Sugar Bomb is a three-piece psychedelic jazz-soul band from Asheville, NC. The band recently released an EP, Sweet, and already has a second EP, Explosive, due out later this summer. Both will be combined for a proper debut full-length. Check out the song “Rubber” which has been on high rotation in my home office. Be sure to also catch the band live, on tour, and check out their playlist below.
—Keenan Kush, Talkhouse Director of Operations
One of the special things about playing music with other people is experiencing how each person’s influences meet another’s — the trio we call Sugar Bomb is no exception. The following tracks highlight each of our tastes individually with a focus on the parts where we align most, which ultimately helps form our group’s ever-evolving sound. Enjoy this playlist of our favorite instrumental tunes!
BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah – “Stark’s Reality”
There’s so much I love about this track: the cinematic string arrangements, the vibraphone solo in the middle, and the little bleeps and bloops of the production. It really stands out from the rest of the album.
Beastie Boys – “Ricky’s Theme”
I was first introduced to this track by my uncle when I was 12 and instantly dug it. Despite the Beastie Boys categorization as a hip hop act, the tracks that always stood out to me were their instrumental cuts, because I hadn’t really been exposed to that kind of amalgamation of backbeat jazz/soul/funk before. The dreamy Rhodes, the repetitive upright bassline, the vibraphone — it all felt so different and cool to me as a middle schooler who mostly grew up on The Who, The Beatles, and classical music, and it really influenced what I was into going forward.
Karriem Riggins – “Double Trouble”
I am a sucker for anything that has a fluttery harmonized flute melody, especially against a vibraphone background. This whole album is amazing, but this particular track has always stuck with me.
Laddio Bolocko – “A Passing State of Well Being”
This is sort of a different type of instrumental than the rest of my picks from a lesser known band that I absolutely love, Laddio Bolocko. The drum mix is so crushed and distorted, juxtaposed by quick flute melodies, and then the kind of shrill melody builds, and then the whole track cuts to a totally different feel at 2:46. It’s like musical ADHD and I am here for it!
Nate Merereau – “Righteous Energy”
Eli recommended Nate Mercerau’s Joy Techniques to me recently, as it’s one of his favorite albums. I love a nice pentatonic melody, always. The feedback-type effect on the guitar is one of the neatest and most unique guitar tones I have ever heard.
Four Tet – “a joy”
I didn’t get hip to this 2005 album until 2021. Nasty and then surprisingly beautiful, this song blends an aggressive groove with pretty keys, and eventually descends into absolute madness by the end — an arc that Sugar Bomb tends to enjoy.
Forss – “Soulhack”
I found this album through being into all that early 2000s IDM stuff — Squarepusher, Boards of Canada, and the like. This is from 2003, and is one of the densest, most beautiful sonic meals one could possibly have. The amount of samples and textures and variation in those samples and textures is deeply inspiring to me. A lot can be done with a little, and in my production, I like to recycle sounds from the project and make something new with them. I really like to emulate a lot of sampled drum sounds with my real life drums, and the drums here are inspiring for that.
Tennyson – “L’oseau qui danse”
I love how this song blends electronic and digital elements and musical language stemming from swing and bebop among other things. It has a beautiful atmosphere while also scratching a light itch for fast solo lines with interesting tones.
daniel hayn – “origami swing”
I always mistakenly read the title of this song as “original swing” because the rhythmic feel is so interesting to me. Everything comes together naturally, but definitely unusually in the best way.
Mathis Picard – “Glitter Eyes”
This song is like a charcuterie board of delicious rhythms, tones, and ways of playing music. The unapologetic combination of elements is something I appreciate about honest 21st century music. With access to more music than ever, it makes sense that musicians would combine more elements in more new ways and this song and really anything Mathis Picard touches is a perfect example of that.
(Photo Credit: Camilla Calnan)
