Exuding an adoration for the ukulele and its history, amidst a catchy funk and disco-touched pop flair, “Ukelately” is an playful new track from Stephen Webber. Webber, an Emmy-winning composer and Grammy-nominated producer, also spent years as a professor and dean at Berklee College of Music. His talents as an academic, multi-instrumentalist, author, and writer of symphonies are notable — and with “Ukelately” he successfully pursues a more specific charm, showcasing his love for the titular instrument and its history within a replay-inducing captivation.
A funky bass drive and flourishing strings show a magnetic amiability from the get-go, with shades of ELO in the production. “Don’t worry, I’m not lying in some coffin / But lately, something new makes me complete,” Webber sings, admitting “lately all I wanna do is play songs on this Uke” as Zahara’s excellently soulful vocals infuse alongside. A subsequent recounting of Webber’s past ventures — “I’ve written me some books / Composed a symphony” comes back into the admissions of infatuation for the beloved Uke.
In addition to Webber’s various instrumentation and Zahara’s vocals, the memorable track also features Jordan Rose on drums, Casey Driessen on 5-string fiddles, Aubrey Turner on cellos, mixing by Jason Petrin, and mastering by Jonathan Wyner.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
