Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
T. Nava (keyboards, vocoder vocals), Callum Connor (drums), Kelsey Gonzalez (bass), and José Rios (guitar) took the name Free Nationals after they formed a tight bond with Anderson .Paak. A couple of the players were working with Paak as early as the late 2000s, and the quartet as a unit became integral to Paak's progression on the Grammy-nominated 2017 album Malibu. The L.A. band's distinct identity came into focus with extensive touring in support of their chief collaborator. They take the opportunity here to branch out with a regatta's worth of singers and rappers -- T.I., Conway and Westside Gunn, Kali Uchis, and the late Mac Miller, to name a handful -- none of whom would be out of place on a Paak album. For the most part, the band zeroes in on their hip-hop-minded approach to reconfiguring polished late-'70s/early-'80s fusions of jazz, soul, and funk. Hints of synchronous Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, the Blackbyrds and the Brothers Johnson, and even a little Steely Dan/Donald Fagen, are in the mix. The evocation of the era is strongest when Benny Sings, Nava, and Connor are on the mike, fronting the kind of smooth, feel-good grooves that can make one move involuntarily without breaking a sweat. Elsewhere, FN play vaguely psychedelic pop like a funky Tame Impala, epitomized by first-half highlights like "Beauty & Essex," featuring Daniel Caesar and apparent FN inspiration Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and "On Sight," the vocals of which could have been handled strictly by Kadhja Bonet. There are so many streams-maximizing voices here that they crowd the room and sometimes obscure tracks that would be fine as instrumentals. Unsurprisingly, Free Nationals sound most comfortable when they're either on their own or behind Paak on "Gidget," a sailing (not surfing) jam that drops anchor between Hiroshi Sato's "Say Goodbye" and Stevie Wonder's "Love Light in Flight."
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $17.49/month
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Shafiq Husayn, FeaturedArtist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - S. Husayn, ComposerLyricist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - R. Nielson, ComposerLyricist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Unknown Mortal Orchestra, FeaturedArtist - Daniel Caesar, FeaturedArtist - A. Simmonds, ComposerLyricist - D. Pimental, ComposerLyricist - R. Avant, Producer - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Kadhja Bonet, MainArtist - D. Route, ComposerLyricist - MIKNNA, MainArtist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist - JID, MainArtist - M. Byun, ComposerLyricist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Syd, FeaturedArtist - S. Bennett, ComposerLyricist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist - Nicolas Eaholtz, ComposerLyricist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Benny Sings, FeaturedArtist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Tim van Berkestijn, ComposerLyricist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - B. Anderson, ComposerLyricist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Anderson .Paak, FeaturedArtist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist - T.Nava, FeaturedArtist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Callum Connor, FeaturedArtist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist - M. Byun, ComposerLyricist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Mac Miller, MainArtist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. McCormick, ComposerLyricist - Kali Uchis, MainArtist - K. Loaiza, ComposerLyricist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - T.I., FeaturedArtist - C. Harris Jr, ComposerLyricist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - J. McNaughton, ComposerLyricist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Chronixx, MainArtist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Callum Connor, FeaturedArtist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist - M. Byun, ComposerLyricist - T.Nava, FeaturedArtist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
K. Gonzalez, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Conway, FeaturedArtist - J. Ríos, Producer, ComposerLyricist - D. Price, ComposerLyricist - A. Worthy, ComposerLyricist - Joyce Wrice, FeaturedArtist - Westside Gunn, FeaturedArtist - R. Avant, Producer, ComposerLyricist - M. Merisola, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Free Nationals, MainArtist - J. Wrice, ComposerLyricist
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
Album review
T. Nava (keyboards, vocoder vocals), Callum Connor (drums), Kelsey Gonzalez (bass), and José Rios (guitar) took the name Free Nationals after they formed a tight bond with Anderson .Paak. A couple of the players were working with Paak as early as the late 2000s, and the quartet as a unit became integral to Paak's progression on the Grammy-nominated 2017 album Malibu. The L.A. band's distinct identity came into focus with extensive touring in support of their chief collaborator. They take the opportunity here to branch out with a regatta's worth of singers and rappers -- T.I., Conway and Westside Gunn, Kali Uchis, and the late Mac Miller, to name a handful -- none of whom would be out of place on a Paak album. For the most part, the band zeroes in on their hip-hop-minded approach to reconfiguring polished late-'70s/early-'80s fusions of jazz, soul, and funk. Hints of synchronous Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, the Blackbyrds and the Brothers Johnson, and even a little Steely Dan/Donald Fagen, are in the mix. The evocation of the era is strongest when Benny Sings, Nava, and Connor are on the mike, fronting the kind of smooth, feel-good grooves that can make one move involuntarily without breaking a sweat. Elsewhere, FN play vaguely psychedelic pop like a funky Tame Impala, epitomized by first-half highlights like "Beauty & Essex," featuring Daniel Caesar and apparent FN inspiration Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and "On Sight," the vocals of which could have been handled strictly by Kadhja Bonet. There are so many streams-maximizing voices here that they crowd the room and sometimes obscure tracks that would be fine as instrumentals. Unsurprisingly, Free Nationals sound most comfortable when they're either on their own or behind Paak on "Gidget," a sailing (not surfing) jam that drops anchor between Hiroshi Sato's "Say Goodbye" and Stevie Wonder's "Love Light in Flight."
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:41:11
- Main artists: Free Nationals
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: OBE, LLC - EMPIRE
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B R&B
2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE 2019 OBE, LLC / EMPIRE
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.