From his secret sonic lab in downtown Helsinki, Finland, Sam Huber has built a career cross-pollinating musical touchstones from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s into a timeless soul-funk gumbo. ‘No Pressure,’ the first single from his new album, Gravity Insanity (his 10th release on True Groove Records) is all groove, no filler; instantly memorable and completely addictive.
Brought to full 4K audio technicolor by producers Tomás Doncker & James Dellatacoma, with appearances by Keith Shocklee (The Bomb Squad/Public Enemy) and old school hip-hop legends Son of Bazerk, ‘No Pressure’ pulls off the unique feat of being laid back and relentless at the same time.
“It’s all about the groove” Huber offers. “That subconscious funk that hits you on a primal level and gets into your soul. I’ve always tried to have that, in some aspect, embedded in the DNA of every record I’ve ever made, and with Gravity Insanity I think it’s really come to full fruition. The album is about all sorts of extremes: climate change, the political situation around the world, right wing radicalism, populism; it’s the insanity of everything and the gravity of the situation, and the insanity that gravity, a force of nature, is literally the only thing that keeps our feet on the ground and keeps us from careening off into space. ‘No Pressure’ is the opposite of all that; it’s escapist stuff. A prescription for the world to take some chill time, don’t get so depressed. It was something I needed for myself and something I thought other people needed too.”
The rest of Gravity Insanity is equally indelible as Huber distills essences of everything from Berlin-era Bowie and vintage Philly soul to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Tom Jones into a modern day classic.
