The Flying Hats - The Return Of CD
CD
£12.00
Out of stock
Every ATA project involves collaboration—sometimes over weeks, sometimes decades. When drummer Sam Hobbs and bassist Neil Innes made The Return of the Flying Hats, they built on twenty years of playing together, combining Innes’s nightclub experience and love for Afro-American dance music with Hobbs’s exploration of American soul, R&B, and Caribbean music. Organist Bob Birch and guitarist Chris Dawkins also contributed significantly, with Birch starting as a jazz Hammond player and Dawkins a session guitarist for top British reggae and rock acts.
The Return of the Flying Hats occupies a space between The Aggrovators and The Meters, influenced by Lynn Taitt & the Jets and Fatman Riddim Section. Tracks like Grafter and Bust Up evoke classic New Orleans funk, while Tough Swagger sounds like Bunny Lee’s Aggrovators jamming with Ziggy Modeliste.
Some tracks emphasize Jamaican sound: An Autumn Sun serves sweet Kingston soul, and Strong Fish pays homage to Mittoo. The opener Night Bus and Power Cut feel like they should introduce hot I Roy cuts.
Iron Fist blends asymmetric drums, talking bass, and flowing organ melodies. Innes and Hobbs crafted grooves, while Birch contributed extempo lines that feel both original and traditional.
This group should not just be labelled a new band—they’ve travelled communal miles together. They offer a fresh take on cherished genres (New Orleans R&B, instrumental Rocksteady), creating more than the sum of their parts. Vocalists will seek them out, and I’m eager for the forthcoming dubs.
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