Adeaze - Always and For Real
The Tupa'i brothers,Viiz and Nainz, better known as Adeaze, have put their souls on the line and with the help of Brother D, YDNA and Vitaly Zoltarev at Dawn Raid Studios they've come out with, Always and For Real, a sweet natural sounding NZ soul album.
Not the "hmmm, hmmm, heyyyyy!!!jumpback-I-wanna-kiss-myself!!" type but something that sits on the other side of the soul spectrum. Like a good meal that was made from a handed down family recipe. A few spoons of gospel organ, a cup of acoustic guitar, four heaped tablespoons of manuka honey harmonies, a big old drop of liquefied bass and simmer, simmer, simmer. Serve on a bed of head nodding beats...Hmm head nodding beats...
I digress; its teatime as I write this....
Of course the highlight of this album is the way that Viiz and Nainz use their vocal blend. Together they sound like an entirely new vocal instrument and in the years to come, without a doubt , you will be able to pick their sound out within the first few notes they sing. This is the Holy Grail that many musicians quest for and more often than not, unsuccessfully. Adeaze need to search no longer.
To have your own voice, tone, sound is what musicians are trying to find as a group and individually. There are no hard and fast rules to achieve this. Carlos Santana has his own sound, Marilyn Manson has his own sound, bloody good bloke Dave Dobbyn has his own sound and Adeaze have their own sound. We know this because within the first few notes, well we just know it's them.
Adeaze have carried on with the message that other South Auckland bands such as Ardijah started....Urban Polynesian soul comes straight out of the ground just like Kumera and Taro. Family are the roots, cultural identity is the stem, love is the fruit. Adeaze use all these elements to promote positivism in their music which comes from their faith.
Always and For Real is a thirteen track album of Adeaze goodies. Add this one to your New Zealand music collection in the good vibes section. I enjoyed every level from the production and arrangements to the vocals, song-writing and playing. In a world where melody is becoming as rare as a pukeko's tooth, this album delivers the melody right to your door. These two talented buggers nearly played everything on the album. Probably cheaper to get them at your next recording session than a whole band!!
- Kelly K
