''Brother Sister'' is an album by British acid jazz and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

group

the Brand New Heavies The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New He ...

, released on March 22, 1994 by

Delicious Vinyl Delicious Vinyl is an American independent record label founded by Matt Dike and Michael Ross in 1987 and based in Los Angeles, California. History Michael Ross was a student at the University of California, Los Angeles when he met Matt Dike, a ...

. It spawned several singles, including "Spend Some Time" which spent two weeks at number two on the American dance charts. A cover of

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

's "

Midnight at the Oasis "Midnight at the Oasis" is a 1973 song written by David Nichtern. It was recorded by American folk and blues singer Maria Muldaur for her self-titled album and is her best-known recording; it peaked at #6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #21 i ...

" became popular in the UK, but was not included in the US version of the album. ''Brother Sister'' was lead singer

N'Dea Davenport N'Dea Davenport (born September 22, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and producer. She was the lead vocalist in the UK acid jazz band the Brand New Heavies and made pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz. Career He ...

's last album with the Brand New Heavies before leaving to complete her solo album (which she had put on hold to join the Heavies). She returned to join the band ten years later.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote, "Still punch drunk from the single Dream On Dreamer, the heavy weights of acid jazz hit you knock out with this 15-track album. It can be divided into three rounds--a strong opening and end with some shadow boxing inbetween. In "round 1"

powerlifts the title track with its electric piano to the level of '70s

jazz funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creati ...

outfit Deodato. When it really comes to hard hitting, in "round 3," she "kills" the Fake opponent with a swing not heard from the UK since the heyday of the

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their album ...

Track listing

Personnel

The Brand New Heavies * N'Dea Davenport –

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and backing vocals,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Simon Bartholomew –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Andrew Levy – bass,

, string arrangements * Jan Kincaid –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing and

vocals,

Musicians * Maxton G. Beesley, Jr. – keyboards * Brady Blade, Jr. – vocals (background), production coordination * Mike Boito – keyboards, vocals (background) * The Brand New Heavies – percussion, producer, engineer, art direction, mixing * Amp Fiddler – keyboards * Ray Gaskins – saxophone, vocals (background) *

John Thirkell John Thirkell is a British trumpet and flugelhorn player, who has appeared on hundreds of pop, rock, and jazz recordings. Through the 1980s and early 1990s he was on at least one album in the UK Charts continuously, without a break, for over ...

- trumpet, flugelhorn (Solo on "Dream on Dreamer") * Gerard Presencer – trumpet, flugelhorn * Kevin Robinson – trumpet * Dennis Rollins – trombone, trombone (Tenor) * Eric Sarafin – strings, engineer, mixing * Jeff Scantlebury – percussion * Mike Smith – flute, saxophone * Steve Williamson – saxophone * Aaron Zigman – string arrangements

Production

* Matthew Donaldson – photography *

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance- ...

– mastering * Chris Jones – engineer * John Laker – engineer * Michael C. Ross – executive producer, mixing * Martin Schmelze – engineer * Yo-Yo – engineer

Remix album

''Excursions: Remixes & Rare Grooves'' was released in the United States by Delicious Vinyl Records. This album functions as a component to the US release of ''Brother Sister''. Its cover art mimics the UK release of ''Brother Sister''. Among its tracks are the two bonus tracks from the UK version of the album that were unavailable stateside. The UK hit "Close To You" was previously only available on the ''

Prêt-à-Porter Ready-to-wear (or ''prêt-à-porter''; abbreviated RTW; "off-the-rack" or "off-the-peg" in casual use) is the term for ready-made garments, sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure Made-to-measure ( ...

'' motion picture soundtrack. "Bang" and "O-Fa-Fu" were a pair of

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

instrumentals from the UK CD-single of "Stay This Way" in 1992. "Keep It Coming" is an extended version of a Jan Kincaid-penned B-side on The Heavies' "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" single.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control The Brand New Heavies albums 1994 albums Delicious Vinyl albums