Today, Alain Zane announced their debut album Right Before Your Eyes will be released on September 23 through Spinside Records. Along with the announcement, the Los Angeles duo consisting of singer, multi-instrumentalist Cat Colbert and producer/ multi-instrumentalist Ethan Browne shared their debut single “Wunuvakine.” Pre-order the album and listen to the single “Wunuvakine” here: https://lnk.to/AlainZane
Watch the “Wunuvakine” lyric video via YouTube HERE
“Wunuvakine was inspired by a special girl,” says Browne. “It’s about meeting someone and knowing right away that you are deep in love. The song is a conversation between the listener and someone that mesmerizes and just knocks you off your feet; a dialogue of desire for a stunning new muse.”
Glide Magazine said, “The standout track “Wunuvakine” [is] a sultry R&B number that is sure to get listeners grooving. Firing off with smooth vocals and a cool, sensual beat, the song exudes confidence as the lyrics capture the feelings of falling in love. Considering this group is a duo, it is surprising to hear such a full rich sound.”
Recorded, assembled, and in some cases dramatically reimagined by Browne, Right Before Your Eyes is sleek and groove-driven, mixing the old school R&B and funk of Roy Ayers and Grover Washington with the more modern flair of D’Angelo and Maxwell. The result is an adventurous hybrid of genres and eras that tips its cap to everything from Blackstreet and The Delfonics to Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder as it reckons with pain and ecstasy, fear and commitment, isolation and communication.
“I think that all of the characters in these songs are trying to hold onto their faith,” explains Browne, “not just their faith in the ones they love, but in love itself. Whether it’s with a romantic partner or a friend or a family member, I think everyone just wants to feel those bonds that tie us together.”
It was family ties, after all, that set both Browne and Colbert on their musical paths. The son of singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, Ethan spent his childhood surrounded by instruments and traveling on the road; Cat, meanwhile, was immersed in studio life from a young age as well thanks to his father, bass icon Charles Colbert (his hit with The American Breed, “Bend Me Shape Me,” remains one of the most enduring songs of the ’60s). Though the two embarked on drastically different journeys—Browne’s obsession with crate digging led him to become a DJ and producer, while Colbert’s captivating singing voice landed him an early deal with Quincy Jones’s Qwest Record—both shared a similar passion for art and innovation.
The roots of the duo’s collaboration stretch all the way back to the mid-’90s, when Browne headed into the studio with his father’s band to capture a bank of raw instrumental music he could slice and dice into samples and loops for his production work. Other projects popped up before he could do anything with the material, though, and the tapes were put into storage, eventually believed to be lost until Browne rediscovered them decades later.
“The band was so tight and so talented, and even though I didn’t know exactly how it was going to take shape, I knew I wanted to capture the sound of them playing in a room together at the time,” says Browne. “When I came back to the sessions all those years later, I knew that there were some real gems in there, so I just started pulling everything apart and making my own beats and samples.”
Initially, Browne envisioned a project built around a host of vocalists and rappers each contributing to different tracks, but the creative chemistry he and Colbert tapped into on their first day in the studio suggested that a different approach was in order.
“I’d been hearing about Cat for a while, so he was one of my first calls I made when I started the album,” says Browne. “I noticed immediately how gifted a writer he was in addition to how well his voice fit over the music, and it just became obvious to me that we should form a group and do the whole record together.”
Combining both of their middle names yielded the Alain Zane moniker, and just like that, the band was born. Browne and Colbert shared writing duties in their sessions, inspiring one another with fresh ideas and filling in the gaps in each other’s verses and choruses. While many of their tracks began life with samples and loops from those ’90s sessions, the pair soon began writing together from scratch, as well, recording their own instrumentals with a similar analog feel that swirled together elements of vintage rock, soul, R&B, and hip-hop.
“It was a mad collaboration,” reflects Colbert. “Some days I’d hear a melody or a hook in my head, and some days Ethan would come in with a verse or a concept. We’d get out these little yellow notepads and just start writing until we’d filled everything up. It was exciting to work like that and, most importantly, it was fun.”
Track List:
1. Right Before Your Eyes
2. Wunuvakine
3. CA State Of Mind
4. Solitary Superstar
5. Blue Dream
6. Yellow Brick Road
7. Remember When
8. Kite
9. Can’t Take It With You
10. Reggie’s Theme
11. Here To Babylon
12. Barnyard
13. Vision Of Love
Follow Alain Zane:
Website – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter
Credit: Brandise Danesewich
