Soulive drummer Alan Evans has announced Love & Truth, a new album from his alter-ego act Crushed Velvet and The Velveteers. Set for release in May by Evans and Rob Fleming‘s Vintage League Music, the album comes as the first full-length album from the multi-instrumentalist’s side project since the 2011 release of the soundtrack to 1974’s The Big One, a blaxploitation film that was never released and allegedly lost in a fire.
On Love & Truth, Evans—a.k.a. Crushed Velvet—has recruited a whole new cast of Velveteers. Amongst the star-studded stable of musicians are Kim Dawson (Pimps of Joytime, Matador Soul Sounds), Saundra Williams (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Saun & Starr), Lyle Divinsky (formerly of The Motet), Yanick (After Funk), and Brother GoodLove (Aztec Sun). Evans himself covers guitar, drums, and bass duties with guests Darby Wolf and Neal Evans on keys and the horn section from BT ALC Big Band. Somewhat curiously, Evans does not provide any vocals on Love & Truth.
“A while back, the idea for this album started out as a faint vision in my mind and soon grew to what you are soon to hear,” Evans wrote on Facebook. “I decided to sit out as a vocalist so I could focus on playing bass, drums, guitar and organ but I brought in my family of powerhouse vocalists in YANICK, Kim Dawson, Brother GoodLove, Saundra Williams and Lyle Divinsky and they all absolutely crushed it!!”
The Crushed Velvet side project was born in 2008 when Soulive was on break and Evans was working in his Western Massachusetts studio. During that time, he penned a collection of songs that he felt weren’t right for the Soulive catalog or the material he releases under his own name. Thus, the alter-ego Crushed Velvet was born and has since seen Evans host a revolving cast of musicians for his backup band, known as The Velveteers.
The outfit released two singles in 2020, “Good Thang” featuring Dawson and “As Far As We Know” featuring Brother GoodLove. No tracklist was released with the album so it is unclear whether those singles will appear on Love & Truth, though both tracks feature artists who are confirmed to be on the album.
Crushed Velvet and The Velveteers’ new album, Love & Truth, is available here for pre-order. Vinyl pre-orders are expected to ship before April 29th.
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