Stampede

"No loops, no samples - and stands up to the best of James Brown or Isaac Hayes. Outstanding."
- Uncut, UK

"A slice of live recording perfection - funkier than a herd of hot-footin' wildebeest."
- Dazed and Confused, UK

"Putting something back" is how Will Holland aka Quantic described the reason for starting the Quantic Soul Orchestra. Having released two successful albums ('The 5th Exotic' and 'Apricot Morning') on Brighton, UK-based Tru Thoughts (co-owned by Mr Scruff) under his Quantic guise, he felt his next musical adventure would be to focus on this very album.

The Quantic Soul Orchestra is a live project, strictly no samples allowed. Influenced by Holland's love of the dusty funk 45's, he wanted to record and produce an album with creative, like-minded musicians. So - here 'tis!

With pop acts nowadays using hip hop beats (themselves heavily influenced by funk records from the 70s) it was important for the QSO to make the album rough, raw and real - it's definitely not acid jazz! 'Stampede' has a deeper funk sound that shows this music is well and truly alive and well in this new millennium. This is an album influenced by the many flamboyant (but often poor) musicians in the 70s who loved music for music's sake, who wanted to dance and make people dance.

'Stampede' features a cover version of 4Hero's future soul anthem 'Hold It Down', sung in one take by fast-rising UK soul singer Alice Russell (who also guests on the outstanding 'Something That's Real' and 'Take Your Time, Change Your Mind'), as well as a guest appearance from John Hughes, adding vocals, flute and guitars to the classic QSO 7" 'Super 8'.

The Quantic Soul Orchestra have made a record which fuses funk, soul, afrobeat and jazz influences, and sounds as though it could have been recorded in funk's 70s heyday. An outstanding deep funk release from a precocious musical talent.