Tomás Doncker & The True Groove All-Stars have today released their new album titled ‘Hard Is Hard’ via True Groove Records. While the true groove is truly present, there is much more going on between the notes and beneath the rhythm. There is substance. Something there that makes you stay beyond the ‘oh wow’ factor. That certain something that gravitates as it elevates.
Tomás has long ago solidified his place in the annals of indie, but this is an evolution. A ‘next step’. The opener, ‘Do Or Die, Pt. 1’, is the perfect gateway drug that invites and entices you to stay for the rest of the album. While the horns fill the room, the groove fills the air and permeates your soul with, well, soul.
Tracks like ‘Life Without Drama’ slow the mood at just the right time, slowing the motion and pumping up the grind. Sonically sensual and filling your mind with color, tracks like these find their fit in the perfect order and become the journey your creative heart needs.
About ‘Hard Is Hard’
Tomás Doncker has long been a prime mover in the New York music, arts, and culture scenes. From the early 1980s, as a member of groundbreaking No Wave and Punk Funk bands The Contortions and Defunkt, international touring, recording and songwriting collaborations with luminaries such as Bootsy Collins, Meshell Ndegeocello, Ivan Neville, The Specials and the legendary Ms. Patti Smith, to helming his own band, The True Groove All-Stars, Tomás has established himself as a cross-genre innovator without peer.
Doncker’s previous works have seen praise from the likes of BBC, CNN, Huff Post, MOJO, Spin, Brooklyn Vegan, NPR’s ‘All Songs Considered’, Guitar World, Wonderland Magazine, All About Jazz, Paste, Rolling Stone, and Blues Matters Magazine, where he was a recent main cover feature.
‘Hard Is Hard’ was produced with James Dellatacoma (Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock) and mastered by Michael Fossenkemper (Paul Weller, LL Cool J, Miles Davis) and includes guest instrumentation from Frank Benbini (UB40, Fun Lovin’ Criminals), Adriano Rossetti-Bonell (UB40), and The Specials Horns. With elements of soul, blues, funk, rock, and some jazz thrown in for good measure, ‘Hard Is Hard’ is an eleven-track masterclass in Doncker’s innate knack for genre fluidity. The EP lyrically explores themes of racial inequality, social injustice, and keeping a positive mental attitude through hard times.
On the EP, Doncker says, “Things are difficult for everyone right about now. As a songwriter, I’m very fortunate to be able to have so many songs to sing, to hopefully strike a match in the darkness of these uncertain times. This music has been blessed by the contributions of some dear friends – true legends, and we’re grateful to share it now, with you…”
“I’m a sucker for a concept album! The idea of a collection of songs telling a story via groove, atmosphere, and sometimes a focused narrative is thrilling to me. ‘Cinematic Soul’, you might say…The A side is nothing but straight-up bangers, while the B-Side of the album (aka: ‘The Softer Side’) was crafted and sequenced in the spirit of the classic Isley Brothers albums’ B-sides from the 70s- ‘Baby Making Music’ (if you know what I mean…). Still, there are a few twists and surprises in there as well. As always, our first and foremost intention is to seduce…We invite you all to take the ride…Join Us!”
Doncker was recently invited to support Fun Lovin’ Criminals on their extensive tour throughout the UK and Europe alongside his band, The True Groove All-Stars, which includes members of The Specials Horns.
On the tour, he says, “I’m so honored and excited to have been invited to be a part of the upcoming Fun Lovin’ Criminals fall UK/EU tour. They’ve really made me feel welcome as a member of the international / UK music community, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity. It’s gonna be a lot of fun for sure!”
About Tomás Doncker
For over a decade, Doncker’s expansive creative endeavors have found a home with his label/production hub True Groove Records. Projects have included work with P-Funk alumni Michael ‘Kidd Funkadelic’ Hampton and Amp Fiddler, multi-Grammy-winning Meshell Ndegeocello, Hip Hop pioneer Keith Shocklee (Public Enemy/Bomb Squad), and iconic bassist Bootsy Collins.
His ongoing musical collaborations with New York Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa yielded the critically acclaimed albums Big Apple Blues, The Mercy Suite, and The Black Magnolia Project. Most recently, Doncker and Komunyakaa collaborated with visual artist Floyd Tunson to create ‘ENDANGERED’ in June 2022, an immersive multimedia experience that addresses the historical conundrum of black men in America being endangered. Inspired by Tunson’s Afro-Futuristic and politically charged artwork, and powered by lyrics from Komunyakaa, Doncker composed a sonic journey to freedom, a modern-day Revolution of the Mind, that has been hailed as “a socio-politically charged audio-visual soundtrack of 21st Century dissent, discomfort and reclamation.”
LINKS:
https://tomasdoncker.com
https://www.facebook.com/TomasDonckerMusic
https://www.instagram.com/tomasdonckerofficial
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6On4s2o0VoJgjFQRdSuAEz
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/tom%C3%A1s-doncker/468939501
https://music.amazon.com/artists/B00GVMR32E/tom%C3%A1s-doncker
