Tomás Doncker & The True Groove All-Stars have today released their new single titled ‘Hard Is Hard’ via True Groove Records. Like a band on the run with funk in the trunk and a guitar case full of fuck offs, fuck it, and fuck yeahs, The True Groove All-Stars set out to do what they do best: conquer the scene one track at a time.
Lucid percussive rhythm lays a guttural groove in the pocket while Tomás preaches the pronouns and lets you know the worst thing for a true winner is a rearview mirror. Think of this as a soundtrack for expansive thought. Just enough to conspire and more than enough to inspire. Conjuring feelings that will feed your next action, which hopefully is positive action. Let that next hit from life hit you right in the feels and push you forward instead of pull you back. This is what the best music does for all of us.
“We are living in a pivotal time in history…Things are tough for everyone, everywhere. Someone once asked me: “What’s the difference between being ‘The Champ’, and being a contender?” I had no idea…The answer was: “The Champion has the strength of character to get up off the canvas one more time.” It’s probably the most difficult thing to do. Hard is Hard. Stay strong, keep gettin’ up. One. More. Time!”
Tomás Doncker
Check out our other features with Tomás Doncker & The True Groove All-Stars HERE.
About ‘Hard Is Hard’
Hot on the heels of February’s single release, I’m really pleased to be dropping over ‘Hard Is Hard’, the upcoming new single from NYC-based alternative-R&B producer, singer, and songwriter Tomás Doncker, set for release on March 7th, 2025 via his label True Groove Records.
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 Patti Smith, to helming his band, The True Groove All-Stars which include members of The Specials, Tomás has established himself as a cross-genre innovator without peer.
‘Hard Is Hard’ follows February’s ‘Wha-Gwaan!’ which featured guest drums and vocals from Fun Lovin’ Criminals / UB40’s Frank Benbini, and was celebrated by Wonderland Magazine, Jammerzine, Fame Magazine, and RTE.
Produced with James Dellatacoma (Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock) and mastered by Michael Fossenkemper (Paul Weller, LL Cool J, Miles Davis), ‘Hard Is Hard’ fuses epic funk grooves with soulful vocals providing a powerful reminder to keep on keeping on; times are tough, but so are you.
About Tomás Doncker & The True Groove All-Stars
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 Ravid Kahalani, P-Funk alumni Michael ‘Kidd Funkadelic’ Hampton and Amp Fiddler, Hip-Hop pioneer Keith Shocklee (Public Enemy/Bomb Squad), and iconic bassist/producer Bill Laswell.
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 joined forces with visual artist Floyd Tunson to create ‘ENDANGERED’ in June of 2022, an immersive multimedia experience that addresses the historical conundrum that black men in America are 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
