Champagne Bubblebath
Mixtape: Volume One
Jason Landry, contributor
I have read about so many different musicians that got together during the Covid pandemic to create music with their local friends. Little did they know that this break from touring and recording with their main bands would eventually result in albums worth of material—not to mention a whole new side project. This is one such band that I’ve been listening to most recently.
Champagne Bubblebath is the brainchild of Polyrhythmics’ drummer Grant Schroff. It’s got the feel of old school beat tapes mixed with some groovy minimalistic funk. I mean, what else can you ask for when you’re blending instrumental hip-hop and R&B, am I right?
Take their track “Juice” for instance—it’s so fine. It’s got a constant reoccurring drum beat and bass line that gets my head boppin’, while the dueling guitars each fill the speakers with a pulse that is quite different. One guitar has this middle eastern flair to it while the other seems to be creating a rhythm with a wah wah pedal effect. Basically if you dig this track, then you'll love this whole album.
This west-coast powerhouse is comprised of Schroff’s Polyrhythmics bandmates Ben Bloom (guitar), Jason Gray (bass), and one of our favorite musicians, Jimmy James (Parlor Greens/True Loves).
Their first album Mixtape: Volume One just dropped on coke bottle clear vinyl. Give it a listen.