Whilst at the recent Karnataka gig in Cardiff (go to A Live Record on this website to see the review), guitarist Luke Machin, a fine young talent, was selling CDs of his solo album, Soulshine, and I willingly purchased a copy.
As I will detail in the review, there is a veritable cornucopia of talent guesting and supporting Machin on the release, and that is hardly surprising, given his well-deserved positive reputation within the music world.
Now, this is not a progressive rock album in the sense most readers will understand such a creature. This is a bright cornucopia of a funk fest. As the sleeve notes themselves put it, “it’s a celebration of music and a celebration of life. Let your soulshine”. You can obtain it by popping along to https://soulshinemusic.bandcamp.com/album/soulshine-main-album-digital-download A quick shout out before the words for the wonderful artwork created by his partner, Sara Mirabbasi.
Luke’s website can be found at https://www.lukemachin.com/
There was an official album trailer released four years ago on YouTube, so let’s start off with that.
We kick off with Frequency, a sub-minute introduction to proceedings with Machin riffing, showing in that short space of time the dexterity for which he is well known, and it segues into the first song proper, Energy, featuring Sh’kye on lead vocals, Anastasia Pshokina (on all but a couple of tracks) and Carl Machin on backing vocals. The roaring guitar and the keys continue where the intro left off, and you anticipate a full-on rocker. Then the warm backing voices come in, and the lead vocalist is simply a funk delight, a nice commentary on music enabling its author to fulfil his destiny. When hearing it for the first time, a surprise, but a nice one, and I might add that the lead guitar riff is full of positive energy.
The title track follows, with Sh’Kye & Pshokina joined by Daniel Mashal on bass, who played with Machin in Maschine, releasing a couple of albums via Inside Out. The track exhorts us, as per the notes Machin wrote for the digipack, to seize the day, and especially cherish the moments we spend with our loved ones. Amen to that. I adore the bass melodies Mashal creates on this, Sh’Kye is the ultimate soul voice machine, and the programmed brass is full of life. To summarise, imagine oneself lying on a Caribbean beach with 80-degree heat washing over you, lapping up life’s waves, and this is that piece of music, a festival of rhythm, here, as everywhere, Machin showing his versatility as a guitarist, with a jazz-infused laid-back solo.
Dive In features renowned session player, Donavan Hepburn on drums, who has played with some mightily big names. Machin literally dives into the pool, with the sun hanging low on the horizon, crashing before his love and taking her on a cosmic journey. As he dives in, you hear revelry, music playing in the background, and as the main track plays, it is the harmonies that strike the listener. Beautifully upbeat, this song cheers one up even on the drabbest of days (and, by God, West Wales does drab so very well!). Hepburn brings an aura of class to the skins, and he and Machin form a beat-laden rhythm section. Amongst the grooves, there is a hard rock burst on the lead guitar, before a lush fusion melody on the keys. Machin shouldn’t get away with it, but he does.
We have an official video for Rise Up, and this is embedded below for you to enjoy. On this, Pshokina steps up to the lead vocals plate. I interpret the words here as an exhortation to Machin’s partner’s homeland of Iran, that oppressed ancient and cultural people, presently once again suffering the consequences of trying to break free from the Mullahs as the world idly stands by, the feeling of freedom should never be let go of. I think Pshokina’s voice is incredible, a massive performance, and Machin is no slouch at all on that bass guitar. For my readers, this track is a very good representation of what to expect from this album. There is another burst of rock energy about a minute out from the close.
Parisian Rooftops has a veritable A-List of guests. The supremely talented Daniel Gildenlöw takes the lead vocal spot, and we have appearances on guitar from Guthrie Govan and Francis Dunnery, whilst Hepburn returns on drums. This is an epic track, over eleven minutes in length. It’s a reflective jazz rock fusion track, with Machin looking across at The Eiffel and the lights, sounds, and general hubbub of the city. Gildenlöw & Pshokina work well together, there is a dark thudding core to the keys, bass, and drums, intricate guitar work and the burst of riff energy from Govan quite delightful, with some quieter passages of voice, keys, and guitar which would not be completely out of place on a mid-period Genesis album. Fans of the fret have two further dream passages. Dunnery gives us a lesson in how to present a slide guitar, with his voice dripping the blues all over the studio, and, lastly, Machin hits the sweet emotional spot with the most achingly gorgeous lead. This is a great piece of music.
Blossom has those White Knight Records titans, Peter Jones (lead vocals) and Robert Reed (piano/production ensemble) joining Pshokina, whose vocal passages are gorgeous, and Machin. The song references, I believe, the major illness Machin suffered as a teen, but, critically, coming out the other side, being the maker of his own world, going with the loving flow. Jones has a unique voice, full of emotion. Reed is a master musician, and this collaboration really cannot fail. It sounds utterly lush, a symphonic ballad, if you will. A video is at the foot of this review.
Turn Around, a song of self-discovery for finding my way, has Dunnery returning as the lead voice alongside Dylan Thompson, formerly of The Reasoning (Pshokina providing harmonies) with Chris Morgan on drums. I have always liked Dunnery’s voice. It features lovely interactions between piano, acoustic guitar, and voices, a nice laid-back blues number, the guitar bursts having the player’s soul imprinted all over them, the A cappella at the close a good touch.
Wild Roses is also packed with guests. Argentinian-born Anita Donndorff and Mirron Webb (of symphonic prog band, Rain – see GEP records) share the lead vocals, Morgan Agren of Kaipa hits the skins, Karmakanic & TFK titans Lalle Larson, responsible for a staggeringly good lengthy piano & synth solo, and Jonas Reingold in full pursuit on his bass, and the maestro himself, Andy Tillison, who provides a stunning organ solo, alongside one of my favourite musicians on sax, Marek Arnold. Now that really is a line up to drop everything for! It is the second epic track here, over twelve minutes in length. The eponymous flowers are the expression of life, and we have birds singing with soul. From the off, Donndorff’s voice hits you with her ghostly chant, but then a jazz delight hits you, her voice suited to the narration above the light piano, breezy synths, and a wondering bassline, with some interesting effects echoing the wild in the mix, the sax bringing depth. As fine a jazz-rock piece of music as you are likely to hear, coming down perfectly at the close with delicate voice and acoustic guitar. Good enough for a The Tangent album. Is there higher praise?
We close with Final Boss. Marco Minnemann, Jonas Reingold, Marek Arnold, and Luke Machin. It just about says it all, really. Just shy of the epic-length, this is a fine instrumental to close the album, and you hear in this the participants the joy of improvisation and allowing each to express themselves in a widescreen musical tapestry. Machin lets go fully on this. The interactions remind me strongly of the kind of fun King Crimson used to have whilst out on the road. This is pure jazz-driven progressive rock, and it is stunning. This is a track which is worth the entrance price alone, sadly reviewed by me too late to include on my annual awards. However, you can revel in the video below.
Soulshine is the creation of a virtuoso musician, a gentle and warm soul, who knows full well that life is for living, for seizing each and every moment with passion and glee, but, unlike most of the rest of us with such sentiments, has the talent to bring them to life musically, and it is a testament to him that he is able to bring together such a group of musicians to assist him in realising his vision.
Quite superb.