Circle Of Funk pres. Charlene Samms feat. Lifford : Free To Fly

Full Support : Release Date 28th April 2014

Circle Of Funk pres. Charlene Samms feat. Lifford : Free To Fly

2014 – Slapped Up Soul

Record-Label Info

This is the first time that Circle of Funk have collaborated with up and coming London vocalist Charlene Samms. The result is a quality partnership of musical talents which radiate through in this production.

Charlene started singing as a very young child, attending stage school at 3 years of age and singing in church as a member of the choir. She has worked as a backing vocalist for the likes of DaPaul, Drizabone Soul Family, Lifford and LyricL and performs as a member of soul tribute band SugaSoulSistrin and gospel vocal group Ellensi. Charlene gathers her influences from many genres but considers Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse to be her ‘lyrical legends’.

The ‘Free to Fly’ song lyrics are about a relationship break up, and the sadness of reluctantly calling it a day comes through with honesty in Charlene’s vocals. She has a very smooth and polished tone to her voice, delivering her lyrics with a maturity beyond her years. Charlene is a lady with a gift that we will all want to hear a lot more of in the future.

It is a bit of an enigma trying to work out which genre the original mix belongs to. It has elements of soul, blues, jungle, broken beat, house and chill-out, which just goes to show that yet again Circle of Funk have pushed the production envelope, making full use of their palette of sounds to devise something new and different and somehow very beautiful and enticing. The gentle keys, atmospheric vibe and swaying bass line fit the song perfectly and the result is a piece of music that flows seamlessly to suit any occasion – where the listener can dance, sing along or just relax. The percussion nuances and tempo changes keep the listener enthralled throughout and Lifford Shillingford adds a fitting cameo dialogue at the end. This track will have widespread appeal to soulful music fans everywhere.

The package also includes a smooth and jazzy soulful house mix from Circle of Funk, and an additional house remix where talented producer Soulful Session has worked his magic – this features beautiful xylophone and piano touches that add yet another dimension to this outstanding composition.

© Sue McDonald 2014

Manutek’s Review

C’est au groupe des Circle Of Funk que je dois la chance de découvrir la chanteuse anglaise Charlene Samms sur ce single solo, avec un petit cameo de Lifford Shillingford sur la fin du morceau.

Cette belle voix a notamment travaillé pour le collectif Drizabone Soul Family de Billy April.

Le COF House Mix:star: est ma version préférée avec une basse généreuse et de jolies nappes de pads.
Le grand piano amène subtilement une touche jazzy au morceau.

Simon Schooly nous offre quant à lui une version Soulful Session, funky et mélodieuse, avec un vibe entraînant. Renvoi d’ascenseur en quelque sorte puisque les COF avait remixé le dernier titre de Simon, Keep On Lovin Me, dont nous avions parlé il y a peu sur Mix Collectors.

On termine avec l’Orignal Mix des COF qui est une version plus calme, presque downtempo.

My selection:

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