Brother Sister

Performer: The Brand New Heavies
Artist: Steve Williamson; Gerard Presencer
Producer: The Brand New Heavies
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: The Brand New Heavies: Jan Kincaid (vocals, keyboards, drums, percussion); N'Dea Davenport (vocals, keyboards, percussion); Simon Bartholomew (guitar, percussion, background vocals); Andrew Levy (bass, percussion, background vocals). Additional personnel includes: Steve Williamson (saxophone); Gerard Presencer (trumpet, flugelhorn). Engineers include: Yo Yo, Special T, Martin Schmelze. Recorded at Westlake, Hollywood Sound, Soundcastle, Los Angeles, California; Rak, Matrix Studios, London, England. This album finds the BNH heading back to the groove-driven, horn-splashed, hand-clapping funk of their debut album, with N'Dea Davenport stepping back into her role as diva/lead vocalist. Following the string of distinguished rappers who made BNH's sophomore album a brave if not wholly successful attempt to infuse rap with the energy of live instruments, Davenport delivers the consistency that was missing from that effort. Repeated listens show this album to be catchier than it initially seems (as long as one avoids "Fake," tone of the most irritating songs in a long time), and when the BNH really lock into a groove, as they do on "Keep Together," the title track, and the instrumental "Snake Hips," they surely do put the funk back in it. ~ Peter Stepek

Rolling Stone (4/7/94, p.74) - 3 Stars - Good - "...BROTHER SISTER, the band's second album, is not unlike its American debut three years ago: chock-full of '70s funk and soul references, with a bit of fusion jazz and '90s reverence for all that is old thrown in....What [N'Dea Davenport] brings...is an ease of execution and a keen sense of style. She is as fluid as the band is tight, as blase as the players are intent...." Musician (4/94, p.92) - "...BROTHER SISTER is a chunky, funky blast...N'Dea Davenport['s]...singing is far more compelling than before--alternately smooth and sassy...BROTHER SISTER is like a great party: lively, varied and good-humored..." NME (Magazine) (4/9/94, p.41) - 7 - Very Good - "...BROTHER SISTER is a fine album, as far as it goes. The upbeat vibe they're noted for floods out from the opening tune..."

Formed in the late 1980s, London-based collective the Brand New Heavies introduced a revolutionary new style of funk and dance music when they broke onto the British club scene. Mixing classic funk, jazz licks and chord structures, and dancefloor rhythms, the Brand New Heavies were credited as being one of the very first acid jazz acts, and charted high in both England and the U.S. The group also parlayed serious love from the hip-hop community into the sensational collaborative album HEAVY RHYME EXPERIENCE, VOL. 1. Though acid jazz faded by the late '90s, the Heavies continued to record and perform, releasing the well-received GET USED TO IT in 2006.

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