'Bitches Cold Brew' by The Brothers Nylon [Review]

Independent German record label, Resistant Mindz, have followed up on the fantastic release by funk-filled soul act My Trippin Mojo (‘Edda’s Garden’) with the super group formation of Shawn Lee and Mike & Nick Rufolo, forming The Brothers Nylon.

Since ‘Analog Spirit Quest’ which was released on Ropeadope Records in 2015 (pairing them with Michael Kammers (MK)), New York-based twin brothers Mike and Nick Rufolo have taken their love of the analog sound to the next level, and found the perfect dance partner in which to take their sound to the next level… enter Shawn Lee.  The endlessly prolific producer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, himself also no stranger to collaborations – seems to have stumbled onto something with the Rufolos perhaps previously untapped, thus birthing the playful, inimitable and… well it wouldn’t be fair to exclude the word funky here… funky ‘Bitches Cold Brew’.

The album, while still very much rooted in authentic production and recording techniques, serves as a testament to the modern age of how a transatlantic pairing now comes together: initially recorded onto tape in New York, then digitized and sent over to Lee in London to be refined with his own touch, until being sent back overseas to the Rufolos again.

Saying this album puts the “fun” in “funk” is perhaps a bit of an obvious line but just a cursory look over the tracklist is enough to raise a smile and generate interest: ‘Coffee Shop’, ‘CousCous’, ‘Hot Sauce’, ‘Local Fruit And Veg Emporium’, ‘Shove It In My Mouth’ and ‘All Man Milk’… make of those what you will but it’s that kind of humour that makes ‘Bitches Cold Brew’ as described earlier, “inimitable”.  A great example would be on the group’s ode to Game of Thrones, ‘Khaleesi’: “I got to save the day, because the winter is coming, but the cold never bothered me anyway”… An effortless transition from the mature and violent world of George RR Martin’s fantasy epic to the alternate fantasy epic in Disney’s own right.  Another effortless transition here is in the music throughout the album – that analog sound of the recording is prevalent throughout as it flits from smooth soul to more uptempo funk.

Kudos to The Brothers Nylon for an imaginative release… and for reintroducing CousCous as a staple part of my diet again!