Today we have the pleasure of premiering Sunsquabi’s latest funky single “Deluxe” along with an interview catching up with the guys. The electro-funk trio once again deliver via their label home All Good Records with “Deluxe” serving as the title track off their upcoming 5-track EP. Sunsquabi have made appearances on TSIS in the post for their past collaborations with GRiZ on “Odyssey” and “I Don’t Mind.”

Colorado-based Sunsquabi impress us with their hybrid sound infusing irresistible and funky live instrumentation with electronic production elements in a unique way that seems to effortlessly come together. Here they channel a sound similar to Ratatat while keeping it entirely their own.

They blend smooth guitar riffs, organic drums, bass, and keyboards paired with backing synth textures and basstones while the silky guitar solo sits above the soulful, funky melodies as the song’s highlight. Sunsquabi have made a name for themselves through their incredible live performances so be sure to catch them on their 18 date tour. Read our interview with Sunsquabi's Kevin Donohue and see tour dates below. The full EP will be available Friday, April 7 via All Good Records. Enjoy!

Sunsquabi – Deluxe | Stream Only

What is the story and meaning behind this Deluxe EP?

Deluxe is a culmination of songs that we created after the release of Odyssey last year. Most of the tunes came together all at once, aside from Dexter, which was written by and named after Josh's dog. We travelled the entire country last year with the Floozies, and we were constantly inspired on the tour bus to write new music. So when we came back from tour, we pretty much just needed to get into the studio to overdub and record what we couldn't on the bus.

How did you originally link up with GRiZ and All Good Records?

We first met Grant in 2013 when we opened for him at The Ogden theater in Denver. He shared some production knowledge with me (Kevin Donohue) and we clicked. A few years later, I was watching GRiZ at Snowball with our friend Manic Focus (who is one of the original All Good artists), and we start talking about writing some funky music together inspired by GRiZ. We stay up all night that night and write the skeleton of 'Get Down', which he then took to GRiZ to finish. Grant lived down the street from our rehearsal spot at the time, and invited me to come to his place to finish the song. That sort of led to doing some other guitar work and keyboard stuff for his album 'Say it Loud', and during that whole recording process I was showing Grant little bits of what would become the 'Odyssey' EP, and so he decided to bring us into the label and we've been writing music together ever since.

How have things changed for the group after changing members recently?

Honestly, things are great. The vibe on the road with these two (Chris and Josh) is out of control. We are constantly breaking down our sets and our parts to dive deeper into the musicianship. It's all about having fun, spreading the love and most importantly playing really good music for our fans. All of the bass guitar on the Deluxe EP is our original bassist, Andrew Clymer. We're excited to be writing new music and looking at a new chapter for the band.

Is there a particular song on the project you enjoyed making the most?

My personal favorite from this EP is 'Dexter'. It was a very raw creative process that birthed this song. We spent a whole day at the studio (Scanhope Sound) recording different chunks of improv on different instruments, but all at the same tempo in the same key. I took all of these chunks home all sequenced it into a song that made sense, so in essence we sampled ourselves. A day later we had Nick Gerlach (Michal Menert band) come in and lay down the horn line. He came up with the hook on the first take and then smashed a great solo. The whole thing just came together so fluidly, mostly because it was produced by a dog…

What was your inspiration behind this EP?

Everything in life is inspiring. I really found this out about myself in the past year, but you cannot wait for inspiration to find you. You have to look all around you for it, constantly. Anything can spark an idea in your head if you keep an open mind and take care of your ears. And brain.

Also weed.

How is this different from past Sunsquabi releases?

I feel that this EP is a much more groove oriented release. The songs aren't necessarily about crazy sounds or really big solos, they're more about the feel and the pulse than our songs from the past.

What’s the most exciting thing right now for Sunsquabi?

Hard to say right now, things are pretty exciting over here at Squab HQ. We have a 6 week tour coming up starting in April, that leads right up to our Red Rocks show May 6th with Papadosio. We just opened for STS9 (favorite band of all time) in Las Vegas, we're feeling a lot of support from the music community and our fans right now. I'm really feeling great about writing right now and we have an entire new record in the works, which we'll be recording in May. We have some great festival plays this summer all over the country (Summer Camp, High Sierra, Dreamscape, Enchanted Forest..) It's an amazing feeling to have so much to look forward to and we are eternally grateful for this life.

Any recent new influences affecting you guys musically?

We just saw Tauk for the first time last night, that's a hell of a band. I'm just gonna rattle off a few of what we're all listening to

Lettuce

The New Mastersounds

Pomrad

Cloudchord

Emancipator

Thundercat

Bruno Mars (don't even try to say 24k life isn't a great album)

Tour Dates:

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