MOVE ON UP, WITH LA SOUL RE-INVENTORS GABRIELS
“It’s like we’re legit brothers.” JACOB LUSK
“THE THREE of us are really invested in the nostalgia of times gone before,” says Ryan Hope, of Los Angeles soul trio Gabriels. “But from a perspective of, like, ‘What are we losing in today’s society?’ We’re into the craft of recording these proper songs that don’t have crazy processing or effects.”
It’s an approach showcased to stirring effect on Gabriels’ only release to date, the five-song EP, Love And Hate In A Different Time, which has already attracted admirers such as Elton John, who declared it “one of the most seminal records I’ve heard in the last 10 years”, and Paul Weller, who chose the rousing Curtis Mayfield-like title track to appear on the Into Tomorrow CD that came with MOJO 331.
Gabriels work from a broad sonic palette that stretches beyond soul and R&B, though, with the creaky, brooding drama of The Blind sharing some of its aural DNA with the wonkier parts of Tricky’s Maxinquaye. The timeworn orchestrated jazz of Professional, on the other hand, carries strong echoes of Billie Holiday, sounding as if it could have been rescued from a dusty old 78.
These disparate influences are the result of the three members of Gabriels coming from very different backgrounds. Compton-born singer Jacob Lusk is a gospel choir leader whose past credits include St. Vincent and Diana Ross, while Ari Balouzian (from the San Fernando Valley) is a composer for film and TV, and Sunderland-born Ryan Hope is a video director who relocated to California after being signed to Roman Coppola’s agency, The Directors Bureau. Gabriels met five years ago when Hope was working on a short film featuring a soundtrack by Balouzian with the choir arranged by Lusk. Inspired, they agreed to start their own collective musical experiments at Hope’s home in Palm Desert. “It was a really slow process,” says Balouzian, “until we figured out the language of writing together.”
Clearly, between them they have the audio and visual bases covered, as evidenced by the striking video for Love And Hate In A Different Time. An Adam Curtis-inspired montage of dancers through the ages, starting with the Edison-shot Sioux Ghost Dance from 1894, it ultimately cuts into an arresting phone-shot scene of Lusk singing Strange Fruit through a megaphone at a Black Lives Matter rally in LA. “This is a song that is still ringing true, unfortunately,”
Lusk laments.
Meanwhile, work continues on the debut
Gabriels album, due 2022.
If the trio once seemed unlikely collaborators, it’s clear they’ve found a solid bond. “That’s been the most beautiful thing about this whole experience,” says Lusk.
“I get emotional when I’m talking about it. It’s like we’re legit brothers.”
Gabriels’ Love And Hate In A Different Time is out now on Atlas Artists/Parlophone.