Sa-Ra - B*tch Baby

Jazz aficionados in the Booth are likely familiar with Sun Ra, a legendary piano/keyboard player famous both for his musical talent and his eccentric personal mythology (he claimed in all seriousness that he was from Saturn, for starters).  Sa-Ra, the Los Angeles-based trio who brought us Feel the Bass back in August of ‘08, took their collective name from the jazz innovator, and this newly-leaked cut comes liberally seasoned with a similar brand of out-of-this-world weirdness.  On B*tch Baby, Taz Arnold, Shafiq Husayn and Om’Mas Keith forgo their Booth debut’s glossy, synth-heavy sound in favor of a more organic feel, blending bossa nova guitar, jazz organ, and a whole high school band’s worth of ramshackle percussion into a densely-layered midtempo stew of a beat—then, they fill in the cracks with backing vocals, stacking “oohs” and “da-da-das” as far as the eye can see.  The husky-voiced verses are a little hard to decipher at times, but listeners willing to sit back and soak in the unconventional groove are sure to find this cut a rewarding listen.  For more of Sa-Ra’s left-of-center sounds, grab a copy of Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love when it hits stores June 23rd.