The Olympians
Arranger and musician from Lee Fields & The Expressions Toby Pazner brought together a roster of all-star champions to be The Olympians, creating one of the most dynamic instrumental albums you have ever heard with their magnificent Daptone self-titled. Available today, Pazner’s Olympians are made up of members from The Dap-Kings, The Arcs, Budos Band, Antibalas, The Tonight Show Band, & more; the collective of artists together pour on every grandiose element you could ever imagine from your favorite vintage soundtrack. Utilizing the greatest equipment & musicians imaginable, Toby takes a route that is steered toward all the vintage
Rewinding the tapes of history back to your favorite cinematic epics from the 70s & even more so; the action opens with “Sirens Of Jupiter” that presents horns that blare from the outer dimensions. The Grecian epic moves into moments of romance & reflection with “Venus”, to the pensive places of “Apollo’s Mood” that mix brass with harpsichord & wah-wahs where the horns keep the mood flying high on “Mars”. The classic elements will constantly keep your compass & clock in a state of curiosity as heard on the ultra-horned hooks on “Neptune”, where the energetic percussion picks up on the ring spinning circles of “Saturn”, to the warm interlude of “Diana By My Side”, to the afternoon strolling moods of “Pluto’s Lament” that provides a score for inner thought zones. Zodiac correlations with the constellations continue along their own narrative as heard on “Mercury’s Odyssey”, the baroque orchestral magic of “Sagittarius By Moonlight”, to the party-time jubilation of “Europa And The Bull”. After the following listen, read our exclusive interview with Toby Pazner.
How did you all even begin to go about attempting this super life affirming & striking selection of futuristic rhythm & blues?
I would call up band members when they came into town and they would come over and we’d work out songs. I would start with an idea and work with the drummer. Next the bass would get laid down with another idea. I would bring the reel over to the guitar player’s studio and he would lace it with guitar. Next the horns would come in and put down the melody. I would record and rerecord keyboards, vibes and whatever else I could get my hands on and play. Lastly I would put strings, harp and other ornamental instruments on top. Generally it would be a surprise what would come each day we’d record.
Favorite recording session stories that you have never told anyone?
Not from this album but the first time I saw Lee Fields track vocals. He was tracking the song “Money is King” off the My World album. Never seen someone so meticulous in the studio. Took him hours to cut the song. He was dedicated to putting down the best vocal take he could do.
What do you all enjoy listening to, watching, reading, whatever right now?
Right now I’m reading a book called Small Town Talk about Woodstock and the music scene up there in the 60s. Its a pretty great read.
Next dreams & hopes & prayers from the pride of The Olympians?
Would love to get a live show together with all the instrumentation of the album. Would be great to hear it all come alive on the stage.
Interested in hearing how Olympians came together originally.
A bunch of us grew up together and went to grade and high school together. The guys I didn’t grow up with I met years ago in the New York music scene. I met everyone very organically so it is a natural fit for the organic nature of the way this album was recorded.
Thoughts & conjecture about the future of music?
I hope that musician continue to explore new ways to make classic music interesting and reinterpret old school music into something new and interesting. I hope people embrace playing instruments and developing the skills of song writing which I feel is somewhat lacking at times these days.
Insights about the future of The Olympians?
I hope we work with a vocalist to bring some lyrics to the next album.
Records/books/movies/etc that everyone should ingest right now?
Anything put out by Daptone Records and Big Crown records. They are two great NYC labels that deserve a listen.
Prayers & hopes for 2017?
A less polarizing and unstable world and a lot more love and understanding.
The Olympians’ self-titled is available now from Daptone.
