HR People Zeroes In On Multi-Genre Sound
by Charlie Sullivan
I caught HR People performing at the Mile High Music Festival in August and was pleasantly surprised by the lads. The act combines aspects of hip-hop, doo-wop, rock, and funk/soul and in doing so have created their own sound with a dynamic blend of vocal varieties dispersed through their pieces. Founding members Davis Stone (bass, vocals) and Ryan Hughes (keyboards, vocals) had been performing as a hip-hop duo since high school when they hooked up with songwriter Jordan Reynolds (drums, vocals) in 2009. The band saw new potential in their musical horizons and soon started to develop what would be the HR People sound. By the end of 2013 guitarist Collin Pierson joined the ranks filling out and helping fully define what has become HR People sound.
To the band’s credit they’ve released two full length albums. 2012’s Alpine Soundscapes was a hip-hop infused mix-mash with Davis, Hughes, and Reynolds at the helm. The pieces relied heavily on 60’s mood music giving it an exotic twist. The lads started thinking outside of the box, developing new ideas. With the addition of a guitarist in 2013 the band’s music began to evolve. Davis picked up the bass and Hughes the keyboards and as crazy as this sounds, they taught themselves to play the instruments in about a year and a half. The band began to see their music in a different light. With an arsenal of newly written material the lads hit the studio and laid down the tracks for 2014’s Paint, which debuted at the Mile High Music Fest.
“We wanted to fill out our sound and started writing our own music,” says Davis, “We were looking to take things in a somewhat different direction but wanted to stay true to our roots.”
“With the addition of Collin and a full instrumental line-up we decided to take a leap of faith and run with the new ideas,” adds Davis.
The new music is in a league of its own. Everyone shares vocal duties on just about all of the pieces. Davis and Hughes rap and Reynolds and Pierson sing. The outfit can sound like Zappa infused Funkadelic to a late 50’s doo-wop infused rock act rapping and singing their way through the pieces. People may be underrating the band but they have a knack for writing and choosing material of above average melodic interest that, through the subtle deployment of rapping and singing delivers the embodiment of different facets of people’s lives and life in general. The first track on Paint, “Soul”, is a song about prostitution and greed in America. The track hits home giving the listener something to think about and giving you the realization that prostitution happens on a much deeper level in politics and the corporate world. People worship money and will do just about anything to get it. If you get a chance check out 1969’s The Magic Christian with Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, you’ll get the bands point.
The band is taking their music in the right direction, challenging the listeners with an as yet to be defined genre of music. You’re in for a rare treat, give em’ a spin or take em’ in live.
“My theory is this; I’m not a political songwriter. I’m an honest songwriter.”- Billy Bragg
Online: facebook.com/HRPeoplemusic
Category: Buzzworthy2
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