Music producer and filmmaker Cee-Roo began creating his musical universe through a series of mixtapes, in which he mastered the art of sampling and remixing artists from a variety of genres. A lover of old-school tunes, the Swiss-born musician has perfected the art of taking classic hits and giving them a new, graciously altered, and danceable sound while still maintaining the essence that we know and love the original track for. Released last November, his latest album entitled Memories featured reworks of songs by 12 deceased major artists among the likes of Marvin Gaye, Notorious B.I.G., Ray Charles, John Lennon, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and the Jackson 5. Paying worthy and innovative homage to the souls and sounds of a handful of the most influential musicians of the past century, the album sold out in just two days.
Cee-Roo’s goal with his latest 2013 release, “Take the Load,” was to create a “punchy, 80’s influenced Dance-Funk song.” Goal met. The ski bobble hat-bearing, dark sunglasses-wearing, and funky sweater-sporting producer is not afraid to take risks in either his attire or his music, as “Take the Load” employs fierce vocal samples from an old Salsoul Records a cappella and overlays them onto original guitar, drum, bass, and brass chorus samples that bring the funk. If you’re looking to enjoy a soulful throwback embedded with flourish of modern novelty, I suggest you give “Take the Load” and Cee-Ro’s other tracks a listen.