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Short Bites

RECORD HEAT -SINGLES REVIEW & INTERVIEW

Record Heat (fka Spirit Animal) is a Brooklyn based alt-pop ensemble that have just released a new three song EP via The Orchard called 1. Their music is a diverse blend of pop, indie and funk with a little rock thrown in for flavor. When the band was known as Spirit Animal, they released an audacious album, Born Yesterday. They also had an earlier hit with the intrepid song, “The Black Jack White”.

Record Heat is comprised of Steve Cooper (Vocals), Cal Stamp (Guitar) and Paul Mitchell (Bass). Throughout the years the band has opened for such illustrious bands as Fritz and the Tantrums, Incubus, The Struts and White Reaper. As with all recording artists, the pandemic curtailed their touring but blessed the band with the creation of new and stronger material.

The first song on 1 is the gnarly “Nathan” with its jagged beat and dramatic hook. Cooper’s vocals are expressive and the musical cadence spicy with an ominous tone. Next up is the entertaining “Just Hits”. The flow is additive and memorable. Here, Record Heat mesh pop, funk, edm and rap to build an exquisite groove. The song glides with a smooth propulsion. 1 ends with the bold “Network”. The tune was co-written with mega-producer Nolan Lambroza (Nick Jonas, Chris Brown). “Network” captures the musical essence of Record Heat. Every note is perfectly placed. The song’s entire vibe is lofty with muscular textures.

Cal Stamp from Record Heat was kind enough to answer a few questions about the band and their future.

AMP: Gentlemen, I hope all is well. The most obvious question, why the name change?

CAL: It just felt like the right thing to do and the right time to do it. You can check out our full IG announcement and explainer here.

AMP: What do you feel is the biggest musical difference between your new EP, 1, and your 2018 release, Born Yesterday?
CAL: This is easily our band’s most personal batch of songs. We’ve been playing together for some years now, and we’ve battled through a lot of music biz bullshit. We’ve done DIY releases, indie releases, and major label releases. We’ve played to packed theaters and empty barrooms. We’ve had some really incredible experiences, but also some excruciatingly painful ones. The tunes on the new EP, 1, grapple rather directly and unambiguously with all that stuff. It wasn’t planned, really. It just came out that way.
AMP: I saw you play live at the Webster theater in Hartford supporting Red Sun Rising. You killed it. How much do you miss playing live?
CAL: It’s funny, early on I felt as though the grinding boredom and isolation of a daily tour routine prepared me in some ways for the mental and emotional challenges of COVID lockdown. I certainly used some of the same coping mechanisms. But of course on tour that’s all counterbalanced by the exhilarating shows themselves and by the amazing fan interaction before, during. and after each set. So it goes without saying we’re eager to get back up on stage again.
AMP: This pandemic sucks. How do you stay focused and keep in touch with your fans?
CAL: We are very active on social media and love to interact with our followers. Hit us up and we’ll definitely hit back. We also started a Patreon right around the beginning of COVID and it’s been a great way to connect with our most committed fans. We make special content for them, field occasional requests for certain types of performance/instructional videos, and we’ve even had a couple Zooms where we all just hang out.
AMP: What’s next for Record Heat?
CAL: A lot we’re excited about. We’re releasing our EP cover art as an NFT, which is a collaboration with the visual artist, jason71. We’re working on another one-off summer show that will act as a sort of “reunion” for our superfans, the SPANIMALS. And we have a second EP to follow up 1 that we can’t wait for you all to hear.
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To learn more about Record Heat,

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Stream music:  SpotifySoundcloud / I-Tunes

Purchase:    Sonymusic / Amazon

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