Sluka, the award-winning band based in San Diego, have released a third single form their upcoming album Figure It Out. “Happy In Your World” is about humanity and historic events which have happened on this “pale blue dot.” As Carl Sagan put it, “On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.”
Band members Anna Appink on bass, Michael Bedard on drums, Nico Hueso on violin and viola, Erdix Maxhelaku on cello, Brad Steinwehe on trumpet and Jordan Morita on trombone, provide strong accompaniment to leader Chrispher Sluka on guitar, keyboard and vocals. The recording was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Grammy Award-winner Alan Sanderson (B.B. King, Weezer, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Rolling Stones) at Pacific Beat Recording Studio in San Diego.
Sluka’s cosmopolitan upbringing, his experience with performing with many major artists and his dedication to detail are apparent on “Happy In Your World.” The track begins with gentle, emotive piano before Sluka’s vocals enter with breathy, evocative, lyrics which speak of looking on to a world which provokes questions about what is real and whether we could be happy in each other’s world.
What is real, what is not? There are things we desire but when we have them, we question. After the gentle opening, the track builds into something of an epic delivery with the band rising behind Sluka’s glorious vocals. His rich voice lends itself in perfect contract to the smooth, melodic orchestration which accompanies.
The middle section is huge, with the vocal line backed by a beautiful arrangement for the instruments. The final section is owned by a beautiful, bowed cello which takes the piece to its conclusion.
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