It is with great pride that we celebrate this milestone with you. This, Daptone’s 100th 45rpm release, features an unprecedented collaboration of talent from our legendary roster of artists.
The A side, ‘Hey Brother’ is a song written by The FRIGHTNRS and originally performed on their acclaimed rock-steady LP, Nothing More to Say. In the wake of the tragic loss of their singer, DAN KLEIN to ALS just before the album’s release, we felt it to be a fitting tribute as well as an ideal composition to re-imagine as a soulful collaboration between all of our dynamic vocalists. Here we have SAUN & STARR, The FRIGHTNRS, JAMES HUNTER, NAOMI SHELTON, DUKE AMAYO, LEE FIELDS, and of course the late great monarchs of our family, CHARLES BRADLEY and SHARON JONES, all performing shoulder to shoulder on record for the first and only time, singing a message of righteousness and brotherhood over a groove sewn seamlessly together by members of The DAP-KINGS and MENAHAN STREET BAND.
On the flip, ‘Soul Fugue,’ is an epic battle between two massive orchestral armies composed and arranged obsessively by BOSCO MANN based on the Fibonacci series and the number 100.
From the left speaker, a battalion made up of all of Daptone’s many brass players is lead by the great DAVE GUY on first trumpet to the beat of Dap-King legend HOMER STEINWEISS on drum set. From the right, all of our woodwind players charge into battle behind IAN HENDRICKSON-SMITH on lead alto saxophone with Dap-Kings stage drummer BRIAN WOLFE pounding the kit. Featuring current and past members of The DAP-KINGS, ANTIBALAS, The BUDOS BAND, MENAHAN STREET BAND, The EXTRAORDINAIRES, The SOUL PROVIDERS, and The DAKTARIS, The 100 KNIGHTS ORCHESTRA crammed into the studio on the rarest of days, February 29th, 2016 to absolutely devour this gargantuan instrumental.
What started as an ambitious thank you to you, our beloved fans, has now also become a loving tribute to the brothers and sister we've lost since it’s inception: Charles Bradley, Dan Klein, Cliff Driver, and our eternal Queen, Miss Sharon Jones. So, thank you, friends, for all the years you've help us to “Keep Putting Soul Up”. May this disc forever live as a token of our gratitude, and keepsake of the times when our departed loved ones shared the stage with us.