Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2009

Out of Oakland come three white dudes playing jazz-funk fusion as it might have been performed by black guys (and the Average White Band) circa 1977. If you’re not familiar with vintage acts like Tower of Power or The Crusaders, at the very least you will have heard them sampled on a thousand hip-hop tunes. Destruments’ Sean Wilson, Kelly Finnigan and Adam Willis bring a similar esthetic to funk fusion, rebooting the groove of tracks like “Feel It Like It Is” with hip-hop-era samples and effects. Nostalgic? Sure. But it’s accomplished with the élan of a group that’s shared the stage with Dilated Peoples, and which will be releasing a hip-hop CD featuring Killah Priest later in the year. Shaped By the Sound is issued by new Japanese label !vory Soul, a sister to hip-hop imprint Miclife committed to “searching for quality and soulful music that has a combination of [the] vintage warm sound of [the] ’70s-’80s and [the] freshness of 2000s hip-hop.”