Like all good works of art Carl Baldassarre’s latest album began life as a question, namely “What is a groove?”. To unravel the mystery he’s taken a deep dive into R&B, soul and funk, and has returned with some of the slickest sounds known to man. It means that he’s answered the quandary in some style and the explanation can be found within the eleven tracks that comprise his latest long player, Deep Grooves Vol. 1.
Most people will be familiar with the name Carl Baldassarre as one of the founding members of progressive rock group Syzygy. In terms of musical exploration, being a member of a prog band is probably the best education a musician can have, and it’s a schooling Carl has put to good use on Deep Grooves Vol. 1. That he has such an affinity with this music becomes immediately obvious on opening track ‘Keep It Up’. Like the reincarnation of Headhunter-era Herbie Hancock, this opening shot flows smooth like a river of silk, wending its way around your cranium and attaching itself to your memory bank like a sticky piece of ear candy. The Litmus Test for any type of groove-based music, be it funk, soul or R&B, is how it makes the listener feel; it’s almost an indefinable quality, but you’ll know it when you hear it. As any club DJ will tell you, there are certain discs guaranteed to fill floors, to get people moving, and that’s exactly what these tracks do. Songs such as ‘Keep The Groove Alive’ and ‘Joy Ride’ demand that you move your body and will get the young and old up and strutting their stuff (at least, anyone with a pulse).
It is testament to the integrity and honesty of Carl’s foray into groove music that he has produced a diverse and varied album. He hasn’t just locked into a singular groove (pun intended) and produced a one-dimensional album, rather each of these eleven tracks have their own personality. Subsequently, we get the slow and sensual ‘Show Me’ but also the fast and funky ‘Love The Way’ and the result is an album that never become staid or stagnant and each of these cuts come certified fresh.
For his next album Carl Baldassarre aims to explore the diverse realms of rock music, but for now enjoy these Deep Grooves deeply.
- Deep Grooves Vol. 1 is released on 12th September 2025 (available here).
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Track List:
- Keep It Up
- Heaven
- Famous
- Show Me
- Forever With You
- Sorry
- Keep The Groove Alive
- Joy Ride
- Love The Way
- 321 Let’s Go
- Blue Space
