Video: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings – “Call on God”
From Soul of a Woman, out now on Daptone.
We’ve written a lot on what a dynamic performer Sharon Jones was—and make no mistake, she was a powerhouse. But what I like about this video is it also show what an artists she was, and where real musical magic comes from.
I won’t dive back into the debates around digital vs. analog recording and the pros and cons of automation or pitch correcting software. The fact of the matter is that artists should use whatever they have to the best of their abilities. And that is what makes the Daptone Records story so compelling: They have built this thing from the ground up with people who share a vision and burn with a talent that had to come out.
Here we see Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings out of their stage gear and away from the lights, sounds and manic energy that reverberated throughout their live shows. It’s a band laboring in its small and unadorned workspace. The meticulously authentic soul sound of Daptone Records doesn’t come from a suite of studios with atmospheric lighting and $10,000 sofas. It comes from people holed up in a live room, playing together in their studio in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. That’s magic.