Bay Area soul funk collective Tha Building have a brand new album out, ‘Outside Ourselves’.

The record features contributions from other excellent funk and soul stalwarts, such as Joyo Velarde, Naté the Soulsanger and Rocky Ramirez, who tragically went missing last year. Tha Building was formed by primary songwriter, producer, executive producer, and multi-instrumentalist J. Brewster. Joining Brewster in his funk-soul quest was Bay Area ace guitarist/mixer/co-producer Cam Perridge who worked tirelessly alongside Brewster during the pandemic to procure remote tracks and set up safe in-person sessions. This community of 25-plus hand-selected musicians from the Bay Area and beyond feature the sharpest pro players with firm groundings in funk, hip-hop, and soul, including two Grammy-winning instrumentalists. The powerhouse band makes its entrance with the sleekly soulful debut, ‘Outside Ourselves’.

The production on your new album is full of energy. How was it recorded?

J. Brewster: Thank you! This is how we hoped it’d come across, and happy you heard it that way. We initially started recording in my studio in early March of 2020, and then…well, you know. So as so many did during that time, we turned to remote recording. But this also marked not only a different way of recording, but it made us rethink who else was going to be a part of the record. Initially it was probably looking like maybe 10 or so players including a couple guest spots, but then we thought “hey, all the most killing players we know aren’t touring and are home like the rest of us, let’s get the best fit for each song and make this a party…” haha.

“Being open to different ideas and approaches”

How do you usually approach music making?

It depends on the project and I’ve been lucky enough to have been in quite a few great ones, but for me as a songwriter I typically work out most of my songs with acoustic guitar and voice, then make as good of demos as I can (playing as many instruments as I can) to get the idea across to band members / co-collaborators. But always being open to different ideas and approaches.

Would you speak about your influences?

The first band I was in after college was a funk/rock/hip hop inspired group. I went on to write and play hard rock, Americana, folk and more, but only really got to play soul/funk music on cover and corporate gigs. For the last however many years, I’d vowed to make a record writing in that genre, as I’m huge fan of old school funk, hip hop and R&B, hybrid groups like the Chilis, Jamiroquai, Brand New Heavies, et cetera, and get back to some of the vibes of that first band. So I started writing what would become this record in 2019.

Is any member involved with any side projects?

Everybody is, we all make our living playing music, so this is as much an original band as it is a supergroup (for lack of a better of a better term) that have all played together in groups over the years, coming together to make this record and ultimately, Tha Building. I’ve released 6 or so records under my name, and play in a couple of local acts, and members of Tha Building tour with folks like Fantastic Negrito, Lyrics Born, Jazz Mafia, Michael Frante, Sheila E. and many more.

Are you planning to go on tour?

Ultimately, for sure. Before we do though we need to grow our audience and brand, as the pandemic put a big kink in booking shows and building (no pun intended) before the album dropped. The record release show was our first show, so we’ll be playing a string of local and regional shows and festivals in 2023 and getting the gears in motion.

What does the band have planned for the future?

Ultimately what this band is about is making killer music with an emphasis on great songs–where it all begins. We didn’t want to be a band that made a funky record, but leaned too heavily on beats, cliché lyrics and musicality to carry the songs. We wanna keep making records and put on shows where not only are the musicians experts at their craft, but who write and play songs with depth, originality and big hooks.

Klemen Breznikar

Headline photo: Leah Marie

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