I heard the preview tracks on the Amazon website I was a little apprehensive... "Wow... hes really dropped alot of his natural sounds like the strings and horns for a digital sound... and Im not sure I like the sound of it... I mean whats with these synth horns and saxes? thats not his trademark sound..." But apprehension does not stop me from checking out an album of a musician I idolize. I dove right in.

The first song had me hooked right away. "Boom it's on!" is a solid track... and nailed what this album was all about. What I think was going through RK's mind might have been "Im about done setting the mood(which his last albums are VERY good at doing), This one is for the ACTION". So then he follows it up with a slower moving Sly Girl. Once again the first thing I thought "Whats with all of these synth instruments? it would sound so much better if he had done the guest musician thing...." But as the song went on, the digital made sense. It fit the overall sound and it was very catchy. And then when the mainline of the song started, I could hear his trademark strings in the background. The song fit the title perfectly. Production was awesome RK!

Now to the title track. 2019. I've never pretended to understand all of RK's titles, and this one is lost on me. The song is off the chain. It gets you up on your feet in a hurry and keeps you with the groove. The pure essence of a bump and grind song. Lots of good digital orchestration here, plenty of sounds to listen to.

Now She is Infinite, is just a beautiful song. The Chord progression holds your attention and keeps a beautiful dramatic feel. The back beat did have to grow on me during the mainline. I thought it felt a little too much like today's hip hop music but it was kept at a decent length. RK knows how to pay homage to the ladies.

Girl X takes a little while to develop. The mainline took some time to get too, and that almost tried my patience, but I know RK's writing style and knew it was going to be worth the wait. He fills it up with his strings again. One thing I know appeared on here was the inclusion of choir voice pads. Not bad, he made them blend into the music perfectly and thats kinda tough to do without sounding cheesy.

Swaggatron came up next, and once again it took a little to keep my attention. But when that mainline hit, I heard some nice new FX pads and once again the choir voices sounded great for it. RK likes to use his efx and pitch bends alot in this song, and it sounds like he's having fun. I always think its great when an instrumentalists character shows through his songs.

Now onto my favorite part of album.... the last 4 songs. They brought me back to Las Vegas. One day I hope Im having a blast in the Spearmint Rhino and "Party Dollz" or "Gravity Pole" comes on. "Gravity Pole"? Really RK where did you get the inspiration for that? ;) This song rocks awesome efx and a great chord progression... the beat is crazy too. Every part of this song is perfect for the inmagery of exotic dance. It's got some soft sections in it that have a smooth liquid sound effect going through the background of the music. "SupaSexyStar" is a very hot warm up to Party Dollz. This song brings the imagery of being picked up in a limo and driving across Vegas to a hot strip joint, and when you get there "Party Dollz" is ready to go. I have not gotten tired of listening to this song. Its got a kind of dampended sound to it in the beginning giving you hits with the piano and muted trumpet sound. Kinda like if you were going through a lobby and right into the club and thats when the mainline hits you with a blast of a party. RK loves a big sound in these songs and so you always get a fully orchestrated mainline. The samples of moans just add to the excitement of this song.

The last song starts almost exactly like the "All the Pretty Lights" remix of NYC Trippin'. RK always has the perfect full piano sound, Im not sure if its synth'd or not, because there are some companies out there who can mimic the sound very well. No matter what, its absolutely beautiful for this song. The power rhythm section of the mainline makes this song both powerful and emotional. It ends great, just like the sun coming up slow after a night of partying in Vegas.

Overall, I loved this album. Every track on it worked great for me. Of course, the last album I remember having trouble liking was Dream Beat Dream. 2019 though is perfect for Soul Ballet's direction. RK makes it known that hes not a slave to his music or sound and drops a blast of sleek and hot composing. RK, one day I hope I get a chance to meet you if I'm ever in Vegas. The minute I hear of a public performance, I will drain my account if I must to get a ticket."

For Synth. Funk & Club Music Lovers

Jerry Anderson | Yankton, SD | 08/10/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"If you like synth. funk and club music, you will probably like this one! More of a disappointment in the c- jazz/smooth jazz catagory and this one won't get much play time from me. Really liked his previous releases, but this one just seems to have the same redundant and boring club beat! Really disappointed with this release!!!"