The City Champs

Luna '68 The City Champs

As with all new directions taken by The City Champs, such sounds are handled with a tasteful restraint. In that sense, they are perfectly paired with Delta-Sonic Sound studio's vintage vibe, where producer/engineer Bruce Watson champions the art before technology controlled the typical recording process. Ultimately, they always return to the essentials: organ, guitar and drums. Says Restivo, "All three of us were interested in musicians that can really play. Like your classic studio musicians, the Funk Brothers or the Swampers or the Stax crew, or the Wrecking Crew. Those musicians we've always loved. Here's an instrument. Plug it in. Can you make music with it? I'm in the old school. I like beautiful voice leading and beautiful melodies and beautiful harmonic textures." Now, with Luna '68, The City Champs prove they have a full payload of all that, with space enough to bring both the bedrock Memphis funk and the eerie harmonies of tomorrow.