FOUNDATION is OUT!
After more than THREE YEARS of writing, rehearsing, recording, and obsessing over this music, I'm beyond excited to announce that FOUNDATION, the brand new album from SNAGGLE feat. ALI BROS, is officially OUT IN THE WORLD!!!
BUY/STREAM: https://www.nickmacleanjazz.com/foundation
This is easily the most ambitious project I've ever undertaken, and it all started when one of my closest friends and musical partners, Brownman Ali, told me that "to be my friend, you NEED to read these novels." He was talking about Isaac Asimov's legendary FOUNDATION saga, a sprawling science-fiction universe spanning 15 interconnected books and thousands of years of imagined history. Well, I did the reading homework... and got completely OBSESSED. Those stories started turning into music, eventually becoming 10 original compositions and 11 interludes exploring the characters, events, and ideas that captured my imagination.
And NONE of this would have been possible without the absolute MONSTERS who brought this music to life! BROWNMAN ALI, my brother in music, producer, and the guy responsible for this whole Asimov rabbit hole. One of the most fearless trumpet players I know, and an absolute JOY to make music with. MARCUS ALI, completing the ALI BROS horn frontline with incredible tenor saxophone prowess! The precision, power, and sheer insanity these brothers bring to some RIDICULOUS horn writing is something else. JAY YOO on guitar, bringing endless fire and creativity. MATT GRUEBNER on bass, laying down monstrous grooves through all my compositional twists and turns. ADAM MANSFIELD on drums, an absolute BEAST driving this whole thing forward. And a HUGE thank you to LUISITO ORBEGOSO, whose extraordinary percussion playing elevates five of the album's compositions!
FOUNDATION is a wild ride through haunting introspection, explosive jazz-funk, galactic adventure, villainy, impossible love, and the rise and fall of civilizations. It's my attempt to translate a literary universe I love into another artistic language, asking one question throughout: WHAT WOULD THESE STORIES SOUND LIKE?
I'm incredibly proud of what we've created, and I can't wait for you all to hear it. Give it a listen, ideally from beginning to end, because this album was meant to be experienced as a complete journey.
STREAM/BUY FOUNDATION
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CREDITS
A HUGE thank you to all of the absolute bad-asses involved in FOUNDATION's creation!
:: Nick Maclean - keyboards/synth, compositions, sound design & vocals
:: Brownman Ali - electric trumpet, sound design
:: Marcus Ali - electric tenor sax
:: Jay Yoo - electric guitar
:: Matt Gruebner - electric bass
:: Adam Mansfield - drums
:: special guest: Luisito Orbegoso - campana, claves, shaker, triangle, congas*
:: special guest: Dinah Maclean - vocals (on "The Zeroth Law")
:: special guest: Erin Brooks - vocals (on "The Zeroth Law")
:: special guest: Olivia Brooks-Maclean - vocals (on "The Zeroth Law")
:: Brownman Ali - producer (Browntasauras Records)
:: Revolution Recording - recording studio (Kim Cooke, booker)
:: Stephen Koszler - head tracking engineer
:: Luke Schindler - assistant tracking engineer
:: Nick Maclean - editing engineer
:: Josh Bowman - mix & mastering engineer (Bowman Sound)
:: Thom Varey - camera lead, director of photography
:: Brittany Farhat - camera crew
:: Matthew Fong - camera crew
:: Max Jones - still photography
:: Nick Maclean - video editing
:: Brownman Ali - creative direction
:: Dean Shu - album art
:: Mike Moroney - liner notes
:: Toronto Arts Council - funding
:: Browntasauras Records - record label
:: Noah Vig-Fernandes - assistant to the producer
:: Steve Danic - publicist (Browntasauras Publicity)
:: Andrew Nicholson - Chief Operations Officer (Browntasauras Records)
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ABOUT SNAGGLE feat. ALI BROS
Led by JUNO-nominated and 10X Global Music Award-winning pianist and composer Nick Maclean, the Toronto-based SNAGGLE feat. ALI BROS delivers an all-original electric-jazz experience that moves between the poles of introspection & intensity, drawing upon the influences of Weather Report, the Brecker Brothers, and Snarky Puppy. Now upgrading SNAGGLE's front line are the ALI BROS: trumpet virtuoso Brownman Ali (Guru’s Jazzmatazz, Jay-Z, Randy Brecker) and tenor sax elite Marcus Ali (Matt Dusk, Jason Wilson, Mr. Something Something). Supporting Maclean and the ALI BROS are a luminary rhythm section of Toronto electric-jazz heavyweights: Jay Yoo on guitar, Matt Gruebner on bass, and Adam Mansfield on drums. Maclean has strategically folded every member of the BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO into SNAGGLE, forming the ensemble’s core. Renowned Latin percussion master Luisito Orbegoso also makes guest appearances on five of the ten compositions featured on FOUNDATION.
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