Press Release: FSQ featuring Dolette McDonald — “I Zimbra”
Midnight Riot Records EP — Release Date, March 18th 2019
Artist: FSQ featuring Dolette McDonald
Format: Digital EP ; Record Label: Midnight Riot Records ; Distributor: Kudos Distribution; Available all music services and retailers March 18th 2019
Tracklist :
- I Zimbra (Soul Clap Remix)
- I Zimbra (Alan Dixon Remix)
- I Zimbra (Original — Alternate Mix)
Teaser Mix Audio
Release Highlights
- Dolette McDonald is one of the most famous hired gun vocalists ever, covering soul, funk, pop, and rock genres. She’s credited on 100s of records, mainly in the mid 1980s
- Yet FSQ’s “I Zimbra” Talking Heads cover is only Dolette McDonald’s third solo vocal feature over her remarkable career so it’s a pretty special performance
- Dolette’s collaboration with FSQ here is a follow up to their joint work on 2016’s “Shaking My Damn Head” also on Midnight Riot Records.
- Dolette was a part of Sting and Laurie Anderson’s bands, and she is most known for being a part of the expanded Talking Heads group 1980–1983; so she’s performed “I Zimbra” 100s of times and therefore this cover is a most appropriate feature for Dolette
- FSQ bring their friends Soul Clap (Eli Goldstein and Charles Levine) into the Midnight Riot Records release for a tribal remix of FSQ’s “I Zimbra” and label boss Alan Dixon also turns in a piano driven slice of disco soul for his take on the FSQ cover
- Dolette will appear again on FSQ’s full length original album “Reprise Tonight” coming this year on Soul Clap Records along with more guests, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Nona Hendryx and Fonda Rae
- FSQ is a 6-person production team led by Chuck Da Fonk Fishman out of New York City and members include 7-time Grammy nominated producer GKoop, Chas Bronz, and One Era.
- FSQ formed under the auspices of George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic and made their debut in 2014 on Soul Clap Records.
For Immediate Release:
With the Midnight Riot Records EP “I Zimbra”, the US based production team Funk Style Quality aka FSQ follows up on “Shaking My Damn Head”, their 2016 collaboration with chanteuse Dolette McDonald. That original tune netted them a 10/10 in Mixmag and wide praise, with the single being Dolette’s first solo vocal feature since her 1982 dance hit “Xtra Special”.
Dolette McDonald’s career covers over 100 credits as a vocalist for groups like Chic, Rolling Stones, Steve Winwood, Juan Gabriel, Tears for Fears, Michael Zager Band, and even 1980s new wave groups like Blancmange, Gang of Four and Cabaret Voltaire. Dolette was also a key member of Laurie Anderson and Sting’s recording and touring ensembles, and she’s prominently featured in concert films by both artists. Most significantly, Dolette was an integral member of the Talking Heads at the height of their powers in the early 1980s.
“Dolette brought so much life to our original song ‘Shaking My Damn Head’ that we wanted to bring her out on the road with FSQ to perform the song,” explains Chuck Da Fonk Fishman of FSQ. “But we needed more material for her to perform with us. One song that stood out was the Talking Heads ‘I Zimbra’ because she performed it so well on all that early concert footage of the group. Most notably Dolette commands that song in the 1980 film ‘Live in Rome’. There was no instrumental version of ‘I Zimbra’ for Dolette to sing over, so FSQ went in the studio and we cut our own version”.
FSQ’s ‘I Zimbra’ cover takes the Talking Heads version and puts a bit more of Caribbean spin on it, leaving some breathing room for new percussion patterns and a revision of the plucky guitar accents that are a bit more hidden in the original. You will also hear shiny new synth arpeggios that FSQ’s One Era (Matt Coogan) sprinkles through the track. Dolette replaces original vocalist David Byrne with her new crystal clear and soulful vocals. Such a deep and faithful vocal delivery is no easy feat considering the original lyrics to “I Zimbra” are non-sensical words totally made up out of thin air, derived from a poem by the Dada / avantgarde poet Hugo Ball.
FSQ mates Soul Clap take the new elements and expand them, as well as Dolette’s vocals, stretching them out over a James Brown funky drummer type sample. One could say Soul Clap’s drum programming harkens to Jersey or Baltimore club beats. Soul Clap’s well thought out club rhythms add a new urban dynamic to a song that originally was supposed to be citing African music. “I Zimbra” was the lead track from the Talking Heads 1979 album, “Fear of Music”.
Midnight Riot Records boss Alan Dixon’s remix adds soaring, jazzy melodies led by groovy clavinets, big pianos and bright synthesizers. Dixon takes the song in a new and rich direction probably never imagined by the Talking Heads who seemed to really focus on a more Fela Kuti / James Brown funk vamp in their original. While the original “I Zimbra” is more a funk workout appropriate for tropical jungle settings, Dixon’s remix has so much of a gospel vibe you could play it in church on a Sunday morning.
More Information, go deeper:
FSQ In Depth Essay on Dolette McDonald:
https://medium.com/@chuckdafonk/the-incomparable-and-prolific-dolette-mcdonald-66a034e527fb
FSQ on the making of “I Zimbra” and backgrounder on the original version
Related Imagery for Release:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jx9wira7pwc1jnj/AAANC7DFWmtdIr5ca1hT9Q1sa?dl=0
