Pack of Six was formed by sax player and song writer Sam Sharp in late 2005, as a desperate course of music therapy and wake up call to escape his meaningless life working in the City of London. After the success of the first album, which featured Natalie Williams and Victoria Newton, and following an intensive year of musical study, Sam's writing has truly matured and he is fully established himself as a purveyor of heavy funk grooves and simple folk songs.
"With the new stuff, I wanted to take the soaring simple beauty of song writers such as James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, and fuse this with timeless grooves that make me dance around in my pants: Jamiroquai, The Roots, Steely Dan, Level 42 and Stevie Wonder".
These references are clear in the music, which clings to the ear with addictive hooks and demands instant repeated listening. Sounds from the last 3 decades are combined, and the new tracks represent the the band's recent live sound, featuring the vocals of the young, beautiful and uber-talented Chloe Morgan.
"I still can't believe I found Chloe - we met in the rain after one of the first gigs, and had a slightly awkward conversation of mutual respect. It was only when we met again to drink some beers and spent all night talking about Mud Slide Slim and how badly singers are treated on conservatoire jazz courses that we truly clicked. It is rapidly becoming my strongest musical connection to date - when I write songs I hear Chloe's voice now, which is good because I can't sing for shit."
After a year or so of live gigs in and around London, the band have recently hit the studio to record the new E.P. "Tell-Tale Grooves". The studio sessions focussed on capturing the spirit of the live work, and also signalled some new directions and roles for the band.
"Firstly we've added guitar to some of the tracks this time round, from the brooding jazz and itchy funk vibe of Kris, and also the acoustic side covered by Dave Saw (see more below). The sax plays a new role this time too - gone is the 3 piece brass section, I'm trying to act as if I'm doing backing vocals with my horn, supporting Chloe. Any more prominent lines are now doubled by the guitar, which lends itself to a more New York jazz sound, ala Joshua Redman or Chris Potter. I find this adds more energy, and is a more original vibe than the traditional brass section - often used for the sake of it rather than to add anything musically justified. Jay (bass), George (keys) and Matt(drums) really pulled it out of the bag too, considering we only spent half a day with them, and all of their work was recorded live, normally in the 1st or 2nd take."
In addition to the band's established line-up, Sam also called in some old friends. Firstly, childhood friend Ben Thomas: long time producer and multi-instrumentalist with Peer Music and Sony, who co-produced and engineered the new tracks at The Flex Studios in Victoria. The icing on the cake was the opportunity to work again with David and Peter Saw, old friends from Aylesbury - featured on "Stranded" and "Share This Night" above.
"It's all just a case of good timing. Ben had just been working on Newton Faulkner's chart-topping album, and I had also written some horns for him on Peter Conway's up-and-coming release. Dave had been touring and working with Carly Simon and Ben Taylor, and we'd met up a few times and agreed on how songs should be written: always the simple ingredients. In fact, the 3 of us did a gig together in Aylesbury market square when I was around 17, and this is still one of my happiest memories - it's funny how everything comes back round again."
Look out for an E.P. / single release and further live gigs in the London and the UK soon. The creative team is rapidly expanding with a new wave of believers - get in touch if you have something to bring to the mix. If you want to consume now, the first album is available on iTunes and from the band's website www.packofsix.com