The man behind the new brand is Daptone Records co-founder Gabe Roth, a.k.a. Bosco Mann, Dap-Kings bassist, who comes from California. First recordings from the studio in Riverside give you a pretty good idea of what you can expect of Penrose Records
Penrose Records
Daptone is primarily associated with the hit recordings of Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. But sweet soul popular in eastern Las Vegas or San Diego, is slower, and its most important elements are the vocal harmonies typical of the early 1960s.
Just like in Daptone, the artists of Penrose Records recorded on vintage, analog equipment. And there are musicians among them who have been playing together in various bands for years.
Penrose Records will initially release 5 forty-fives of different bands and a digital compilation. They will be available from April 10. For now you can listen to the A-sides of the singles on the label’s profile on Bandcamp.
Penrose Records catalog
Thee Sacred Souls landed in Penrose just like in the good old days. After the first club gig in the current line-up (previously they were an instrumental band) they were approached by Bosco Mann, and three days later they met in his recording studio.
Fans of modern rocksteady should know Joseph Quiñones, the former vocalist of Steady 45s. He founded Thee Sinseers to get back to the music that he listened to while growing up. Currently, it’s one of the most popular soul groups in Southern California.
Members of Thee Sinseers, Bryan Ponce, Adriana Flores and Joey Quiñones, also co-create another soul band – The Altons. On their debut single on Penrose, Bryan sings the lead with a smoky-sweet falsetto.
A Puerto Rico musician, Jason Joshua flew for a recording session for Penrose from Miami. He has already built a dedicated following there for his Latin-soul sound. His “Language Of Love” is the fastest song shared by Penrose and my favorite from this set.
Los Yesterdays is a project of two friends from Altadena, Gabriel Rowland and Victor Benavides, who for years played only in the garage. The band was recently complemented by Gabriel Roth and his Dap-Kings colleague Tom Brenneck, which resulted in gigs and recording this single.
Photo: still from Thee Sinseers music video
It all probably started because the first gig I went to as a teenager was a ska show. If I knew that it would last this long, maybe I would think twice. Or maybe not, and it was just meant to be. Now I go to gigs and record interviews with the bands I like. But if they play rock and roll in the area, there's a good chance that you will find me there.
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