Finally, some real pop innovation! With his debut album Disastro premiering next week on the 16th, Sonny J seems to be sitting on a gold mine of surprising delights. Check out the video for his latest single, “H
andsfree (If You Hold My Hand)” above. It’s an absolute must see–totally worth your four minutes. The sequences are directed in a Kill Bill-like kitschy style, and the song may as well have come straight off the accompanying soundtrack. Lots of horns blaring, and lots of wailing, desperado singing from the original “If You Hold My Hand” sung by Donna Hightower. The single’s incredibly catchy, but the accompanying video makes the package all the more delectable to the eyes and ears. I’m absolutely in love with the single’s outlandish concept, which seems to perfectly channel the convuluted, interwoven nature of his music.
From what I could find, Sonny J sounds like one cool cat, with a knack for nabbing samples from everything from obscure early ’70’s soul to television and movie soundbites. It’s all a bit revivalist mood a la Duffy and Amy Winehouse, with a multi-colored mishmash of old soul loops and vivacious, infectious dance beats which isn’t so far from Moby‘s finer dance hits. Gnarls Barkley‘s excitable throw-back soul sound also comes to mind. I reckon it’s quite good. The album will be out soon, so we shall soon find out if Sonny J can keep the beat alive the whole album through. Click here to hear more from Sonny!
